Kukoc Makes an Impact for 76ers

A packed house, a standing ovation and a blowout victory. It must have reminded Toni Kukoc of the glory days in Chicago.

Playing his first game for an NBA team other than the Chicago Bulls, Kukoc helped the Philadelphia 76ers to a 104-75 rout of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night at Philadelphia. It was the most lopsided victory victory of the season for the 76ers, who play host to the Lakers on Sunday.

“It’s going to be a little bit of an adjustment for me,” said Kukoc, who had 11 points and four assists and electrified his new home with a deft display of passing and shooting. “I mean, seven years in the same place, doing the same things, you get comfortable.”

Actually, Kukoc looked awfully comfortable in his new surroundings from the moment he stepped on the court.

“If he plays like this every night, I think it becomes contagious,” 76er Coach Larry Brown said.

The 6-foot-11 swingman, acquired from the Bulls on Wednesday, brought down the house with a windmill finger-roll off a 60-foot bounce pass from Allen Iverson. The sensational basket gave Philadelphia a 92-62 lead.

As far as Brown was concerned, that wasn’t even Kukoc’s best play of the night. Brown, a former point guard who has been preaching pass-first, shoot-second for decades, was ecstatic with Kukoc’s unselfishness.

“If you pass the ball and move yourself, it’s a pretty simple game,” Brown said.

Kukoc came off the bench in the first quarter, made five of seven shots and got burned a couple of times on defense--though nobody seemed to mind. He got another ovation from the crowd of 20,383 when he went to the bench with 4:39 to play.

Portland 93, Washington 85--Arvydas Sabonis scored 17 points and Damon Stoudamire had 15 at Portland as the Trail Blazers again played poorly but still won their 13th consecutive home game.

The Trail Blazers, who have won 13 of 14, stayed a half-game ahead of the Lakers for the NBA’s best record at 41-11. But for the fourth game in a row, they needed a late surge to beat one of the league’s worst teams.

Portland, which struggled past the Clippers just before the All-Star break and looked awful in twice beating the Golden State Warriors this week, made only 37% of its shots.

Sacramento 118, Seattle 85--Reserve Predrag Stojakovic scored a season-high 21 points as the Kings romped at Sacramento.

Sacramento, which had lost two in a row and eight of 13, led by 18 points at halftime.

Gary Payton of the SuperSonics, who scored a career-high 41 points in his last game, finished with 13 points and 12 assists, making only four of 19 shots.

San Antonio 116, Houston 92--Tim Duncan scored 19 points at San Antonio to lead the Spurs to their seventh consecutive victory over the Rockets.

Terry Porter added 17 points for San Antonio and David Robinson had 16. Robinson, who had seven steals, became the Spurs’ all-time leader with 1,129, surpassing Alvin Robertson.

Denver 95, Toronto 91--Antonio McDyess scored 24 points at Toronto as the Nuggets ended the Raptors’ seven-game home winning streak.

Raef LaFrentz had 18 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, and Nick Van Exel added 17 points for the Nuggets, who won for the second time in their last 12 road games.

New Jersey 91, Miami 84--Stephon Marbury stepped up after the Heat took the lead early in the fourth quarter and scored nine of his 18 points to lead the Nets at East Rutherford, N.J.

Golden State 122, Boston 100--Larry Hughes scored 21 points in his Warrior debut to lead the rout at Oakland.

Minnesota 103, Vancouver 91--Kevin Garnett had 17 points and 10 rebounds at Minneapolis, finishing one assist shy of the third triple-double of his career.

Phoenix 85, Atlanta 73--Rodney Rogers scored 24 points at Phoenix to help the Suns to their fifth consecutive victory.