Robinson, With 36, Keeps Suns Rising in the West

He looks out of place without his trademark headband, but Cliff Robinson has had no trouble fitting in with the Phoenix Suns.

Robinson scored a season-high 36 points and Jason Kidd had 16 assists, including a team record-tying 10 in a lopsided first quarter, as the Suns beat the Charlotte Hornets, 115-99, Friday night at Phoenix for their fourth consecutive victory.

“He’s proved to be a great pickup for us,” Kidd said of Robinson, who was signed as a free agent last August after eight seasons with Portland. “He’s really stepped up his game and he has a great attitude. He’ll do anything to win and that’s the attitude we need around here.”

“It seems like ever since that last road trip [Jan. 26-Feb. 5], Cliff’s been playing at a very high level,” Sun Coach Danny Ainge said. “He’s elevated his game and that’s made us a special team.”

Antonio McDyess had 14 points and 11 rebounds as Phoenix won for the ninth time in 12 games.

Boston 106, Seattle 96--Kenny Anderson, in his first game with the Celtics, scored eight of his 19 points in the final four minutes in the victory at Seattle.

Anderson, dealt from Portland to Toronto on February 13 and traded again five days later, made consecutive jump shots for a 93-85 Boston lead with 3:05 to play.

With the SuperSonics forced to foul, Anderson--playing for the first time since Feb. 13--connected on four of six free-throw attempts for a 99-90 lead with 55 seconds left.

Ron Mercer had 17 points, Antoine Walker 16 and ex-SuperSonic Dana Barros scored seven key points for the Celtics in the fourth quarter.

New York 98, Portland 89--Allan Houston made 16 of 20 field-goal attempts and scored 34 points as the Knicks rallied in the third quarter to win at Portland.

Houston set a career high with 16 field goals, and his 34 points matched his season high.

Larry Johnson scored 25 for the Knicks, including 12 in the fourth quarter.

The Trail Blazers, who never got closer than six points in the fourth, were led by Damon Stoudamire’s 22 points.

Milwaukee 94, Toronto 89--Armon Gilliam came off the bench to score a season-high 24 points and Glenn Robinson added 22 as the Bucks won at Milwaukee.

Doug Christie led the Raptors with 23 points, but it wasn’t enough to stop Toronto from extending its losing streak to six games. The loss kept interim coach Butch Carter winless in four games.

Atlanta 115, Vancouver 92--Steve Smith scored 21 points and the Hawks had a season-high 40-point first quarter in the win at Atlanta.

Tyrone Corbin scored 18 points and Alan Henderson had 15 for the Hawks, who improved to 8-1 in games at Georgia Tech and had their highest point total of the season.

The Grizzlies were led by Shareef Abdur-Rahim with 18 points. Abdur-Rahim also had seven of Vancouver’s 25 turnovers, which Atlanta turned into 35 points.

Minnesota 100, Houston 95--Kevin Garnett had 25 points and 17 rebounds, and Stephon Marbury scored 27 points on his 21st birthday as the Timberwolves snapped a two-game losing streak with an overtime victory at Minneapolis.

Charles Barkley, celebrating his 35th birthday, had a three-point attempt to tie the score go in-and-out with five seconds left in overtime. Terry Porter sealed the victory for the Timberwolves with two free throws with 2.9 seconds remaining.

Hakeem Olajuwon scored 15 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter.

Orlando 93, Indiana 91--Nick Anderson had a season-high 37 points and Derek Strong made the go-ahead jump shot with one minute to play as the Magic won at Orlando.

Reggie Miller grabbed his own missed free throw and tied the score at 91-91 with a three-point shot with 1:45 to play. Rik Smits missed a short jump shot with 33 seconds left, and Miller missed a wide-open three-point attempt at the buzzer.

Danny Schayes had 18 points and nine rebounds for Orlando, which won its third in a row. Smits scored 14 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter. Miller had 21 points.

Cleveland 109, New Jersey 95--Cedric Henderson and Shawn Kemp scored 27 points apiece and the Cavaliers held the Nets to 11 second-half field goals at East Rutherford, N.J.

Wesley Person scored 23 points as the Cavaliers broke a three-game losing streak and handed the Nets their worst home loss of the season.

Sam Cassell had 28 points to lead the Nets, who suited up only nine players because of an injury to Sherman Douglas (wrist) and the ineligibility of Rony Seikaly and Brian Evans, who were acquired from Orlando on Thursday.

Henderson’s 27 points, a career high, came one game after he was held scoreless in 26 minutes at Philadelphia. Kemp added 13 rebounds and a season-high eight assists.

Miami 91, Sacramento 77--Alonzo Mourning had 26 points and 15 rebounds as the Heat won at Sacramento.

Mourning and P.J. Brown dominated the inside in ending Sacramento’s four-game winning streak and extending Miami’s winning streak to five.

Golden State 95, Denver 88--Erick Dampier had 16 points and 12 rebounds and Jim Jackson and Clarence Weatherspoon combined for 26 points at Oakland in their Golden State debuts.

Denver lost for the 26th time in 27 road games, while Golden State won its second game in a row since trading Joe Smith and Brian Shaw.