Kidd Aggravates Old Injuries, Misses Second Half of Debut

Jason Kidd’s debut with Phoenix was over by halftime, but the Suns went on to a 103-98 victory over the Vancouver Grizzlies Saturday night at Vancouver.

Kidd, acquired earlier this week in a six-player deal with the Dallas Mavericks, aggravated a neck and shoulder sprain on the final play of the second quarter and did not play in the second half.

A team spokesperson said Kidd probably will sit out Monday night’s home game against Sacramento, and is questionable for the rest of the week.

The injury is the same one that forced Kidd to sit out his last three games with Dallas before being traded.

Kidd played well before the injury, finishing with six points, nine assists and seven rebounds in 20 minutes.

John “Hot Rod” Williams scored all of his seven points in the fourth quarter as the Suns held off the Grizzlies, who trailed by as many as 14 points in the third quarter.

After Vancouver took a 95-94 lead, Williams hit a 16-footer to put Phoenix ahead for good. On the Suns’ next possession, Williams completed a three-point play to make the score 99-95.

Trailing 99-98 after a three-point shot by Anthony Peeler, the Grizzlies had a chance to take the lead, but George Lynch was called for a five-second violation for failing to inbound the ball with 31 seconds remaining.

Danny Manning, who finished with a team-high 19 points for Phoenix, sealed the victory by making four free throws in the final 17 seconds.

Peeler led Vancouver with a career-high 30 points, and rookie Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 21.

Kidd’s injury occurred when he was battling Grizzly center Bryant Reeves for a rebound underneath. Kidd got his left hand on the ball but Reeves took the ball away, bending back Kidd’s arm in the process.

Chicago 102, Cleveland 97--Michael Jordan scored 45 points as the Bulls used an up-tempo attack to beat the NBA’s top defensive team at Chicago.

The Cavaliers came in allowing only 83 points a game, but the Bulls had that after three quarters and went on become only the third team to score 100 against Cleveland this season.

“We wanted to force the tempo because they’re not accustomed to it,” Jordan said. “I wanted to get their guards in foul trouble and get some easy scoring.”

Houston 104, Golden State 95--Hakeem Olajuwon scored 31 points, including six down the stretch, and Charles Barkley had 19 rebounds for the Rockets at Houston.

Olajuwon had 10 points in the final quarter to blunt a late charge by the Warriors.

Golden State, losing for the first time in four games, got 27 points and 10 rebounds from Joe Smith.

Minnesota 103, Denver 96--Tom Gugliotta scored seven of his 27 points in overtime, starting the extra session off with a three-point shot, as the Timberwolves beat the Nuggets at Minneapolis.

Stephon Marbury scored 18 points, including the final five of regulation, for the Timberwolves, who have now won four in a row for only the second time. They also won four in a row their inaugural 1989-90 season.

New York 96, Orlando 85--The Knicks, following a pattern, let an 18-point lead dwindle to one before winning at New York.

Chris Childs scored seven of his 14 points in the final 3:38 as the Knicks won their eighth in a row at home and 11th of 13 overall.

In their previous game, the Knicks let a 16-point lead slip away and lost at Minnesota, 88-80. On Nov. 19 at Orlando, the Knicks led by 25 points late in the third quarter but had to hang on for a 92-88 victory.

Patrick Ewing, who had shot only 35% (12 of 34) in his last two games, was nine for 16 and scored 27 points to lead Knicks Saturday.

Washington 97, Atlanta 86--The Bullets, playing the first of four scheduled game at Baltimore Arena, made their showing there a good one.

Juwan Howard had 25 points and 13 rebounds for the Bullets.

Detroit 97, Charlotte 75--Grant Hill scored 29 points and the Pistons held the Hornets to seven points in the fourth quarter at Auburn Hills, Mich.

By winning, the Pistons stopped a three-game losing streak. “This was probably one of the most important games we have played this season,” said Hill, who also had eight rebounds and six assists.

Utah 110, Philadelphia 84--Karl Malone was ejected after picking up his second technical foul with 1:48 left in the third quarter, but he had already done plenty to lead the Jazz at Salt Lake City.

Malone scored 15 of his 29 points during a 27-6 third-quarter run to help put the game away.

Malone had a shot blocked by Derrick Coleman and drew a technical when he complained to referee Terry Durham that he had been fouled. In the first quarter, Malone and Coleman picked up technical fouls as they jockeyed for position.

Sacramento 126, Boston 96--The Kings, who had a 19-0 run, outscored the Celtics 30-13 in the first quarter and led by as much as 41 in the third quarter at Sacramento as they cruised to their fourth victory in a row.

Mitch Richmond led the Kings with 27 points.