Olajuwon Has Perfect Overtime in Victory

Hakeem Olajuwon scored 12 of his season-high 36 points in overtime as the Houston Rockets remained unbeaten, defeating the Denver Nuggets, 110-108, Thursday night at Denver.

Olajuwon, who left the game briefly in the third quarter with a bruised right elbow after colliding with Denver’s Antonio McDyess, made all four of his field-goal attempts and all four free throws in overtime.

Houston improved to 5-0 despite playing the overtime period without Charles Barkley, who fouled out with 44 seconds left in regulation. Barkley finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds.

Dale Ellis made six three-point shots and scored a season-high 33 points for the Nuggets, who have lost their first three home games for the second year in a row.

New York 105, Golden Gate 100--Patrick Ewing had 33 points and the Knicks, inspired by John Starks’ verbal and shooting outburst, went on a third-quarter run to win at Oakland.

Larry Johnson added 18 points for the Knicks, who trailed by 10 points midway through the third quarter before Starks helped spark a 23-13 spurt that tied the game heading into the fourth quarter.

Starks, who had only two points at halftime, scored seven in the third quarter--all after getting a technical foul in an oral confrontation with Warrior Coach Rick Adelman--and eight in the fourth.

Seattle 103, Phoenix 98--Hersey Hawkins scored 24 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and made two critical free throws with 9.9 seconds left at Phoenix as the SuperSonics recorded their fifth victory in a row over the Suns.

Gary Payton, who had 25 points and seven assists, sliced through the Phoenix defense for an important layup with 1:27 to play, helping the SuperSonics hang on.

Portland 95, Minnesota 94--Kenny Anderson made a 15-foot shot at the buzzer in overtime for the victory at Portland.

The Timberwolves scored the last eight points of regulation to force the overtime.

Atlanta 91, Sacramento 87--Tyrone Corbin made four free throws in the final five seconds for the Hawks at Sacramento.

Orlando 108, New Jersey 95--In the first of two games to be played at Tokyo, the Magic got 23 points from Penny Hardaway and broke open a close game with an 11-0 run in the third quarter.

This game, played before nearly 40,000 at the Tokyo Dome, began at 2 a.m. PST Thursday. The second game is tonight at 7:30 PST.