It’s a Nice, Easy Night for the Rockets in Denver

Hakeem Olajuwon, who had averaged 43 points and 10 rebounds in three games against the Nuggets, seemingly took Tuesday night off at Denver.

He scored only 12 points in 26 minutes, largely because Houston didn’t need him in a 116-99 victory over the Nuggets.

It kept the Rockets apace with the Lakers for third place in the Western Conference, now a half-game behind second-place Seattle.

Houston also didn’t miss injured Charles Barkley or Kevin Willis, because Clyde Drexler scored 24 points on 10-for-15 shooting in the Rockets’ fourth victory in a row.

They shot 54%, built a 19-point halftime lead and allowed it to get no smaller than 16 points the rest of the way.

“We really did shoot the ball well,” Rocket Coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. “Clyde was phenomenal and we didn’t have to extend his minutes.”

Drexler played only 27 minutes.

“We gained a game on Seattle and are still holding off L.A.,” Tomjanovich said. “I could see it [the playoff race] getting even more interesting.”

Philadelphia 105, Orlando 93--Mark Davis scored a season-high 27 points for the 76ers, who extended their longest winning streak in five months to three games with a victory at Orlando.

Penny Hardaway led the Magic, which lost its third game in a row, with 30 points, but scored only seven in the second half.

Chicago 111, Boston 106--Michael Jordan, who had hit only 23 of 58 shots in his past three games, made his first five and eight of 11 in a victory at Chicago.

The win was the 29th in a row at home for the Bulls, who moved within three victories of clinching home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Chicago, the league’s best home team, is 36-1 at United Center. The Celtics, the league’s worst road team, are 3-35 away from Boston.

Washington 104, Indiana 100--Rod Strickland had 18 points and 11 assists to lead seven Bullets in double figures in a victory at Indianapolis. Washington moved into a tie with Cleveland for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East.

Detroit 100, Dallas 82--Grant Hill had 35 points and 18 rebounds for the Pistons, who reached the 50-victory mark for the first time since 1990-91 by winning at Dallas.

Joe Dumars scored eight of his 18 points during a decisive 17-2 run in the second quarter.

New York 94, Cleveland 88--John Starks’ three-point basket with 1:18 to play put the Knicks ahead to stay at Cleveland.

Starks’ 23-foot jump shot came 19 seconds after a three-pointer by Bob Sura had given the Cavaliers an 88-87 lead.

Milwaukee 102, Vancouver 91--Glenn Robinson scored 10 of his 25 points in the third quarter at Vancouver to help the Bucks end a five-game road losing streak.

Golden State 91, Portland 82--Mark Price scored 24 points at Portland as the Warriors ended a seven-game losing streak.