Denver’s Motta Has Heard It 1,000 Times

It was nothing new for Dick Motta. Actually, it has gotten very old, as has he in the NBA.

When Derek Strong did his Penny Hardaway imitation Tuesday night, scoring 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter at Denver, Orlando ended its losing streak at two games with a 96-91 victory.

Motta became the losing coach in an NBA game for the 1,000th time, joining the Clippers’ Bill Fitch in that ignominious category. Motta is 932-1,000 lifetime.

“I guess this was my 1,000th loss tonight. They never get easier,” Motta said. “These guys aren’t losers. They have been thrown into a very difficult situation, but they keep coming back.”

Well, not really. Denver took a 72-69 lead into the fourth quarter.

“I though Strong made some great moves in the low post over Ervin Johnson,” Orlando Coach Richie Adubato said. “I don’t know where he got them because [Johnson] had him pinned under the rim a couple of times. He’s really come on for us.”

The Nuggets have blown fourth-quarter or overtime leads in 23 of their 44 losses.

Horace Grant had 10 points and 12 rebounds for Orlando, which has won six of the last seven meetings between the teams.

LaPhonso Ellis had 19 points and seven rebounds for the Nuggets, who lost their third in a row and ninth in their last 10 games.

Dallas 91, New York 83--The Mavericks caught the Knicks apparently still celebrating their Sunday victory over Chicago and ended New York’s NBA-best seven-game winning streak with a victory at Dallas.

Michael Finley scored 23 points and Erick Strickland added 22 for the Mavericks, who ended a seven-game losing streak.

The Knicks failed for the third time this season to extend a winning streak to eight games.

Chicago 117, Boston 106--Michael Jordan became the NBA’s sixth all-time leading scorer in the Bulls’ victory at Boston.

Jordan had 32 points and boosted his lifetime total to 26,399 points in 12 seasons. He moved past former Celtic John Havlicek’s total, scored in 16 seasons.

Jordan needs 312 points to move into fifth place past Oscar Robertson’s 26,710 points in 14 seasons.

Charlotte 98, Vancouver 92--Glen Rice scored 20 of his 24 points in the second half, and the Hornets struggled at Charlotte before extending their longest winning streak of the season to six games.

The Hornets, with 10 victories in 11 games, couldn’t put away the Grizzlies, who have a league-high 53 losses, until Rice had a three-point basket and a steal to key a run midway through the fourth quarter.

Atlanta 106, Utah 99--Steve Smith scored 27 points and Mookie Blaylock had 26 at Atlanta for the Hawks, who won their fifth game in a row.

Atlanta made 40 free throws and shut down the Jazz after John Stockton’s three-point basket with 5:36 remaining gave Utah a 92-90 lead.

Smith made a three-pointer with 4:44 left to put the Hawks ahead to stay at 94-92. Atlanta finished off the victory at the free-throw line, connecting on 10 of 12 shots over the final 3:29 to end Utah’s five-game winning streak.

Houston 103, San Antonio 79--Kevin Willis scored 19 points and Houston completed a sweep of its five-game trip with a win at San Antonio. It was the sixth consecutive victory for Houston.

Miami 108, Milwaukee 93--Tim Hardaway had 29 points and made six three-pointers, and reserve center Isaac Austin added a season-high 26 points for the Heat in a victory at Milwaukee.

Vin Baker had 27 points and rookie Ray Allen added a season-high 26 for the Bucks, who lost for the ninth time in 10 games.

Seattle 93, Detroit 80--Sam Perkins scored 20 points and Shawn Kemp had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the SuperSonics, who broke the game open in the third quarter and went on to win at Seattle.

Toronto 105, Phoenix 101--Marcus Camby scored seven of his 23 points in the final 5:25 and Doug Christie hit his fifth three-point goal with 1:36 remaining in the Raptors’ comeback victory at Phoenix.

It was a franchise-record 22nd win for Toronto, and it kept the Suns three games behind the Clippers for the final playoff spot in the West.

Minnesota 104, Philadelphia 100--Stephon Marbury got the best of fellow rookie Allen Iverson late in the fourth quarter, scoring 13 of the Timberwolves’ final 18 points in a win at Minneapolis.

Minnesota outscored Philadelphia, 18-4, in the final 5:52.

Iverson had 17 points, four assists and four turnovers before fouling out with 10.6 seconds remaining when he bumped Marbury on a drive down the lane. Marbury made one of two free throws for a 101-100 lead.

Cleveland 88, Sacramento 85--Chris Mills scored 21 points and Tyrone Hill had 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who, despite blowing most of a fourth-quarter lead, won at Sacramento.

Trailing, 74-58, after three quarters, the Kings scored the first 15 points of the fourth to pull within one point with 6:59 left.

But Terrell Brandon broke the streak by making a jump shot from the free-throw line at the 6:02 mark to give the Cavaliers their first points of the quarter.

Brandon’s shot ignited a 10-0 run for the Cavaliers, who took an 84-73 lead on Danny Ferry’s long jump shot from the corner with 3:16 left. The Kings never threatened thereafter.