Elliott Gives Spurs a Timely Lift

With Tim Duncan and David Robinson in top form and Sean Elliott beginning to contribute, the San Antonio Spurs appear ready for the playoffs.

Duncan scored 30 points, Robinson added 23, and Elliott made a pivotal three-point shot as the NBA’s defending champions used a 17-3 fourth-quarter run to beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 90-82, Monday night at Seattle for their third consecutive victory.

The Spurs dominated inside. Duncan grabbed 18 rebounds and Robinson had 16 rebounds and four blocked shots.

“Last year we won these type of games,” Robinson said. “Tonight was a good sign.”

Elliott, playing his seventh game since being activated after a kidney transplant, scored 10 points, including the three-point shot that gave the Spurs an 80-76 lead with 5:30 left.

“Tonight was kind of like the old us,” said Elliott, whose 26 minutes were the most he’s played in his comeback. “I feel good. I wasn’t too tired out there.”

The Spurs, who allow opponents an average of 89.9 points a game to lead the league in scoring defense, held the SuperSonics to six-for-20 shooting in the fourth quarter.

“I was thrilled with our defense because that’s what we predicate our game on,” Spur Coach Gregg Popovich said.

The SuperSonics lost their fourth consecutive home game and slipped into eighth in the Western Conference playoff race.

Dallas 113, Utah 105--Michael Finley scored 24 of his 31 points in the first half, Hubert Davis had 13 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and Steve Nash made six free throws in the final 49.2 seconds as the Mavericks beat the Jazz at Salt Lake City.

The Mavericks ended a 12-game losing streak to Utah. They hadn’t won in Salt Lake City since Feb. 9, 1989, a span of 25 games. It also was Dallas’ first victory in 21 games at the Delta Center, which opened in 1991.

Around the League

Claiming the NBA’s use of locker room cameras is an illegal change in working conditions, the league’s players filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board. The union also wants to stop the NBA from using boom microphones in team huddles during timeouts. “The NBA cannot impose these changes without the union’s consent,” union lawyer Robert Lanza said. . . . Charlotte guard Eldridge Recasner pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fourth-degree assault in a Dec. 24 clash with a Continental Airlines clerk. Recasner, 32, a former University of Washington player, was sentenced to a 24-month deferred sentence, 45 hours of community service and ordered to pay $200 in court costs. Recasner lost his temper while trying to book a flight to Texas to visit his sister, who was involved in a serious car accident, police said, adding that Recasner grabbed the clerk’s tie and dragged him across a table. . . . Drew Barry signed with the Atlanta Hawks, taking Isaiah Rider’s spot on the roster.