Hawks Beat Cavaliers, a Point at a Time

Mike Fratello cried foul because the officials saw so many of them Thursday night in Cleveland.

Or maybe because they didn’t see enough.

The Atlanta Hawks made 46 of 52 free throws in a 108-94 victory over the Cavaliers, whose coach, Fratello, had a technical foul and some angry postgame comments after his team made only 12 of 17.

“That was not right what happened out there,” Fratello said. “I got the technical for yelling ‘foul’ when Christian Laettner fouled one of our guys. I have no problem with that.

“I’m a little concerned because this same crew threw me out of a game a year ago for the first time in 10 years. It makes you wonder. I find it very hard to understand how there can be such a disparity as 52 to 17. It’s very difficult and frustrating to players when you feel you are not able to play and compete because things are being seen differently.”

The Hawks did view it quite differently.

“Those fouls were because we went to the basket,” said Tyrone Corbin, whose season-high 23 points helped Atlanta end a two-game losing streak.

“We moved the ball around and caught them in a situation where they would be off balance and had to foul.”

Laettner and Steve Smith each scored 18 points and Mookie Blaylock 17 for Atlanta.

“You’ve got to forget the officials and not worry about it,” said Hawk Coach Lenny Wilkens, who also got a technical. “We came out and made some defensive adjustments and that’s what turned the game.”

Rookie Zydrunas Ilgauskas led Cleveland with 20 points and 11 rebounds and Cedric Henderson had 16 points for the Cavaliers, who lost their second in a row.

Atlanta took command with a 20-2 run in the third quarter to turn a 52-44 deficit into a 10-point lead, 64-54.

The Hawks held a 14-0 edge from the foul line in the decisive quarter. With 10 minutes to play, Cleveland was only one for six from the line compared to the Hawks’ 35 for 40.

Fratello said he will place a call to the NBA today and ask the league to review tapes of the game.

“I can be wrong and I will admit it if I feel that way after looking at the tape,” Fratello said. “But I doubt if I will be 52-17 wrong.”

Miami 91, Milwaukee 87--Dan Majerle made two three-point baskets in the final two minutes to clinch the victory at Milwaukee.

The Heat, behind 25 points from Jamal Mashburn, won for the 11th consecutive time on the Bucks’ home court and ended Milwaukee’s six-game winning streak, the Bucks’ longest in seven seasons.

Milwaukee also lost point guard Terrell Brandon, who re-injured his left ankle in the first quarter and didn’t return. But Brandon was walking on the ankle after the game.

Miami Coach Pat Riley tied Kevin Loughery for most victories--133--in franchise history.

Detroit 104, Houston 92--Joe Dumars scored eight of his 16 points down the stretch and the Pistons held Houston to only four baskets in the fourth quarter in winning at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Detroit ended a losing streak at three games in winning for the first time for interim Coach Alvin Gentry, who is 1-1 since replacing Doug Collins on Monday.

Grant Hill scored six of his 24 points in the fourth quarter for the Pistons.

Charles Barkley had 26 points for Houston, which fought back from an 11-point third-quarter deficit to take a one-point lead early in the fourth. Hakeem Olajuwon, in his second game since coming back after arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, scored 19 points in 26 minutes for Houston.

New Jersey 106, Phoenix 94--Kerry Kittles scored 16 of his 20 points in the second and third quarters for the Nets, who opened a 23-point lead en route to a victory at East Rutherford, N.J.

The win was the Nets’ 27th of the season, surpassing their total for last season. It also ended Phoenix’s winning streak at four games, though the Suns had a 5-2 trip going into the All-Star break.

Keith Van Horn also had 20 points for New Jersey, and Jayson Williams had 12 points and 15 rebounds.

Toronto 101, Dallas 93--Damon Stoudamire had 21 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Raptors, who rallied at Toronto to hand Dallas its 20th consecutive road loss.

Oliver Miller added 17 points for Toronto, which was behind, 27-13, after shooting 19% in the first quarter and ended a three-game losing streak.

Marcus Camby had 16 rebounds and 10 points for the Raptors.

Charlotte 108, Vancouver 93--Glen Rice scored 30 points in three quarters for the Hornets, who won at home before more empty seats than anyone could remember in the franchise’s 10-year history.

Those who could get tickets traveled 150 miles to Chapel Hill, N.C., to watch No. 1 Duke play No. 2 North Carolina. Many of those who couldn’t get tickets stayed home to watch the game on television.

The Hornets, the NBA’s attendance leader for seven consecutive seasons, announced that 21,984 tickets had been sold for the game at the 24,042-seat Charlotte Coliseum. The actual crowd looked to be in the range of 14,000-15,000. The team, which has never announced a home crowd of less than 18,865, said no turnstile count was available, but everybody knew where the people were.

Orlando 93, Washington 83--Nick Anderson had 18 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Magic, which won at Orlando, Fla., despite shooting only 42%.

Washington played without leading scorer Chris Webber, who missed the game because a shoulder injury. Juwan Howard, the Wizards’ second-leading scorer, left the game because of a sprained ankle with 6:48 left in the first quarter and didn’t return.