Hill: League’s Hottest Can Get Even Hotter

With 11 victories in a row, San Antonio Coach Bob Hill is still looking up.

“We can get better. There are things we can do better,” he said Wednesday night after the Spurs beat Washington, 112-101, at Landover, Md., for their 11th victory in a row and 16th in their past 18 games.

David Robinson scored 33 points in 28 foul-plagued minutes and San Antonio shot a season-high 60.5%.

But, “we didn’t have that much of a presence on the break tonight,” Hill said. “We didn’t rebound as well as we can.”

Perhaps strangely, Robinson agreed.

“We have a lot of upsides,” he said. “Some teams are peaking, but over the next six weeks we’ll see a big improvement as a team. All in all, I think we’re going to be better.”

They were good enough Wednesday night.

Washington’s Gheorghe Muresan scored nine of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, but could not rally the Bullets, whose two-game winning streak was broken. Muresan finished with a game-high 12 rebounds.

Bullet Coach Jim Lynam couldn’t see past the Spurs’ hot shooting. Why bother?

“When I look at a team that shoots 60%, I stop there,” he said. “That’s game, set and match.”

Toronto 107, Charlotte 89--Carlos Rogers, the reluctant small forward, came up big with 24 points at home for the Raptors, who ended a four-game losing streak.

Atlanta 98, Vancouver 93--Steve Smith made five three-point baskets and scored 26 points at Atlanta, where the Hawks sent the Grizzlies to their 16th consecutive defeat.

New York 102, Indiana 99--John Starks made four of six three-point shots and finished with 19 points for the Knicks at New York, where Reggie Miller scored 25 points but missed two open three-point shots in the last 1:04.

Miami 102, Detroit 93--Pat Riley turned 51, but perhaps more important, the Heat turned .500 with reserve forward Chris Gatling scoring 24 points to lead them to a victory at home.

Orlando 112, Boston 90--The Magic, unbeatable at home, had struggled on the road early in the season but ran their record to 9-3 away from Orlando since the All-Star break with the help of 35 points from Penny Hardaway and 28 from Shaquille O’Neal.

Sacramento 122, Milwaukee 97--Brian Grant scored a career-high 30 points and Olden Polynice added 20 for the Kings, who won at Milwaukee and sent the Bucks to their ninth loss in a row.

Utah 107, Philadelphia 84--Karl Malone scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds at Salt Lake City for the Jazz, who sent the 76ers to their fifth loss in a row.

NBA Notes

Detroit Piston Coach Doug Collins was fined $5,000 by the NBA for leaving the court with his players before the end of a game against the Orlando Magic on Tuesday. Collins was furious because Orlando’s Anthony Bowie had called a timeout with 2.7 seconds to play and the Magic ahead by 20 points to get a chance at a triple-double. Bowie got the assist he needed with no opposition from the Pistons. . . . Vancouver’s Greg Anthony was suspended for one game and fined $5,000 for throwing a punch at New Jersey’s Shawn Bradley, who was not disciplined, save for being ejected on Tuesday.