Richmond Scores 37 to Help Sacramento Steal One in Seattle

Mitch Richmond scored 37 points to lead the Sacramento Kings to their first playoff victory since 1981, as they defeated the Seattle SuperSonics, 90-81, Sunday night at Seattle.

“It feels good,” said Richmond, who made 13 of 22 shots from the field and eight of nine free throws. “We wanted to put a little scare in them and get a win before we go home.”

Richmond scored eight of his points in the final six minutes as the Kings ended a string of 10 consecutive playoff losses.

Billy Owens, Sarunas Marciulionis and Olden Polynice each scored 12 points for the Kings, who evened the first-round series at 1-1 and took the home-court advantage away from the Sonics, who have been upset in the first round the last two years.

Polynice had a game-high 16 rebounds for the Kings, who outrebounded Seattle, 45-28.

Shawn Kemp, returning from a one-game suspension for fighting in the regular-season finale, paced Seattle with 21 points but had several key turnovers in the fourth quarter.

Hersey Hawkins had 18 points and Detlef Schrempf 10 for Seattle, which missed 11 of 16 shots in the fourth quarter.

Gary Payton, who scored 29 points in Seattle’s 12-point victory in Game 1, struggled with foul trouble for most of the game and finished with 10 points.

The Kings’ last playoff victory occurred when the franchise was based in Kansas City in 1981. The Kings beat Houston in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals that year, their only win in the series.

San Antonio 110, Phoenix 105--David Robinson, after a week of brushing off questions about whether he’s “soft,” turned in a hard-edged performance with 40 points and 21 rebounds as the Spurs beat the Suns at San Antonio to take a 2-0 lead.

Robinson’s point and rebound totals were both career playoff highs.

“I’m not out to prove anything to anyone. The only thing on my mind is winning games,” Robinson said. “We won. That’s the only thing you can really say.”

Robinson scored 13 of his points in the final quarter, including a turnaround eight-foot jumper over John Williams with 1:34 remaining.

“If that’s a soft David Robinson, I’ll take him soft every day,” said Sean Elliott, who scored 19 points for the Spurs.

Robinson also grabbed a key defensive rebound with 1:18 left after Wesley Person missed a three-point attempt that would have tied the game.

“It was a difficult loss. I felt we could have won,” said Phoenix Coach Cotton Fitzsimmons. “What killed us was the free-throw line.”

San Antonio made 34 of 41 free throws, while Phoenix made 21 of 30. Charles Barkley led the Suns with 30 points and 20 rebounds, with Kevin Johnson adding 21 points and 16 assists.

Chicago 106, Miami 75--Michael Jordan scored 26 points before straining his lower back late in the first half, returned to play the entire third quarter and finished with 29 as the Bulls beat the Heat at Chicago to take a 2-0 series lead.

“Me? I’m all right,” Jordan said. “It was one of those spasm things. I went up for a shot and twisted my back. It won’t be anything to keep me out of the next game.”

Alonzo Mourning continued to struggle for Miami as he finished with 14 points and seven turnovers.

“I’m not concerned about my performance. I’m trying to get my teammates into it,” Mourning said. “With the defense dropping back so much, it’s kind of difficult to work inside. They’ve got hands digging, knocking the ball away. They were determined I wasn’t going to get any layups. They tried to take my arms off.”

Chicago’s Scottie Pippen--who had 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists--questioned Mourning’s toughness.

“That’s a great game. He might get that $20 million he wants,” Pippen said about Mourning’s effort. “He’s playing with a lot of frustration right now.”

Orlando 92, Detroit 77--Shaquille O’Neal scored 29 points and the Magic took a commanding 2-0 lead in its first-round series against the Pistons with an easy victory at Orlando.

O’Neal made 13 of 19 shots, grabbed seven rebounds and had six assists despite playing only 36 minutes because of foul trouble that helped Detroit stay in the game.

“This game was not about adjustments,” Detroit Coach Doug Collins said. “I’d like to make adjustments, but we don’t have the firepower to make adjustments. Maybe they can move some guys around, but we can’t.”

Detroit slowed down the pace as much as possible, but Orlando was able to pull away in the second half.

Anfernee Hardaway and Nick Anderson scored 15 each, and Dennis Scott and Horace Grant each had 14 for the Magic.

Allan Houston led Detroit with 23 points.