NBA ROUNDUP : After Riding on Top, Spurs Hit Bottom in Loss

San Antonio broke a 15-game winning streak Tuesday night and did so emphatically.

No question. No doubt. Playing at home the Spurs set franchise lows in scoring and shooting in a 91-71 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, then waxed philosophical about the whole thing like a passenger after a train wreck.

It couldn’t get worse.

“It was just one of those games. You can either laugh or cry about it, and I’d rather laugh,” Spur forward Terry Cummings said.

His coach, Bob Hill, said the Spurs had the recipe for trouble: Bad shooting and bad rebounding.

“The ball kept hitting the front of the rim, and we weren’t rebounding, so we couldn’t get into our game--running. We ran out of gas. We hit a wall,” Hill said after the franchise-record winning streak, and longest such streak in the NBA this season, ended.

The Spurs’ points were a franchise low, as was their 31% shooting and 23 field goals.

Clifford Robinson had 23 points for the Trail Blazers, who took a 64-48 lead after three quarters, outscoring San Antonio, 22-10, in the third period. It was the lowest scoring quarter for the Spurs this season.

David Robinson led the Spurs with 21 points and 12 rebounds, but the all-star center was only six for 23 from the field.

Dallas 156, Houston 147--The Mavericks rallied behind Jason Kidd’s third triple-double in five games to win at Houston in double overtime.

Kidd, who finished with a season-high 38 points, hit three three-point baskets in the final 55 seconds of the first overtime, and Jamal Mashburn had seven of his 42 points in the second overtime.

Kidd also had 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

The Rockets took a 147-146 lead with 2:32 left in the second overtime but didn’t score again. They blew a 139-128 lead in the first overtime, Kidd forcing the second extra period with an off-balance three-point basket with 2.5 seconds to go.

Phoenix 96, Seattle 90--Dan Majerle made three three-point baskets in a 19-7 fourth-quarter run at Tacoma, Wash., that pushed the Suns past Seattle and back into first place in the Pacific Division.

Chicago 96, Indiana 89--Michael Jordan continued to struggle with his shooting, hitting only eight of 27 shots, but still scored 25 points at Chicago as the Bulls improved to 8-3 since he returned from retirement.

Jordan had a season-high 11 rebounds and six assists. Toni Kukoc added 18 points and Steve Kerr had 16 for the Bulls, who have won seven of eight.

Milwaukee 114, Detroit 109--Vin Baker scored a career-high 31 points and Glenn Robinson added 30 in the overtime victory at Milwaukee.

Both had four points in overtime as the Bucks won their third in a row and pulled within one game of Boston for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

New York 112, Miami 99--Patrick Ewing scored 13 of his 31 points in the third quarter at New York as the Knicks reached the 50-victory mark for the fourth year in a row by beating Miami.

Orlando 107, Cleveland 90--Shaquille O’Neal had 30 points and 18 rebounds at Orlando as the Magic moved closer to clinching homecourt advantage through the Eastern Conference playoffs.

All-Star guard Anfernee Hardaway was back in the lineup after missing four games because of an inflamed esophagus. He had 12 points and eight assists.

Atlanta 110, Philadelphia 106--Grant Long scored a career-high 33 points and Steve Smith added 25 as the Hawks clinched a playoff berth at Philadelphia.

NBA Notes

Seattle SuperSonic guard Kendall Gill returned to the team after a week off for treatment of clinical depression. . . . Latrell Sprewell, speaking publicly for the first time since returning from a two-game suspension, said the Golden State Warriors’ disciplinary action for missing a team function was too severe. Sprewell also lashed out at fellow All-star guard Tim Hardaway, calling him a “Nellie brown-noser” after Hardaway knocked teammates for “quitting on” Don Nelson, fired as Warrior coach Feb. 13.