Mourning Returns to Streaking Heat

Alonzo Mourning returned from his injury a little earlier than expected Sunday at Minneapolis, and his skills seemed to be as sharp as they were when he got hurt.

After missing 13 consecutive games because of a foot injury, Mourning was his old self, scoring 21 points and grabbing eight rebounds in the Miami Heat’s 113-108 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

It was the Heat’s sixth consecutive victory.

“I’m at 95%,” Mourning said. “I wasn’t concerned about how many points I was going to score, I just wanted to get some good quality minutes that would contribute to a ‘W’.”

Voshon Lenard and Tim Hardaway each scored 22 points and the Heat recorded its franchise-record 51st win.

Stephon Marbury led the Wolves with 27 points and nine assists, and Tom Gugliotta had 25 points.

Portland 94, New York 88--Kenny Anderson scored 24 points to lead five starters in double figures as the Trail Blazers won at New York one day after their 11-game winning streak was snapped.

The Knicks scored 36 second-half points and heard boos at Madison Square Garden as they lost for the fourth time in six games.

Patrick Ewing scored 35 points, but guards Chris Childs, Allan Houston, Charlie Ward and John Starks combined to make five of 28 shots from the field. The Knicks lost their second game in as many nights to fall 2 1/2 games behind first-place Miami in the Atlantic Division.

New Jersey 100, Boston 91--Sam Cassell scored 14 of his game-high 30 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Nets at Boston.

The loss dropped Boston’s mark against Atlantic Division opponents to 0-19. It was the Celtics’ 24th loss in 26 games.

Kerry Kittles scored 18 points, Jim Jackson had 15 and Kendall Gill 14 for the Nets, who completed a sweep of the four-game season series. Cassell outscored Boston, 14-10, in the fourth quarter. He also had 11 assists.

Eric Williams scored 29 points and Antoine Walker had 22 points and 12 rebounds for Boston.

Utah 120, Denver 103--At Denver, Karl Malone scored 35 points, making 14 of 17 from the field, and the Jazz shot 65% to win its seventh consecutive game.

John Stockton scored 22 points and had 15 assists, and reserve Antoine Carr made all seven of his shots for 14 points.

The Nuggets were led by Antonio McDyess with 24 points and LaPhonso Ellis with 22.

Atlanta 90, Toronto 79--Mookie Blaylock scored 18 points to lead five Atlanta starters in double-figures at Toronto.

The Hawks clinched a playoff spot and extended their winning streak to four games. They won for the ninth time in 12 games and improved to 8-0 against the Raptors.

Steve Smith had 17 points and led the Hawks with eight assists. Christian Laettner scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Marcus Camby led the Raptors with a career-high 37 points. Camby is averaging 29.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and 3.25 blocks during his last four games.

Seattle 106, Vancouver 92--One night after being ejected, Gary Payton scored 31 points and the SuperSonics built an early 27-point lead at Vancouver.

The SuperSonics won their third consecutive game and snapped a two-game road losing streak.

Despite getting into early foul trouble, Shawn Kemp finished with 18 points as four SuperSonics reached double-figures.

Rookie Shareef Abdur-Rahim led the Grizzlies with 23 points, extending his team-record double-figure scoring streak to 28.