Suns Surging; LaPhonso Ellis Hurt Again

Kevin Johnson scored 24 points and Danny Manning added 20 as the Phoenix Suns earned their eighth consecutive victory, 122-113, over a Denver Nuggets team that lost its leading scorer, LaPhonso Ellis, to an apparent Achilles’ tendon rupture.

The oft-injured Ellis injured his right ankle in the second quarter and is scheduled for an MRI on today, according to the Nugget medical staff.

“I caught the ball and went to dunk it, and all of a sudden it felt like someone hit me with an ax in the calf,” said Ellis, who had to be carried off the court by teammates. “It was the worst pain I’ve ever felt.

Ellis missed 19 games this season and 132 over the last three seasons because of knee injuries. Surgery will be scheduled for Ellis after an MRI is taken today. A rehabilitation period of six to nine months is expected.

“I feel really bad for him,” said teammate Antonio McDyess. “His luck has been real bad his whole career. He’s the leader. After he goes down, the whole team goes down. It’s like we were playing out there for no reason.”

Utah 106, Vancouver 79--In front of his home crowd, Karl Malone reached 2,000 points for a record 10th consecutive season the Jazz cruised to their 11th consecutive victory.

Malone, who needed only one point to extend the record he already held, dribbled a four-foot hook over the rim for his first basket. Malone finished with 16 points, three rebounds and six assists in 22 minutes. It Utah’s 16th victory in 17 games.

“I knew I had one point to go, and I got it. It’s a great honor. I’m just fortunate to be in this situation,” Malone said.

Vancouver has lost six consecutive and rookie Shareef Abdur-Rahim, averaging 18.4 points per game, was sidelined because of a bruised thigh.

Minnesota 97, Washington 95--Tom Gugliotta’s jumper with 16 seconds remaining capped a game-ending 10-0 run for the Timberwolves at Minnesota. Gugliotta finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds and Kevin Garnett added 22 points for Minnesota, which extended its winning streak to three games and snapped Washington’s winning streak at six games.

Chicago 84, Cleveland 71--Scottie Pippen, scoreless in seven attempts in the first half, scored 15 third-quarter points as the Bulls took control and went on to win at Chicago.

Michael Jordan scored 22 points for the Bulls, who rebounded from Thursday’s loss at Washington to for their 30th consecutive home victory.

Orlando 93, New York 84--Danny Schayes outplayed Patrick Ewing and the Magic, despite missing three starters, ended a four-game losing streak by winning at New York.

Schayes, starting in place of Rony Seikaly, outscored Ewing, 21-20, and outrebounded him, 11-7. Both numbers were season highs for the 37-year-old Schayes.

Atlanta 103, Detroit 89--Laettner scored 30 points, including 12 consecutive in the third period to help build an 18-point lead as the Hawks won at Atlanta.

Indiana 114, Philadelphia 103--Travis Best came off the bench to score a career-high 27 points as the Indiana Pacers kept their playoff hopes mathematically alive by winning at Philadelphia.

Portland 108, Milwaukee 93--Isaiah Rider scored 27 points and Kenny Anderson had 17 for the Trail Blazers, who now have won 10 of their last 11 home games.

Houston 108, Sacramento 94--The Rockets’ big three came through as Hakeem Olajuwon scored 25 and Charles Barkley and Clyde Drexler each scored 20 at Sacramento.