Karl Wins His First With Bucks

Ray Allen scored the first seven points in overtime for the Milwaukee Bucks, making a winner of new coach George Karl with a 113-107 victory over Charlotte Saturday night at Charlotte.

Allen finished with 25 points in the Bucks’ regular-season debut.

Glenn Robinson added 25 for the Bucks, who finished 10 games under .500 last season but opened this year with good defense, forcing 23 turnovers and converting them into 28 points.

Bobby Phills had 18 points and Derrick Coleman and B.J. Armstrong added 17 apiece for the Hornets.

Atlanta 111, New Jersey 106--Steve Smith scored 28 points for the Hawks, including a key three-pointer late in the game, then got into a fight with New Jersey’s Kendall Gill after the final buzzer at Atlanta.

Smith and Gill, who confronted each other several times during the game, got into a fight on the way to the locker room. Both players fell to the floor and had to be separated by Georgia Dome security.

New Jersey guard Sam Cassell, who scored a career-high 36 points, had to be taken off the floor in a wheelchair after a left thigh cramp forced him to leave in the final seconds.

Houston 86, Golden State 84--Charles Barkley had eight of his 18 points during a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter and rookie Cuttino Mobley hit a decisive three-point basket with 20 seconds left for the Rockets at Oakland.

Scottie Pippen added 17 points, Mobley had 13 in his NBA debut and Hakeem Olajuwon 12 for Houston.

Barkley added 20 rebounds.

John Starks had 15 points in his first game for the Warriors.

Philadelphia 95, Orlando 75--Matt Geiger had 20 points and Allen Iverson had 16 points and 10 assists for the 76ers at Orlando.

Although Iverson had his second straight poor shooting night (five for 18), he electrified the crowd with a brilliant coast-to-coast drive that made the score 76-64 with 9:34 left.

Boston 77, Cleveland 73--Paul Pierce, who slipped to the 10th spot in the draft after being touted as a likely top three pick, scored 15 fourth-quarter points to carry the Celtics to a 77-73 victory at Boston.

Antoine Walker led Boston with 22 points.

Cleveland was led by Shawn Kemp with 18 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Washington 98, Toronto 97--Calbert Cheaney made a 20-foot jumper with 11.3 seconds left as the Wizards rallied from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter at Washington.

Mitch Richmond scored 26 points for Washington, which won its first home opener since 1995. Rod Strickland, making his first start since signing Thursday, had 16 points and 11 assists.

San Antonio 96, Minnesota 82--Sean Elliott and Tim Duncan led a balanced Spur attack with 22 points apiece at San Antonio.

The Spurs turned in another dominating defensive performance, limiting the Timberwolves to 31% shooting and blocking 12 shots--seven by David Robinson.

Around the NBA

For the first time, the Washington Wizards will be the hosts for the NBA draft. The league said Saturday that the draft would be held June 30 at the MCI Center.