Cavaliers Rally for Key Victory Over Hawks

Trailing by 20 points in the first half, Cleveland staged a big rally to defeat Atlanta and take over sole possession of fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Danny Ferry made a three-point shot with 41 seconds left as the Cavaliers edged the Hawks, 80-77, Tuesday night at Atlanta, breaking a three-way tie for fifth in the East.

Atlanta (44-35) led, 40-20, early in the second quarter before the Cavaliers (45-34) cut the deficit to 47-33 at halftime.

“When you’re down by 20, it looks really bad. But we got it down by 14 at halftime and that was reachable,” Cleveland Coach Mike Fratello said. “We knew we could overcome that.”

Michael Cage had 12 points and 15 rebounds for the Cavaliers, including a club-record 12 offensive boards. Point guard Terrell Brandon added 16 of his 25 points in the second half.

“This wasn’t just an ordinary loss. It was a game where we could have moved up in the standings and gained ground,” Atlanta’s Steve Smith said. “Basketball is a game with two halves, and they played better in the second half.”

Orlando 113, Washington 95--At Washington, Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway scored 26 points each as the Magic equaled a franchise record for victories in a season.

The Bullets, who had a seven-game winning streak end, fell two games behind Miami in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with three games to go.

Dennis Scott made four three-point shots and scored 20 for Orlando, which bounced back from Sunday’s subpar road performance against Milwaukee to improve to 36-4 at home and match last season’s 57 victories.

Juwan Howard led Washington with 28 points and 15 rebounds.

Phoenix 111, Houston 100--Wayman Tisdale scored 24 points and Kevin Johnson had 20 points and 12 assists at Phoenix, as the Suns ended a three-game losing streak.

Houston, playing without ailing Hakeem Olajuwon for the 10th time in 11 games, never managed a rally. Phoenix starters Charles Barkley and John Williams also didn’t play because of injuries.

San Antonio 95, Vancouver 86--Sean Elliott scored 23 points and Avery Johnson 17 as the Spurs defeated the Grizzlies at Vancouver.

The Grizzlies moved another loss closer to a dubious record. Vancouver (13-66), which earlier set a league record of 23 consecutive losses, must win two of its last three games to avoid becoming the worst expansion team in league history.

NBA Notes

The Dallas Mavericks have been sold to a group led by Ross Perot Jr., according to news reports. The reports, each citing unidentified sources, said that Dallas owner Don Carter plans to retain 20% interest in the club and had returned a $10-million “earnest money” check to Thomas Hicks, Perot’s reported competition in bidding for the NBA club. . . . New York Knick forward Anthony Mason was being sought for questioning in connection with an alleged assault on a woman at the China Club in Manhattan Side. A spokeswoman for Mason insisted he was innocent of any wrongdoing.