Suns Defeat Rockets, Barkley Blasts Official

There was no rest for the weary Houston Rockets. Just double-overtime instead of the usual overtime, followed by a verbal blast at referee Mike Mathis that will surely cost Charles Barkley.

Penny Hardaway and Jason Kidd both flirted with triple-doubles as the Phoenix Suns won their seventh in a row with a wild 128-122 victory over the Rockets on Wednesday night at Phoenix.

The Rockets tied an NBA record by playing their third consecutive overtime game. They lost at Portland on Friday and won at Vancouver on Sunday, becoming the first team since the Milwaukee Bucks in December 1997 to play three consecutive overtime games.

Barkley, called for a foul while rebounding a missed free throw by teammate Kelvin Cato with 3.5 seconds to play in the first overtime, placed all the blame on Mathis, one of seven officials reinstated by the NBA after they resigned last year following charges of tax violations.

“We lost the game because of one reason--Mike Mathis,” Barkley said. “I ain’t going to say nothing else. He’s a bad official. He’s been bad the whole time I’ve been in the league. He cost us the game tonight, and I hate that he’s back in the league.”

Cliff Robinson scored a season-high 25 points, including four-of-five shooting on three-point shots. Hardaway had 21 points, eight assists and eight rebounds. Kidd, despite five-of-19 shooting, had 17 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds and four steals.

Denver 100, Detroit 96--Antonio McDyess had 24 points and 11 rebounds and Raef LaFrentz added 19 and a key blocked shot in the final seconds for the Nuggets at Denver.

Ron Mercer also had 23 points for the Nuggets, who had lost five in a row to Detroit. Denver, which played nearly the entire second half without Coach Dan Issel and Nick Van Exel after early third-quarter ejections, ended a two-game losing streak.

Grant Hill scored 39 points for the Pistons.

Cleveland 111, Washington 108--Shawn Kemp scored nine of his 30 points in the final four minutes to lead the Cavaliers at Washington.

The Cavaliers trailed, 95-93, with less than four minutes to play when Kemp went to work, making seven of eight free throws and a follow shot.

Miami 90, Philadelphia 83--Alonzo Mourning had 28 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocked shots for the Heat at Miami in a matchup of teams playing without their star point guards.

Miami, which won its fourth in a row without starting point guard Tim Hardaway, improved to 12-3 for the best start in franchise history. Hardaway was placed on the injured list before the game because of a jammed right knee.

The 76ers were without Allen Iverson, last season’s NBA scoring champion, who is sidelined because of a broken hand.

Portland 94, Charlotte 90--Detlef Schrempf scored 18 points and Greg Anthony made two big shots late in the game to lead the Trail Blazers at Portland.

Portland, coming off its first home loss of the season Monday to the Indiana Pacers, squandered a 12-point lead to start the third quarter and didn’t cement the victory until the final minutes.

Indiana 96, Vancouver 89--Reggie Miller scored 26 points at Vancouver as the Pacers handed the Grizzlies their ninth consecutive loss.

Around the League

Houston Rocket center Hakeem Olajuwon had surgery to repair a hernia. Team physician Walter Lowe said the 45-minute outpatient procedure to correct a gap in Olajuwon’s abdominal wall should end the extreme pain and weakness initially attributed to a groin strain. Olajuwon is expected to be sidelined for four to six weeks. . . . The Portland Trail Blazers placed reserve Jermaine O’Neal on the injured list because of a sore left ankle and activated center Joe Kleine, who had been on the injured list since Nov. 16 because of a sprained right index finger. . . . Dennis Scott, who sat out the first 14 games of the season because of a pulled hamstring, was activated from the injured list by the Vancouver Grizzlies.