Dallas Wins as A.C. Reaches Milestone

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Vancouver Grizzlies, 91-74, Saturday night at Dallas. But the big story of the evening had nothing to do with wins and losses.

The game was the 1,000th in a row for Maverick forward A.C. Green, and he was awarded the game ball after the game.

Hubert Davis hit four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to lead the defensive-minded Mavericks, who gave Green an honorary game ball and the jokester gift of a cane in a ceremony shortly before the tipoff.

Green, who scored 11 points, became the NBA’s career iron man when he played his 907th consecutive game on Nov. 20 against Golden State, passing Randy Smith. Green last missed a game on Nov. 18, 1986 with the Lakers at Dallas.

The 35-year-old Green had three steals and six rebounds as he played 38 minutes.

“I’m not a super man, I just have a heart that loves to play basketball,” said Green, who wouldn’t allow interviews before the game. “The streak is a nice honor for me and the team.”

Orlando 87, Golden State 74--Darrell Armstrong had 16 points off the bench as the Magic overcame poor shooting by its starting backcourt to defeat the Warriors at Oakland and break a three-game losing streak.

With Anfernee Hardaway being held to 10 points on four-of-13 shooting and Nick Anderson getting nine points on three-of-16 shooting, Armstrong rescued the Magic by hitting five of his six shots and six of seven free throws.

San Antonio 92, Denver 61--Tim Duncan scored 27 points in leading the Spurs to their seventh consecutive victory, defeating the Nuggets at San Antonio.

The 61 points by Denver set a franchise low for points in a game and was the lowest point total ever scored against San Antonio. The Nuggets’ previous low was 63.

Denver dropped its seventh game in a row despite 23 points from Antonio McDyess and 16 from Nick Van Exel. The Nuggets connected on only 21 of 73 of their shots.

Utah 99, Minnesota 72--Karl Malone scored 26 points at Salt Lake City to lead the Jazz to their fourth consecutive victory.

The Timberwolves, playing their first game with Terrell Brandon, suffered their sixth loss in their last 11 games.

Kevin Garnett was the only Minnesota player to score in double figures with 22 points. He also grabbed 14 rebounds.

Houston 100, Cleveland 89--Hakeem Olajuwon continued his resurgence with 24 points and Scottie Pippen scored 15 of his 16 points in the second half as the Rockets escaped with an 11-point victory at Houston.

The Rockets built a 54-36 halftime lead on a strong start by Olajuwon but for the second consecutive game, the Rockets couldn’t put their opponent away. The Rockets had a big lead against Vancouver on Thursday before struggling to a 102-91 victory.

Olajuwon has averaged 25.2 points over the past four games.

Atlanta 86, Toronto 75--Alan Henderson scored a season-high 24 points, and Steve Smith added 17 as the Hawks continued their mastery over Toronto, defeating the Raptors at Atlanta.

Now 13-1 all-time against the Raptors, the Hawks avenged a March 4 home loss by outscoring Toronto 31-16 at the free-throw line. Atlanta won for only the second time in six games at Georgia Tech.

Around the League

The New York Knicks waived veteran swingman Dennis Scott and activated guard David Wingate, who had been sidelined for the past week with tendinitis in his right knee. Scott appeared in 15 games for the Knicks, averaging 2.9 points and 1.3 rebounds in just under 14 minutes per contest. . . . Guard Kerry Kittles signed a six-year contract extension with the New Jersey Nets on Saturday. Kittles and the Nets had until midnight Saturday to reach an agreement on the extension. If they had not, Kittles would have become a free agent on July 1. . . . Two days after acquiring Vitaly Potapenko from the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Boston Celtics announced the signing of the center-forward to a long-term contract, reported to be around $33 million for six years. . . . The Cleveland Cavaliers signed free agent forward Corie Blount, who was waived by the Lakers on Wednesday. . . . The Atlanta Hawks placed LaPhonso Ellis on the injured list following their victory over Toronto with back spasms.