Orlando Has Lost Its Magic for Now

The road woes of the Orlando Magic reached a new low Saturday night at Indianapolis.

Rik Smits returned from a three-game absence and scored 18 points night as the Indiana Pacers defeated Orlando, 102-79, matching a franchise record with their 14th consecutive home victory. Smits had been out because of a sore right foot.

Orlando, 21-0 at home this season but 9-12 on the road after losing to Atlanta and Indiana on consecutive nights, was held to a season low in points.

Shaquille O’Neal had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic before being ejected with 1:19 left in the game with his second technical foul.

The Magic shot 35% as the Pacers won their season-high sixth in a row overall, and defeated Orlando for the 10th consecutive time at Market Square Arena.

Anfernee Hardaway, who scored 21 points for Orlando, called for a change in the team’s offense.

“We need to get away from the one-on-one play. We don’t have lots of confidence on the road,” Hardaway said.

Orlando trailed, 64-39, at halftime--its season low for points in a half--and drew no closer than 19 points in the second half.

Washington 102, Vancouver 77--Gheorghe Muresan scored 10 of his 22 points in the decisive third quarter as the Bullets matched their victory total of last season by defeating the Grizzlies at Landover, Md.

Juwan Howard had 24 points and 12 rebounds and Calbert Cheaney scored 23 for the Bullets, who finished 21-61 last season. Washington (21-21) has won three in a row at home and 11 of 13 since Dec. 2.

Houston 105, Detroit 85--Clyde Drexler had a triple-double of 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists and the Rockets tied a season high with 14 three-point baskets in a victory over the Pistons at Houston.

Houston started slowly but shot its way to victory from beyond the three-point line. Eldridge Recasner was five of six on three-pointers, Sam Cassell was four of five and Robert Horry three of seven.

The victory prevented the Pistons, led by Grant Hill’s 21 points, from a three-game Texas sweep after one-point victories at Dallas and San Antonio.

Denver 93, Toronto 82--Dikembe Mutombo came within one blocked shot of a triple-double and the Nuggets ended a six-game losing streak with a victory at Denver.

Mutombo had nine of Denver’s 16 blocked shots to go with his 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf scored all 21 of his points in the second half, including a three-point basket that wrapped up the victory with 1:56 left. Damon Stoudamire had 23 points for Toronto.

Miami 102, Cleveland 85--Left alone while the Cavaliers’ defense focused on Alonzo Mourning inside, Rex Chapman scored a season-high 29 points to lead the Heat at Cleveland.

Chapman worked mostly from long range, making seven of 13 three-point shots to help Miami win for only the third time in the last 12 games. Mourning scored 23 points, 19 in the second half, and grabbed 14 rebounds.

Miami shot a season-high 56% from the floor.

Tyrone Hill returned for Cleveland after sitting out the previous 38 games because of a bruised spinal cord suffered in a car accident in early November. He played 14 minutes, collecting five points and five rebounds.

Utah 108, Golden State 91--Karl Malone had 25 points and 12 rebounds and Antoine Carr added 15 points at Salt Lake City as the Jazz won for the fifth time in six games.

Utah led, 84-72, going into the fourth quarter, and the Warriors couldn’t get their deficit below six points the rest of the way. Latrell Sprewell led the Warriors with 21 points.

New York 104, Minnesota 95--Patrick Ewing scored 12 of his 28 points in the final three minutes as the Knicks pulled away from the Timberwolves at New York.

Ewing, who picked up his fifth foul with 6:21 remaining, also had 10 rebounds and five blocked shots. He broke an 84-84 tie by scoring with 3:06 left, then made two more baskets before Hubert Davis wrapped up the victory with a three-point basket that made it 102-91.

Charlotte 110, Philadelphia 105--Kenny Anderson had 22 points and 14 assists and Matt Geiger had a career-high 21 rebounds at Charlotte as the Hornets sent the 76ers to their ninth consecutive loss.

Dell Curry added 24 points for the Hornets, who never trailed and overcame a rally by Philadelphia at the end.

Portland 112, Dallas 103--Clifford Robinson scored 29 points and the Trail Blazers survived a late charge by the Mavericks for a victory at Dallas.

Jim Jackson had 23 points and Tony Dumas came off the bench to add 22 for the Mavericks, who trailed by as many as 23 but closed to 107-103 with 2:23 left.

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NBA Notes

Phil Jackson of the Chicago Bulls will coach the Eastern Conference and George Karl of the Seattle SuperSonics will handle the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star game Feb. 11 at San Antonio. Their teams will have the best record in their respective conferences after games of today.