Mavericks Bullish Over Barkley Insult

Charles Barkley said the Dallas Mavericks couldn’t win the NCAA tournament.

The lowly Mavericks, however, proved they could beat the NBA champion Chicago Bulls with a 104-97 overtime victory Thursday night at Dallas.

The Mavericks, chided by Barkley after a 97-91 Houston victory on Tuesday, erased a 19-point fourth-quarter deficit against the Bulls before a crowd of 18,255--the largest in Reunion Arena history.

The Bulls led, 85-68, with 5:43 left in regulation, but did not score a field goal over the final 3:44. It caught up to them when Cedric Ceballos made a wild three-pointer with two defenders on him to tie the game at 91 with 3.9 seconds left. Toni Kukoc had a chance to win the game, but missed a layup at the buzzer.

Ceballos opened overtime with a dunk that gave the Mavericks their first lead of the game--and one they would not relinquish.

Michael Jordan had 26 points for the Bulls.

Denver 98, Vancouver 93--Anthony Goldwire made two three-pointers in the final minute at Denver as the Nuggets ended a 16-game losing streak.

Despite the win, the Nuggets (6-58) remained on pace to eclipse the worst record in NBA history (9-73) set by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1972-73.

Houston 115, New Jersey 104--Clyde Drexler scored 33 points at Houston, including five in the final minute, as the Rockets extended the Nets’ losing streak to seven games.

San Antonio 97, Sacramento 86--David Robinson had his nose bloodied in the first quarter at San Antonio when he caught an elbow but returned to score 29 points to lead the Spurs, who clinched a playoff spot.

Miami 97, Cleveland 74--Mark Strickland and Alonzo Mourning scored 13 apiece to lead six Heat players in double figures at Miami.

Portland 95, Minnesota 92--Arvydas Sabonis had 28 points, 20 rebounds and the game-winning basket with 7.2 seconds remaining at Portland, Ore.

Sabonis scored on a rebound to put the Trail Blazers ahead 93-92. Isaiah Rider was fouled after teammate Rasheed Wallace stole the inbounds pass and made both free throws with one second remaining.

NBA Notes

Penny Hardaway of the Orlando Magic, sidelined because of a strained left calf, went on the injured list Thursday and said he expects to be out for the rest of the season. Mark Price, out since Feb. 18 when he suffered ligament damage in his left thumb against Minnesota, was activated by the Magic. . . . Miami Heat guard-forward Keith Askins is likely to be sidelined six weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to remove torn cartilage in his knee. The Heat also waived guard Malcolm Huckaby.