NBA ROUNDUP : Pacers Get Defensive Against Hornets, 97-68

Perhaps Larry Brown should keep his Indiana Pacers off the floor between games--especially after the best defensive showing in their NBA history.

“I didn’t even have a regular practice yesterday,” Brown said after Indiana took a major step toward its first NBA divisional title Sunday by defeating the Charlotte Hornets, 97-68--the fewest points the Pacers have allowed since joining the league in 1976.

Indiana’s previous low for points allowed was 71 against Boston on Nov. 11, 1993. The 68 points and 22 field goals also were franchise lows for the Hornets.

“I told them that’s the best defensive game that I can ever remember being part of,” Brown said. “I’ve been around some teams that have guarded well, but I can’t think of a better one.”

Indiana set a franchise record by holding its opponent to less than 100 points for the 51st time. The Pacers are 39-12 in those games.

Indiana’s reserves outscored Charlotte’s, 25-2, in the first three quarters. That helped the Pacers build a 69-52 advantage, and Indiana cruised home to take a three-game lead over the Hornets in the Central Division.

The victory, combined with Chicago’s loss in Cleveland, means the Pacers clinched home-court advantage in the opening round of the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

Houston 123, Denver 120--Clyde Drexler banked in a 30-foot shot at the buzzer to win at Denver.

The Rockets, who won for only the third time in seven games without starters Hakeem Olajuwon and Vernon Maxwell, clinched a playoff spot for the third season in a row.

The Nuggets lost their third consecutive game and fell into a tie with the Sacramento Kings for the last Western Conference playoff berth.

Drexler, who finished with 34 points, took the inbounds pass at half court with 2.4 seconds left, dribbled twice and fired his winning shot.

Cleveland 79, Chicago 78--Michael Jordan missed a 25-footer at the buzzer as the Cavaliers held off the Bulls at Cleveland.

Twice before, in 1989 and again in 1993, Jordan made last-second shots to defeat the Cavaliers. Sunday, the Bulls took the ball out of bounds, behind by one point with 2.4 seconds left, but the setting wasn’t as dramatic. The earlier buzzer-beating baskets both eliminated Cleveland from playoff series.

The Cavaliers conceded the long jump shot to Jordan because they didn’t want to risk having him sneak behind the defense for a dunk. Jordan’s shooting has been inconsistent in the 10 games since he returned. He is 18 of 53, 34%, in his last two games.

Mark Price scored 20 points and Bobby Phills and John Williams had 19 each for the Cavaliers, who ended a four-game losing streak. Cleveland’s reserves did not score.

Phoenix 104, Portland 94--Charles Barkley scored 24 points, 11 in the decisive third quarter at Portland.

The Suns finished the season 5-0 against the Trail Blazers, their first series sweep of Portland since 1980.

The victory moved Phoenix within half a game of first-place Seattle in the Pacific Division. The Suns play the SuperSonics on Tuesday night in Tacoma, Wash.

Barkley was five for five from the field in the third quarter, when the Suns opened an 18-point lead.

Milwaukee 102, Atlanta 99--Glenn Robinson scored 32 points and had nine rebounds as the Bucks rallied from a 17-point third-quarter deficit at Milwaukee.

The Bucks trailed, 93-87, with 1:59 left before they went on a 7-0 run over the next 33 seconds to take a 94-93 lead on Marty Conlon’s basket.

Johnny Newman started the spree with a three-point basket, a steal on the inbounds pass and another quick basket.

Boston 110, Washington 98--Sherman Douglas scored 22 points at Landover, Md., as the Celtics won a season-high fifth consecutive game and extended the Bullets’ losing streak to 11 games.

Dino Radja added 20 points, 12 in the fourth quarter, and Dominique Wilkins scored 16.

Gheorghe Muresan had a career-high 30 points for Washington, which is three losses shy of tying a franchise record for consecutive losses.

The 11 losses are the most in a row for the Bullets since they moved to Washington from Baltimore 23 years ago.