Jordan Gets the Last Word

They yapped, jawed and traded barbs. They crashed to the floor together after one collision. And after a timeout, they exchanged a lighthearted head butt.

It wasn’t the playground, only two good friends, Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley, going at one another on national TV on a Sunday afternoon.

“There was a lot of trash talking today, most done by me and Charles. It just adds to the game,” Jordan said after scoring 45 points and leading the Bulls past Barkley and the Houston Rockets, 106-100, at Chicago.

“You may see us jawing at each other every now and then. I think the fans get an understanding of the competitiveness between us and it’s not done in a nasty way. It’s done with a lot of smiling,” said Jordan, who made two three-point shots to keep the Rockets at bay after they had pulled within 90-87.

Barkley, like Jordan, did more than run his mouth. He scored 35 points--19 over his average--and had 14 rebounds but still the Rockets lost for the 10th time in 14 games.

“We are tight. That was just us playing around. Michael is like a brother to me and we have a great relationship,” Barkley said.

The Rockets played without injured stars Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler and then lost guard Mario Elie with 6:54 left in the first half when he strained his left shoulder after colliding under the basket with Scottie Pippen, who scored a season-high 23 points.

Phoenix 96, Miami 87--Antonio McDyess scored 20 points and Jason Kidd barely missed a triple-double at Phoenix as the Suns defeated the Heat.

Kidd had nine points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds, falling one point short of his third triple-double in his last 12 games.

The Suns built a 25-point lead in the first half and then held off the Heat, who lost their third consecutive game for the first time this season.

Miami closed to 91-87 when Jamal Mashburn, who scored 25 points, hit a short jumper with 1:03 remaining.

But McDyess, who needed five stitches to close a cut after getting elbowed by Miami’s Alonzo Mourning with 9:32 to play, sank three free throws in the final 53.8 seconds to clinch the victory.

Mourning (17 points) played only 19 minutes before fouling out with 7:08 left.

San Antonio 98, Milwaukee 92--The Spurs scored the first eight points in overtime as David Robinson finished with 30 points and 11 rebounds and Tim Duncan had 20 points and 15 rebounds in a victory over the Bucks at Milwaukee.

The Spurs won their fifth in a row and 17th of their last 19.

The Bucks, without leading scorer Glenn Robinson because of flu, were led by Terrell Brandon with 19 points.

Portland 94, Denver 82--Gary Trent scored 16 of his career-high 27 points in the third quarter to help the Trail Blazers finally shake off the visiting Nuggets, who matched the second-longest losing streak in NBA history with their 20th consecutive defeat.

The loss tied the skid by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1973 and the Dallas Mavericks in 1993. They are three losses from the Vancouver Grizzlies’ 23 losses in a row in 1996.