NBA ROUNDUP : Disgruntled Drexler Shoots Down Celtics

Imagine what Clyde Drexler could do if he still wanted to play for Portland.

Drexler, who went public this week with his desire to be traded, hit a three-point play with six-tenths of a second left to give the Trail Blazers a 95-92 victory at Boston on Friday night.

“As a professional, you have to go out and do whatever you have to do,” said Drexler, who led all scorers with 35 points. “Wherever I’m at, I’m going to play hard.”

Portland Coach P.J. Carlesimo said, “It’s a situation between Clyde Drexler and management, and I don’t think it will have any effect on us on the court.”

On Thursday, Drexler, Portland’s all-time leading scorer in 12 seasons with the team, said, “I feel I’ve been treated badly by this organization.” He said that he didn’t like the direction in which the team is heading and wanted to leave, a feeling he repeated after the game.

But he was still there Friday.

On the winning play, Clifford Robinson rebounded Pervis Ellison’s miss and threw an outlet pass to Drexler with about four seconds to play. Drexler raced up the left side of the court and sank a layup as he was fouled by Ellison. Drexler made the free throw.

With Rod Strickland’s 26 points added to Drexler’s total, Portland’s starting backcourt outscored Boston’s, 61-5.

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Charlotte 89, New Jersey 88--Muggsy Bogues hit a go-ahead basket and made a steal and two free throws in the closing seconds as the Hornets blew an early 19-point lead and then came back to win at East Rutherford, N.J.

Charlotte, which has finished in the bottom five in defense each season since coming into the league, has held opponents under 100 points in 19 of 30 games, including seven under 90.

Larry Johnson’s 21 points led the Hornets, who won their fourth game in a row and handed New Jersey its sixth loss in seven games.

Derrick Coleman was spectacular in the late going, scoring 21 of the Nets’ final 30 points and finishing with 28.

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Dallas 103, Indiana 92--Jason Kidd had 15 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds and four steals at Dallas for the Mavericks, who had lost six of their previous seven games.

The Pacers were without Coach Larry Brown, who remained in the locker room suffering with flu. He was seeking his 50th NBA coaching victory.

Jim Jackson scored 30 points and Jamal Mashburn had 29 for the Mavericks.

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New York 103, Cleveland 93--John Starks scored all 23 of his points in the second half and made five of the Knicks’ 11 three-point baskets as they came from 10 points behind to win at Cleveland.

The victory was New York’s fifth in a row after a five-game losing streak. Cleveland has lost two in a row after matching a team record with 11 consecutive victories.

The Knicks made 11 three-point shots to Cleveland’s three. Anthony Mason scored 21 points and Patrick Ewing had 20 for the Knicks.

Cleveland’s Tyrone Hill and Chris Mills each set career highs in scoring, Hill with 26 points and Mills with 25.

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Orlando 121, Minnesota 99--Shaquille O’Neal scored 34 points and the Magic remained the NBA’s only unbeaten team at home by pulling away in the fourth quarter.

The Magic is 15-0 at Orlando Arena. Overall, the team leads the league with a 25-6 record and has won eight of its last nine.

Minnesota lost its fourth game in a row and was held below 100 points for a club-record 13th consecutive time, despite getting 32 points from Isaiah Rider.

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Seattle 108, Chicago 101--Detlef Schrempf scored 10 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, including consecutive three-point field goals in the last 3 1/2 minutes to lead the SuperSonics at Chicago.

Shawn Kemp also had 23 points for the Sonics. The triumph was Seattle’s 12th in its last 16 games and its third in a row.

Chicago got a career-high 32 points from Toni Kukoc. Scottie Pippen had 18.