NBA ROUNDUP : Barkley Ejected, but Suns Rally Behind Perry

The Phoenix Suns were already without injured stars Danny Manning and Kevin Johnson. Then they lost leading scorer Charles Barkley, who was ejected with 4:25 to play.

Luckily, the Suns still had Elliott Perry in uniform.

Perry scored seven points in the final 1:38 Tuesday night, including the go-ahead basket with 13.8 seconds to play, as the injury-depleted Suns defeated the Dallas Mavericks, 114-113, at Dallas.

The Suns were playing their first game without Danny Manning, who was sidelined for the season Monday when he suffered a torn knee ligament in practice. Johnson and reserve forward Wayman Tisdale also sat out because of injuries.

“We were fortunate we were playing the Mavericks,” said Barkley, who led the Suns with 28 points, then watched on TV in the dressing room as Phoenix rallied from a six-point deficit with 1:58 to play. “They’re young and they don’t know how to finish. They don’t have a Chuckster to give it to with the game on the line.”

Perry’s three-point basket with 1:38 to play pulled Phoenix to 111-108. His layup with 1:04 left cut Dallas’ lead to 111-110.

Popeye Jones put Dallas in front, 113-110, with 49 seconds to play and Danny Ainge answered with a pair of free throws with 46.3 seconds left. Dallas’ Lucious Harris missed a layup with 26 seconds left before Perry drove for the game-winner with 13.8 to play.

“I took him left and he went for it,” said Perry, who finished with a career-high 23 points. “I went right and it was open.”

The Mavericks had the final shot, but Jason Kidd missed an eight-footer at the buzzer.

Jamal Mashburn had 35 points and Jim Jackson 29 for Dallas. Dan Majerle scored 22 points and Wesley Person and Ainge had 15 points each for the Suns, who won for the fifth time in six games.

Barkley was ejected by referee Hank Armstrong after he cheered when Jackson missed a free throw with Phoenix holding a 105-104 lead.

Barkley had been called for a foul on the play and disagreed with the call. Armstrong whistled Barkley for a technical foul, then ejected the Phoenix star, apparently for applauding Jackson’s miss.

“He made a stupid call and it will be stupid till the day he dies,” Barkley said. “He’s ‘Stupid Hank.’ That’s his nickname. It was a bogus call and he did a stupid thing. But we’re all human.”

Armstrong declined to comment.

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San Antonio 106, Seattle 103--David Robinson scored 31 points and Dennis Rodman had 27 rebounds at Seattle to lead the Spurs to their eighth consecutive victory.

The SuperSonics, just back from a 4-0 Eastern trip, suffered their third consecutive home loss. The Spurs, who play the Lakers tonight, held the SuperSonics to four baskets in the final quarter and outrebounded Seattle, 52-37.

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Cleveland 90, Philadelphia 84--John Williams scored on three consecutive possessions after Cleveland had squandered a 10-point fourth-quarter lead, lifting the Cavaliers at Cleveland.

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Milwaukee 95, New York 87--Vin Baker scored 22 points for the Bucks at New York.

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Indiana 95, Charlotte 92--Haywoode Workman made four free throws for Indiana in the final 11.8 seconds of overtime at Charlotte.

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Detroit 119, Washington 115--Joe Dumars scored 22 of his season-high 43 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Pistons at Auburn Hills, Mich.

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Minnesota 109, Golden State 100--Isiah Rider scored a career-high 41 points to lead the Timberwolves at Minneapolis.

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NBA Notes

Center Dikembe Mutombo of the Denver Nuggets, who said the NBA could “go to hell” after he was passed over for the All-Star team, was named to the Western Conference squad, replacing injured Laker forward Cedric Ceballos.