Olajuwon Scores 51 in a Losing Effort

Hakeem Olajuwon scored a season-high 51 points Thursday night, but it was his last shot that was the difference in the Houston Rockets’ 108-106 loss to the Boston Celtics at Houston.

Olajuwon, whose career high is 52 points, missed a shot with 2.1 seconds left that could have sent the game into overtime.

Dino Radja scored 23 points for Boston, while teammates Dee Brown and Greg Minor contributed heavily in the fourth quarter. Brown, now a reserve, had six of his 14 points in the fourth quarter. Minor had only eight points but had three fourth-quarter baskets.

Chicago 92, Toronto 89--The Raptors came close to pulling off an upset in front of the biggest NBA crowd of the season.

But in the end, the Bulls pulled out the victory, their 10th in a row, largely because of Michael Jordan’s 15 fourth-quarter points. Jordan led the Bulls with 38 points, 28 coming in the second half.

The crowd of 36,118 was the 21st largest in NBA history and largest since the San Antonio Spurs drew 36,523 in a game against Golden State on Nov. 5, 1993.

The Bulls are 33-3.

Detroit 100, San Antonio 98--Grant Hill’s driving layup with 17 seconds to play gave the Pistons a win over the Spurs at Auburn Hills, Mich. Hill drove past David Robinson for the game-winner.

Milwaukee 100, Golden State 96--Vin Baker scored 24 points, including a crucial three-point play in the closing minutes, for the Bucks at home.

Cleveland 98, Vancouver 90--Terrell Brandon scored 29 points and made four three-point baskets as the Cavaliers defeated the Grizzlies in Vancouver.

Sacramento 105, Portland 100--Mitch Richmond scored 14 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter, powering the Kings at Sacramento.

Reserve Tyrone Corbin had 10 of his 14 points down the stretch as the Kings ended a four-game winning streak for Portland, which played without injured Rod Strickland and Clifford Robinson, its two top scorers.

NBA Notes

Houston’s Mario Elie underwent surgery Thursday afternoon to repair damage to his right wrist, broken in the Rockets’ victory over Denver. Elie, a key member of Houston’s back-to-back NBA champions, could be out six to eight weeks. . . . New York Knick forward Charles Oakley says he could be sidelined up to a month because of chronic soreness in his left Achilles’ tendon. Oakley did not dress for the Knicks’ victory over the Clippers on Wednesday. He said the pain was so bad that he “could be out a month.” But Knick officials said the injury is not considered serious.