Trail Blazers Clinch Playoffs, Again

Arvydas Sabonis helped Portland make the playoffs for the 14th consecutive season Tuesday night with several big plays down the stretch in the Trail Blazers’ 98-91 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

Sabonis had a three-point play with 1:17 remaining, and made two free throws and a crucial rebound down the stretch as the Trail Blazers extended the current longest playoff streak.

In the final 35 seconds, Rod Strickland made six free throws, and Sabonis, who had 19 points and 13 rebounds, pulled down a miss by Kevin Johnson that could have cut Portland’s lead to three.

Clifford Robinson scored 24 points, Strickland had 23 and Harvey Grant had a season-high 21, including 16 in the first quarter.

Sacramento 95, Dallas 86--Brian Grant scored 23 points and Mitch Richmond had two three-point baskets in the closing minutes as the Kings defeated the Mavericks.

The victory helps the Kings maintain a small cushion in the battle for the Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot. Sacramento holds a 2 1/2-game lead over Golden State and Denver.

With the Kings ahead, 87-80, Richmond connected on a pair of three-point shots in the final 2:51 of the game. He finished with 18 points.

The Mavericks’ George McCloud finished with a career-high 37 points. McCloud made eight three-point shots.

New York 97, Boston 93--Patrick Ewing had 26 points and 11 rebounds as the Knicks knocked off the Celtics in New York for their 14th consecutive victory over Boston.

Ewing, shooting 31% from the field in his previous four games, was only eight for 21 from the field but was 11 for 12 from the free-throw line.

Detroit 111, New Jersey 94--The Pistons made a team-record 15 three-point baskets in East Rutherford, N.J., in defeating the Nets in a game in which Detroit Coach Doug Collins missed the final quarter because of illness.

Collins received an injection for a back problem on Monday and had a reaction to the shot, Piston spokesman Matt Dobek said.

However, the Pistons’ remarkable long-range shooting--15 for 23 on three-point shots--had given Detroit a 90-64 lead by the time the fourth quarter started and the Nets never got close.

Houston 90, Vancouver 84--Eldridge Recasner made a three-point basket with 6.4 seconds left to help the Rockets hold off the Grizzlies in Houston.

Recasner, who scored 20 points including four three-point baskets, tossed in Houston’s final five points as the Rockets broke a three-game losing streak and triumphed for only the second time in their last 12 contests.

Toronto 102, Milwaukee 96--Alvin Robertson scored 25 points and Tracy Murray added 23, helping the depleted Raptors end a three-game losing streak with a victory over the Bucks in Milwaukee.

Toronto, which suited up only nine players, won for the second time in nine games.

Vin Baker led the Bucks, who are only three victories ahead of the Raptors in the drive to obtain the best chances in the upcoming draft lottery, with 25 points and 16 rebounds.

NBA Notes

Washington Bullet rookie forward Rasheed Wallace, who was charged over the weekend with misdemeanor assault, did not violate a restraining order, his attorney said.

Wallace, who is sidelined because of a broken left thumb, was arrested Sunday in Durham, N.C., in an incident involving his former girlfriend, Chiquita Bryant, the mother of his son.