NBA ROUNDUP : Hornets Are at Their Sharpest During First Victory in Chicago

Dell Curry, Alonzo Mourning and Kendall Gill scored 19 points each Friday night as the Charlotte Hornets won at Chicago Stadium for the first time in franchise history, defeating the Bulls, 105-97.

“We could have beaten anybody in the league,” Charlotte Coach Allan Bristow said. “Our intensity and balanced scoring were a key. We were going after the ball, rebounding, cutting and setting screens.”

Larry Johnson added 18 points and 19 rebounds for the Hornets, who ended a 17-game losing streak against Chicago. Charlotte is 2-17 overall against the Bulls and 1-8 at Chicago Stadium.

Bull Coach Phil Jackson was philosophical about the Bulls’ previous success against the Hornets.

“Maybe it was their turn to win,” he said. “But they stood us on our hind leg and beat us good. The ball would not go in the basket. Maybe you can attribute that to the gods, but we had a lot of shots go in and out.”

Michael Jordan led all scorers with 28 points. Scottie Pippen had 21 points and B.J. Armstrong 18.

“We can sit here and make excuses all day long, but they played well,” Jordan said. “We missed a lot of easy shots and you have to give them credit. Alonzo really came in and did a good job on defense. I’m not going to make any poor excuses for our shooting (40%).”

San Antonio 123, Detroit 109--David Robinson had 25 points and 18 rebounds at San Antonio as the Spurs tied a franchise record with their eighth consecutive victory.

San Antonio also got 17 points from Avery Johnson, whose promotion to starting point guard started the Spurs on their winning streak. San Antonio is 13-2 since John Lucas became coach Dec. 18.

J.R. Reid and Dale Ellis each added 16 points for the Spurs, who had won eight in a row on four previous occasions, most recently in December 1990.

Detroit has lost five in a row.

Phoenix 122, Washington 115-- Charles Barkley returned from a one-game suspension with 21 points on nine-for-11 shooting, and rookie Richard Dumas scored 26 points as the Suns ended a two-game losing streak by defeating the Bullets at Landover, Md.

Barkley was fined $10,000 and suspended for one game for jumping on the scorer’s table and cursing officials in a game at New York on Monday. After sitting out a game against Cleveland on Wednesday, he made his first eight shots against the Bullets.

“I didn’t warrant the suspension,” Barkley said. “(Tennis star) Jim Courier cursed out the official (at the Australian Open) and gave him an obscene gesture and he only gets fined $1,000. I think I’m in the wrong sport. Maybe I’ll take up tennis.”

Pervis Ellison scored 27 points and Harvey Grant 25 for the Bullets, who have lost four in a row.

Seattle 118, Golden State 114-- Ricky Pierce scored 33 points and combined with Gary Payton for 22 of Seattle’s 27 points in the two overtime periods as the SuperSonics defeated the Warriors at Oakland.

Payton, who had nine points in the two extra periods and 23 overall, scored seven consecutive points and made a key steal in the final 2:28 of the second overtime to put the SuperSonics ahead, 115-109, with 13 seconds remaining.

New York 109, Philadelphia 91--Patrick Ewing scored 34 points and John Starks had 32 as the Knicks won their third in a row by defeating the 76ers at Philadelphia.

It was the third game in a row that Ewing scored more than 30 points after he reached 30 only three times in New York’s first 35 games. The 7-footer scored 30 against Charlotte and 35 against Phoenix in the Knicks’ two previous games.

Jeff Hornacek led Philadelphia, which had a six-game home winning streak ended, with 23 points.

Rolando Blackman fouled out of the game in the fourth quarter, the first time the Knick guard was disqualified in 900 regular-season games. Wilt Chamberlain holds the NBA record of 1,045 games without being disqualified.

Atlanta 102, New Jersey 91--Dominique Wilkins scored 18 of his 38 points and made seven of eight shots in the final 12:36 as the Hawks beat the Nets at Atlanta.

It was the sixth victory in eight games for the Hawks and the second consecutive loss for the Nets, who had a five-game winning streak ended by Chicago on Thursday night.

Portland 135, Sacramento 127--Terry Porter and Cliff Robinson scored 27 points each as the Trail Blazers established their season-high scoring output in a victory over the Kings at Portland.

Mitch Richmond led the Kings, who have lost 18 in a row in Portland, with 27 points. Anthony Bonner matched his season highs with 23 points and 14 rebounds.

Clyde Drexler added 23 points for the Trail Blazers, whose previous high for points in a game this season was 130 against Golden State on Nov. 14.

Miami 110, Orlando 104--Glen Rice scored 31 points as the Heat made 44 of 52 free throws and ended a four-game losing streak by beating the Magic at Orlando.

Rony Seikaly, four of 17 from the field but 10 of 12 from the foul line, made two free throws to break a 102-102 tie. Rice followed with two foul shots and Seikaly, who had 18 points, made two more for a 108-102 lead.