NBA ROUNDUP : Barkley’s Ire Leads to Victory

The Golden State Warriors made the mistake of getting Charles Barkley mad early. He spent the rest of the game getting even.

Barkley shrugged off a first-quarter flagrant foul and a second-quarter technical to score 31 points as the Phoenix Suns beat Golden State, 122-112, Sunday to send the Warriors to their sixth loss in a row.

“David Wood did us a favor,” Phoenix Coach Paul Westphal said. “He irritated (Barkley) and gave him a reason to achieve. Charles hates it when somebody plays hard against him.”

Barkley was called for a flagrant foul for lowering his shoulder into Wood after the two initially bumped while running down court. Wood made both free throws and then drove around Barkley for a layup on the possession awarded the Warriors because of the penalty.

“You all better get somebody out there to guard me,” Barkley said as he went by the Warriors’ bench with the Suns heading into the fourth period with a one-point lead.

Golden State took a 93-91 lead when Latrell Sprewell made a three-point basket with 10:42 left.

Barkley quickly helped the Suns regain command, pulling up for a six-foot jumper over Wood to trigger a 17-6 run. Barkley had seven points during the flurry, Johnson had five and Danny Ainge’s three-point basket at the end put Phoenix on top, 108-99, with 6:05 remaining.

Orlando 113, Atlanta 111--Dennis Scott’s three-point basket with less than a second remaining in overtime gave the Magic a victory over the Hawks in Orlando, Fla.

Shaquille O’Neal scored 30 points for the Magic, which went the final 4:56 of regulation and first 3:45 of overtime without a field goal.

Sacramento 88, Charlotte 80--Mitch Richmond scored 20 points and Randy Brown added 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter as the Kings ended a seven-game losing streak by defeating the Hornets in Sacramento.

Del Curry scored a game-high 21 points for Charlotte, which produced a season-low point total on the final stop of a six-game trip, the longest in franchise history.

Miami 103, Washington 90--Ledell Eackles scored 17 points as the Heat’s reserves outscored their counterparts, 41-18, at Miami.

New Jersey 99, Milwaukee 94--Kenny Anderson, with 22 points and 12 assists, and Derrick Coleman, with 21 points, scored all but three of the Nets’ fourth-quarter points at East Rutherford, N.J.

NBA Notes

John Williams, struggling with a weight problem, was released by the Indiana Pacers. Williams reported to camp last summer at 340 pounds and left Saturday at about 300. The Pacers filled the roster spot with forward Mark Strickland, whom they signed to a 10-day contract.