No Magic for Fitzsimmons in Return With Suns

Shaquille O’Neal scored 18 of his 35 points in the third quarter Wednesday night at Phoenix, helping the Orlando Magic beat the Suns, 113-95, and spoil Cotton Fitzsimmons’ debut in his third stint as their coach.

Fitzsimmons, who last coached in the 1991-92 season, returned from the front office to replace Paul Westphal, who was fired Wednesday.

It was a franchise-record sixth consecutive home loss for the Suns, but this time they weren’t booed. For the fifth consecutive game, Phoenix dressed the league minimum of eight players.

The Suns managed to keep up until the second quarter, when Anfernee Hardaway had 10 of his 25 points to lead Orlando from behind to a 61-45 halftime lead.

Miami 96, Washington 89--Alonzo Mourning tied his season high with 38 points and the Heat overcame the ejection of two players for fighting to beat the Bullets in Miami.

Bimbo Coles and Keith Askins of the Heat were ejected after a second-quarter brawl, as was Juwan Howard of Washington.

Mourning missed his first eight shots, but still outdueled 7-foot-7 Gheorghe Muresan, who had 19 points and a career-high 21 rebounds. Mourning scored nine points in the first five minutes of the final quarter as Miami pulled away to an 83-73 lead.

The fight began when Howard shoved Coles as both players were running downcourt after a basket that gave Miami the lead for good, 40-38. Coles shoved Howard back before other players intervened, and a swarm of players spilled off the court and into the first row of the stands.

Askins stepped between the two main combatants but was ejected for throwing a punch, a ruling that Heat Coach Pat Riley protested. No punch was visible on television replays.

Houston 120, Denver 112--Hakeem Olajuwon scored 16 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter and had two three-point plays with about four minutes to play for the Rockets, who pulled away from the Nuggets in Denver.

Clyde Drexler added 22 points as Houston overcame injuries for its third consecutive victory.

Houston made 17 of 22 free throws in the final quarter, compared to Denver’s two of three.

New Jersey 97, Charlotte 93--Two free throws by Kenny Anderson with 6.6 seconds to play clinched the Nets’ victory. The loss prevented the Hornets from reaching the .500 mark for the first time since Nov. 11. Anderson finished with 22 points in the Nets’ fourth road victory in 19 tries.

Minnesota 98, Golden State 88--Isaiah Rider scored a season-high 31 points to lead the Timberwolves to a home victory over the Warriors. Rider added seven assists as Minnesota posted its first two-game winning streak since Dec. 6-8.

Atlanta 102, Indiana 93--The Hawks, taking advantage of flu-ridden Reggie Miller’s absence, held the Pacers scoreless for nearly five minutes in the third quarter and won their fifth in a row at home.

Milwaukee 111, Philadelphia 100--Glenn Robinson scored 37 points and the Bucks overcame the 76ers’ 81% first-quarter shooting to hand them their third loss in a row at Philadelphia.

NBA Notes

Detroit’s Grant Hill, Philadelphia’s Jerry Stackhouse, Orlando’s Darrell Armstrong, the Clippers’ Brent Barry, New York’s Doug Christie, Phoenix’s Michael Finley and Boston’s Greg Minor were entered in the slam dunk contest at the NBA all-star weekend in San Antonio. . . . Portland Trail Blazer guard Rod Strickland will be out the next two games because of an eye injury, and forward Cliff Robinson will be out one game because of a sprained ankle.