Hornets Still Have Phills in Thoughts

The tears in David Wesley’s bloodshot eyes told the story moments before tipoff. The grieving wasn’t over, even if the game was about to begin.

Wesley and the Charlotte Hornets were in no shape to play Saturday night, and it showed at the start and at the finish. Playing only three days after the death of teammate Bobby Phills in a car crash, the Hornets lost, 91-79, at New York.

Although there were bursts of energy and moments of cohesiveness, the Hornets started slowly and finished poorly in their first time together on a basketball court since practice Wednesday morning, a few hours before Phills was killed.

“There were times when I went to the bench and thought to myself that we really could have used Bobby,” teammate Eddie Jones said. “I went in and out like that when I was off the court, but when I was on the court I was concentrating on the game.”

Wearing black patches with Phills’ uniform No. 13 on their shoulders, along with “13 B.P.” etched in chalk on their sneakers, the Hornets trailed almost the entire game in losing their seventh in a row.

The Knicks started the game with a 19-7 run and locked up the victory with a 13-2 run in the fourth quarter after Charlotte rallied to tie it at 63-all.

Wesley, who had six points, was driving with a suspended license when police say he was racing Phills moments before the accident, the Charlotte Observer reported.

Dallas 113, Portland 105--Michael Finley scored 32 points and Hubert Davis made three late three-point shots at Dallas as the Mavericks ended an eight-game losing streak against the Trail Blazers.

Portland forward Rasheed Wallace, fined $7,500 Saturday by the NBA for yelling at the officials and failing to leave the court quickly after an ejection Friday night, was ejected in the third quarter Saturday after receiving his second technical foul.

Houston 93, Chicago 90--Upset when the Bulls made Elton Brand and not him the first pick in last summer’s draft, Steve Francis matched a career high with 27 points and had 11 assists as the Rockets defeated the Bulls at Chicago.

Indiana 96, Orlando 89--Austin Croshere led six Pacers in double figures with 14 points as they won for the 12th time in 15 games with a victory at Orlando, Fla.

Philadelphia 101, Atlanta 98--Allen Iverson scored 31 points and Matt Geiger added 22 as the 76ers won at Atlanta, giving them seven victories in their last nine games.

Boston 99, New Jersey 96--Antoine Walker scored 14 of his season-high 39 points in the fourth quarter, including his team’s final seven, to lead the Celtics to a victory over the Nets at East Rutherford, N.J.

Detroit 112, Washington 107--Grant Hill scored the go-ahead basket with 1:07 left to cap a 39-point performance as the Pistons rallied from 16 points down with 21 minutes to go at Washington.

Sacramento 114, Golden State 99--Chris Webber matched a season high with 37 points at Oakland and the Warriors suffered their 12th consecutive loss.