Stockton Gets Back in Swing and Swings Game Utah’s Way

Utah’s John Stockton still isn’t 100%, but he was good enough to spark the winning spurt against the Miami Heat.

Stockton, who sat out the first 18 games of the season after knee surgery, played a season-high 27 minutes Tuesday and scored 14 points in the Jazz’s 103-95 victory at Miami. Most of Stockton’s damage came in a 10-0 run to start the third quarter.

Karl Malone led all scorers with 29 points and Jeff Hornacek added 18 for Utah.

Miami was led by Tim Hardaway’s 21 points, but he made only seven of 18 shots from the field.

It was Miami’s third loss at home this season.

Stockton’s performance was his most impressive since returning to the roster Dec. 8.

“This was the first time this franchise had to go a long stretch without Stockton or Malone,” Utah Coach Jerry Sloan. “When you miss one of those guys, you are going to have problems.”

Utah entered the Miami game with a three-game road losing streak, but the Jazz had not lost at the Miami Arena since 1991.

Malone scored most of his points inside.

“We gave up 35 points in layups in the first half,” Miami Coach Pat Riley said. “We don’t normally give that up in two games.”

Houston 118, Vancouver 91--The Rockets avenged a Sunday loss to the Grizzlies, and Clyde Drexler was a key part of the turnaround with 22 points, 10 assists and five steals at Houston.

“Clyde is that kind of player,” Vancouver Coach Brian Hill said. “If he doesn’t have a good game, you know he’ll come back the next time to show you what he could do. He is a great player headed for the Hall of Fame.”

Kevin Willis led the Rockets with 23 points. He also grabbed 10 rebounds.

New York 83, Detroit 78--Patrick Ewing scored 31 points, including New York’s only two field goals in the last 6 1/2 minutes, and the Knicks held on after nearly blowing a 17-point fourth-quarter lead to beat the Pistons.

It was the ninth consecutive home victory for New York, which hasn’t lost at Madison Square Garden since the home opener against Detroit. That game featured a fourth-quarter collapse--as did their eight-point loss at Detroit on Nov. 28--and the Knicks nearly duplicated it this time.

“They stepped up their defense and forced us into some turnovers, but we were able to keep our composure to get the win,” Ewing said.

Cleveland 103, Phoenix 90--Rookie Derek Anderson scored a career-high 19 points and started a 13-0 fourth-quarter run as the Cavaliers won at Cleveland.

Shawn Kemp had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers, and rookie Brevin Knight had 16 points and 12 assists.

San Antonio 99, Denver 85--David Robinson had 22 points and 14 rebounds as the Spurs ended a four-game road losing streak.

Tim Duncan added 20 points and eight rebounds for the Spurs, who have held 10 opponents under 90 points this season.

It wasn’t that tough to do against the Nuggets, who shot a season-low 35% from the field.

Golden State 103, Dallas 92--Joe Smith scored a season-high 28 points and Donyell Marshall added 22 at Oakland as the Warriors improved to 3-4 without Latrell Sprewell.

The Mavericks, who lost their sixth consecutive game, were led by Michael Finley with 26 points.

Sacramento 94, Portland 75--Corliss Williamson scored 26 points and rookie Michael Stewart grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds for the Kings at Sacramento.

Williamson and Stewart sparked an 18-4 run at the start of the third quarter that gave the Kings a 62-53 lead.