Ventura Can’t Govern Outcome

Gov. Jesse Ventura’s outburst and Coach Flip Saunders’ ejection weren’t enough to spark the Minnesota Timberwolves Saturday night at Minneapolis.

Michael Finley scored 32 points and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Timberwolves, 103-84.

It was Minnesota’s most-lopsided loss of the season.

Saunders was ejected by referee Ron Olesiak with 10:11 left, when he got two consecutive technicals for arguing. Malik Sealy received a technical seconds earlier.

A few minutes later, Ventura got into a heated argument with the referees and with security as they tried to remove a fan at courtside.

Ventura, who sits about 20 feet off the court behind the basket, pointed and screamed at the officials, prompting the 16,671 in attendance to chant, “Jesse, Jesse.”

According to Bob Goedderz, head of security at the Target Center, Ventura was telling security to “Arrest the official.” The fan was allowed to stay.

Meanwhile, on the court, Cedric Ceballos had 25 points and 12 rebounds and Dirk Nowitzki added 19 points for the Mavericks.

“Terrible day at the office,” said Kevin Garnett, who scored 20 points on eight-of-19 shooting. “UPS was late, lights going out, fax ain’t working.”

Sacramento 114, Washington 104--Chris Webber had 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against his old team at Washington.

Webber has 10 career triple-doubles--including two this season--and five of them have come against either Golden State or Washington, the two teams that have traded him.

Webber hit the trifecta in grand style. Told during a timeout that he needed one more assist for the triple-double, he stole a pass from Rod Strickland and fed Predrag Stojakovic for a layup with 5:46 remaining to make the score 106-88.

Utah 94, Golden State 82--John Stockton scored eight points for the Jazz at Oakland to give him 16,000 for his career.

Stockton is the 65th player in NBA history to reach the milestone.

Karl Malone scored 17 of his 29 points in the third quarter as the Jazz handed the Warriors their ninth consecutive loss.

Houston 105, Phoenix 95--Shandon Anderson scored 26 points and Charles Barkley added 21, including 15 in the second half, as the Rockets won in Houston and ended the Suns’ seven-game winning streak.

It was the first time this season that the Rockets, who beat the Clippers on Thursday, put together back-to-back victories.

Milwaukee 92, Chicago 91--Glenn Robinson made a jump shot with 13.6 seconds left and the Bucks survived three Chicago misses just before the buzzer at Chicago.

The Bulls, who had rallied from a 17-point deficit in the second quarter, suffered their ninth consecutive loss and fell to 1-14.

Atlanta 112, Detroit 110--Jim Jackson scored a season-high 33 points and Isaiah Rider added 30 to lead the Hawks at Atlanta.

The Hawks’ Alan Henderson gave the Pistons a chance to win by throwing an inbounds pass right to Detroit’s Grant Hill with 2.8 seconds to play. Hill, who finished with 33 points, dribbled quickly past halfcourt and missed a potential game-winning three-pointer.

Philadelphia 77, Boston 74--Tyrone Hill had 14 points, including four in the final two minutes, to lead the 76ers at Philadelphia.

Hill, who also had nine rebounds, scored four consecutive points after the 76ers had fallen behind by two late in the fourth quarter.

He made two free throws with 1:51 left and a jumper from the baseline with 1:08 remaining to give the 76ers a 76-74 lead.

New York 92, New Jersey 82--Allan Houston scored 14 of his 24 points in the first quarter and came up with a key loose ball in the final two minutes at East Rutherford, N.J.

Around the League

The MCI Center in Washington will be the site of the NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 11, 2001, the league announced. . . . A former adult entertainer has agreed to dismiss the federal lawsuit she filed in Las Vegas in June 1998 against Dennis Rodman. Dixie Johnson, 48, claimed Rodman sexually assaulted her at the Las Vegas Hilton in April 1998 by grabbing one of her breasts. Gregory Hafen, a Las Vegas attorney who represented Rodman in the case, would not say whether the dismissal meant the parties had reached a settlement.