Blazers Living Up to Their Name

Rod Strickland scored 19 points and James Robinson scored five key points down the stretch as the Portland Trail Blazers won their seventh consecutive game in beating the Seattle SuperSonics, 95-92, at Portland.

Arvydas Sabonis had 15 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, and Clifford Robinson added 13 points for Portland, which improved to 12-1 since Strickland returned from a suspension and a groin injury.

Sam Perkins and Vincent Askew scored 17 points apiece for Seattle, which had its nine-game wining streak snapped and lost for only the fourth time in 31 games since February 1st. All-Star forward Shawn Kemp, who was held to 14 points, did not start because he missed a team plane.

Charlotte 93, Cleveland 89--Robert Parish broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA record for career games played and the Hornets boosted their playoff chances with a victory over the Cavaliers at Cleveland.

Larry Johnson and Kenny Anderson each scored 20 points as the Hornets moved a half-game ahead of Miami for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Parish, 42, who played in his 1,561st game in his 20th season, scored four of Charlotte’s first six points and during the first stoppage of play referee Tommy Nunez presented him the game ball.

The sellout crowd joined both teams in a 90-second standing ovation for Parish, an eight-time All-Star who played on three championship teams with the Boston Celtics.

Indiana 99, Miami 95--Reggie Miller scored a season-high 40 points at Indianapolis as the Pacers clinched their seventh consecutive trip to the playoffs.

Miller also became the first Pacer to score 14,000 career points. His third three-point shot of the game with 10 seconds left put the Pacers ahead, 99-95, and iced the victory.

Tim Hardaway and Chris Gatling led Miami with 19 points apiece.

Milwaukee 109, New Jersey 88--Glenn Robinson scored 32 points and Shawn Respert had 12 of his season-high 19 in the fourth quarter as the Bucks pulled away from the Nets at East Rutherford, N.J.

The Bucks had a 20-0 run in the fourth quarter and won for the second time in three games after losing 16 of 17. The Nets have dropped two in a row and four of their last five.

Chris Childs led the Nets with 19 points.

Philadelphia 100, Atlanta 99--Vernon Maxwell scored 38 points, including an off-balance 19-footer at the buzzer that gave the 76ers a comeback victory over the Hawks at Atlanta.

Maxwell scored 23 of his season-high total in the fourth period on nine-for-13 shooting. The 76ers overcame a 16-point, third-quarter deficit to snap a nine-game road losing streak and a four-game overall losing streak.

Stacey Augmon had 21 points to lead the Hawks.

New York 139, Toronto 101--John Starks scored a season-high 37 points at Toronto to lead the Knicks to their largest offensive output in seven years.

The Knicks, who eclipsed their previous season-high of 120 points (done three times), won their second consecutive game to stay ahead of Cleveland for fourth place and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Tracy Murray had 23 points for the Raptors, who were playing without point guard Damon Stoudamire (knee tendinitis).

Golden State 111, Minnesota 106--Latrell Sprewell scored 30 points and Joe Smith added 22 points and 11 rebounds at Oakland as the Warriors won for the second game in a row after ending a four-game losing streak.

NBA Notes

Philadelphia 76er rookie Jerry Stackhouse will miss the last eight games of the season because of a fractured right thumb. He suffered the injury in Friday night’s 108-87 loss to Detroit.