Jones, Hornets Get Defensive

To hear the Charlotte Hornets tell it, they were just as surprised as anybody else to come up with one of the most prolific defensive efforts in club history Thursday night.

Eddie Jones had a franchise-record nine steals, helping the Hornets force a club-record 32 turnovers and convert them into 33 points on the way to a 98-89 victory over the Indiana Pacers at Charlotte, N.C.

“It was nothing new. We’ve been doing the same things, but tonight we were just on cue,” said Bobby Phills, who added three steals as the Hornets secured their first 2-0 start in the club’s 12 seasons. “To be able to cause a veteran team, a good team such as Indiana, to turn the ball over the way they did, that’s the perfect scenario. That’s utopia right there. You can’t ask for anything better.”

Instead, it was Jones who made the statement, adding 22 points and keying a 16-6 run in the first quarter that put the Hornets ahead to stay. Jones had six points and two steals in the surge, during which Charlotte forced six turnovers and converted them into 10 points for a 22-14 lead.

Jones’ steals total, which represents a career high for one of the NBA’s best defenders, helped the Hornets finish with 20 steals, their second-highest total ever. Rookie Baron Davis added four.

“Our athleticism showed up. We’re a little bit younger than they are,” Jones said. “It just happened to be clicking for me tonight. I was really getting in the passing lanes. I was just excited.”

Toronto 97, Miami 86--The Raptors, who outscored the Heat, 31-17, in the fourth quarter, ended an eight-game losing streak against Miami.

Doug Christie took a page out of the Heat’s book and played a little long ball at Toronto, making six three-point shots while scoring 28 points.

Miami, which had 10 three-point baskets in its home opener against Detroit, managed only four compared to Toronto’s 10. Vince Carter, who had 24 points for the Raptors, led a fourth-quarter surge with nine points.

Milwaukee 119, Atlanta 109--Ray Allen scored 31 points and Sam Cassell added 24 as the Bucks spoiled the Hawks’ first NBA game at Philips Arena.

The Hawks drew 18,154--about 2,000 short of capacity--in their first game at the $213-million arena. While it was the first basketball there, the facility has been open more than a month to accommodate the Atlanta Thrashers of the NHL.

Isaiah Rider, who missed Atlanta’s opener against Washington while attending his grandfather’s funeral, scored 19 points in his debut with the Hawks. But he made only seven of 22 from the field and committed six turnovers.

He was supposed to return to the Hawks for Wednesday’s practice, but failed to show and didn’t tell the team where he was.

“I just lost some of my people,” Rider said as he sat at his locker before the game. “The Hawks totally understand. As far as they’re concerned, it’s fine.”

Utah 98, Houston 82--Karl Malone scored 21 points to close in on a career milestone in helping the Jazz win at Salt Lake City.

Going into Saturday night’s game at Seattle, Malone needs 19 points to become the fourth player in NBA history to score 29,000 points. The others are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan.

The Jazz finished the third quarter with a 20-14 run and put the game out of reach with an 11-3 run over a span of 1:33 early in the fourth quarter.

San Antonio 104, Golden State 81--David Robinson is proving that his aching back is getting better.

The veteran center scored 19 points and Tim Duncan scored 15 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead the Spurs at San Antonio.

Robinson, 34, has suffered from a sore upper back after getting elbowed during an exhibition game in Houston. He also had tightness in his lower back, a problem that flares up from time to time. He missed two exhibition games because of the ailments.

Phoenix 84, Philadelphia 80--Penny Hardaway scored 18 points in his Phoenix debut and the Suns recovered from an early fourth-quarter collapse to win their home opener.

Jason Kidd scored seven of his 22 points in the final 5:12 for the Suns, who blew a nine-point lead at the start of the final period. Phoenix won despite 26 turnovers, thanks largely to a four-for-20 shooting performance by Allen Iverson.

Seattle 106, Dallas 96--Vin Baker and Vernon Maxwell each scored 22 points as the SuperSonics opened their home season by beating the Mavericks.

Cedric Ceballos scored 34 points for the Mavericks, who lost to the SuperSonics in overtime in their home opener last season.

Seattle got a dunk on an offensive rebound by Jelani McCoy with 5:29 left, and a steal and dunk by Brent Barry nine seconds later to take a 100-86 lead.