Jones Is Leading Man Again for the Hornets

Being asked to take over games is still a relatively new concept for Eddie Jones, even though the results might not show it.

After four-plus seasons of playing mostly a supporting role for the Lakers, Jones is being asked to shoulder more of a scoring load with the Charlotte Hornets. Wednesday night was one of those games, with the Hornets playing without starting center Elden Campbell (flu) and guard Bobby Phills (sore hamstring).

“When we need production, Eddie’s got to step up big for us,” Coach Paul Silas said after Jones had 30 points and 10 assists as the Hornets defeated the Golden State Warriors, 113-106, at Charlotte, N.C., handing the visitors their 11th consecutive loss.

Jones scored 23 in the second half and powered a 22-6 run by Charlotte to close the third quarter.

Silas said he didn’t have to say anything special before the game to Jones, who made 10 of 18 shots.

“I just let him play and called his number a little bit more,” he said. “And he responded.”

Jones, who came in leading the NBA with 2.94 steals a game, added four more to go with four rebounds and three blocked shots as the Hornets improved to 8-1 at home.

“I knew I was going to get an opportunity to get to the basket and create,” Jones said. “Everything was just flowing.”

Golden State’s Antawn Jamison, making his first appearance in his hometown, had 26 points and 10 rebounds but missed a crucial dunk that ended a rally by the Warriors in the fourth quarter.

Seattle 110, Minnesota 94--Gary Payton scored a season-high 36 points, and Vin Baker had 22 points and 13 rebounds for the SuperSonics at Seattle.

Payton also had 10 assists and a season-high seven three-point baskets.

Utah 85, Dallas 79--Karl Malone had 29 points and 10 rebounds, and the Jazz survived a fourth-quarter rally by the Mavericks at Salt Lake City,

Bryon Russell added 13 points, and John Stockton and Jeff Hornacek each had 11 as Utah won its third in a row for the first time this season.

Boston 115, Denver 90--Tony Battie had 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Celtics took advantage of a bad night by former Celtic Ron Mercer at Boston.

Mercer leads the Nuggets in scoring, but he was rusty after sitting out two games because of a sinus infection and made only one of six shots, scoring two points and sitting out the last 20 minutes.

Cleveland 107, Chicago 93--Bob Sura scored 24 of his 29 points in the first half and the Cavaliers romped at Cleveland, handing the Bulls their 10th consecutive loss. The Bulls are 1-15, matching the worst start in franchise history.

New Jersey 107, Milwaukee 90--Stephon Marbury showed NBA assists leader Sam Cassell some nifty passing of his own, matching a season high with 14 assists at East Rutherford, N.J.

In a dominant all-around performance against the player who preceded him as the Nets’ playmaker, Marbury outscored Cassell, 25-10.

Around the League

A doctor at the drug rehabilitation clinic where Leslie Price was being treated testified in Columbia, S.C., that Price told him she was sexually assaulted by Charlotte Hornet owner George Shinn. Price is suing Shinn, accusing him of sexually assaulting her at his Tega Cay home. . . . Toni Kukoc, who has sat out the last 11 games because of back spasms, was placed on the injured list by the Chicago Bulls, who got more bad news when leading scorer Elton Brand was scratched from Wednesday night’s game because of a hip pointer. . . . Patrick Ewing of the New York Knicks was fined $10,000 by the NBA for failing to make himself available to reporters over the last few weeks as he has neared a return from a ruptured Achilles’ tendon. In addition, the Knicks were fined $25,000 for failing to comply with league media rules. . . . Jerry Stackhouse of the Detroit Pistons, who left North Carolina in 1995 after his sophomore season, will receive his degree Dec. 18. . . . Forward Tracy McGrady of the Toronto Raptors will sit out Friday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks to attend the funeral of a family friend in Florida.