It’s an Empty Night for Parish at Charlotte

There was a ceremony honoring Robert Parish, who tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most NBA games played--1,560--but the Charlotte Hornets shouldn’t have waited until halftime to hold it.

By then, a reminder had been served to Parish and his Hornet teammates that, should they overcome their half-game deficit to the Miami Heat for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, the Chicago Bulls are waiting for them.

What that could mean was shown Friday night at Charlotte, where Michael Jordan played only 28 minutes, but scored 24 points and led the Bulls on a 20-0 run to open a game that they won, 126-92.

“We expected them to put up a better effort than they did,” Jordan said.

The Hornets expected it too.

“We need to do a whole lot better than this if we want to make the playoffs and make a name for ourselves,” said Charlotte point guard Kenny Anderson. “This isn’t going to cut it.”

It sure isn’t.

Chicago won its 65th game and needs only five more victories in its last nine games to become the first NBA team to win 70.

There’s no letup in the Bulls, who have clinched the top Eastern Conference’s best record and are near the home-court advantage for the entire playoffs.

“We just want to keep clicking,” Coach Phil Jackson said. “I think the guys are interested in keeping this thing going as long as it goes.”

Scottie Pippen had 28 points and Toni Kukoc 20 to help Chicago send the Hornets to their second-worst loss of the season.

“I can’t remember a shellacking like this,” said Parish, 42, who was presented with, among other things a grandfather clock. He has two grandchildren. “They’re a good team, but we made them look even better. They were clicking on all cylinders. It was a very long evening for the Charlotte Hornets.”

And a very short celebration for Parish.

Sacramento 96, Houston 91--Mitch Richmond had 12 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter at Sacramento for the Kings, who strengthened their hold on the Western Conference’s final playoff spot.

The Kings, who have not made the playoffs in a decade, hold a 2 1/2-game lead over Golden State and a 3 1/2-game margin over Denver in the fight for eighth place in the conference.

Seattle 130, Phoenix 121--Shawn Kemp scored 26 points and Gary Payton added 24 at Seattle, where the SuperSonics dropped behind, 119-116, with 16 seconds gone in the second overtime, then outscored the Suns, 14-2, the rest of the way.

New York 86, Milwaukee 79--Patrick Ewing followed a 1-for-14 shooting night with 24 points and 13 rebounds at Milwaukee to lead the Knicks in a victory.

Washington 104, San Antonio 84--Juwan Howard scored 25 points for the Bullets, who ended San Antonio’s 12-game home winning streak and gave the Spurs their most lopsided loss of the season.

Atlanta 82, New Jersey 70--Steve Smith shook off an early ankle injury to score 23 points for the Hawks, who held the Nets to a season-low point total at East Rutherford, N.J.

Detroit 108, Philadelphia 87--Grant Hill had 15 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for the Pistons, who won on the road for the first time in a month.

Portland 97, Denver 91--At Denver, Rod Strickland scored 29 points and Clifford Robinson added 24 for the Trail Blazers, who have a six-game winning streak.

Minnesota 103, Utah 99--Kevin Garnett scored 20 points, including free throws with 5.1 seconds left that clinched the game for the Timberwolves, who won at Salt Lake City and sent the Jazz to their fourth consecutive loss.

NBA Notes

Philadelphia 76er rookie Jerry Stackhouse will sit out at least tonight’s game at Atlanta because of a strained ligament in his right thumb. The 76ers also announced that forward Richard Dumas has a broken right foot and is out for the season.