NBA ROUNDUP : O’Neal Finishes With 41 as Magic Sets Club Mark

The Orlando Magic set a franchise record with their eighth consecutive victory Wednesday night, beating the Sacramento Kings, 114-107, behind Shaquille O’Neal’s 41 points in Orlando, Fla.

“It’s an accomplishment, but we can’t lose sight of the fact that we have an extremely difficult month of December in front of us,” Magic Coach Brian Hill said.

Anfernee Hardaway added 23 points and 11 assists for Orlando.

Mitch Richmond led the Kings with 20 points.

The Magic broke it open with a 10-0 burst in a second quarter in which they made 15 of 22 shots (68 percent), taking a 66-52 halftime lead.

Chicago 118, Phoenix 105--Scottie Pippen scored 35 points on 13-for-17 shooting and the Bulls withstood a late surge in Chicago to end the Suns’ four-game winning streak.

“I felt good right from the start offensively,” said Pippen, who also had nine rebounds, six assists and five steals.

Charles Barkley, making only his second start of the season, led the Suns with 22 points, but made only six of 14 free throws.

“The free throws were big and I missed six or seven of those and that was terrible,” said Barkley.

Seattle 109, San Antonio 100--Gary Payton scored 21 points and the SuperSonics overcame David Robinson’s 42 points to win their fourth consecutive game in Tacoma, Wash.

Boston 118, Detroit 115--Dino Radja scored 26 points and the Celtics survived a late three-point barrage by the Pistons in getting above .500 for the first time this season in Boston.

The Pistons made five three-point shots in 1:07 to close a 110-100 deficit to 116-115 with six seconds remaining. Dominique Wilkins then made two free throws to put the game away.

Charlotte 105, Miami 87--Larry Johnson scored 23 points and the Heat led only once--after the opening basket--as the Hornets won easily in Charlotte, N.C.

Johnson just missed posting the Hornets’ first triple-double of the season, getting 10 rebounds and nine assists.

Notes

The Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies have a three-month extension on the scheduled Dec. 1 installment of their expansion fees because the NBA has not reached a new collective bargaining agreement. . . . Dennis Scott, who missed the first 11 games of the season with a lower back strain, came off Orlando’s injured list.