NBA ROUNDUP : Green’s 31 Power Suns Past Trail Blazers

A.C. Green scored 31 points and Kevin Johnson added 27 to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 118-109 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers at Phoenix on Friday night.

Green finished two points shy of his career high. He said the victory didn’t come easily against Portland mainstays such as Clyde Drexler and Cliff Robinson.

“They did a great job, and we have to continue to play hard every single game to get a victory,” Green said. “And they played last night. They probably didn’t have all the advantages going their way.”

Drexler scored 29 points and Robinson had 18.

Charles Barkley had 21 points and 16 rebounds for the Suns.

Minnesota 113, Sacramento 108--Christian Laettner and Bobby Hurley met at Minneapolis for the first time as pros after leading Duke to NCAA titles in 1991 and 1992.

Laettner scored five points on two-for-eight shooting in the first half but finished with 27. He also had 13 rebounds.

Hurley, the Kings’ top pick last June, had 11 points and 11 assists but committed six turnovers and had trouble defending against Micheal Williams, who scored 25 points.

Detroit 95, San Antonio 86--Joe Dumars scored 12 of his 24 points in the final seven minutes at Auburn Hills, Mich.

The game marked Dennis Rodman’s first game against the Pistons, for whom he played for the first seven years of his career.

Rodman was ejected with 1:40 to play after picking up his second technical, finishing with eight points and 14 rebounds.

Charlotte 127, Washington 111--The Hornets set a franchise record at Charlotte with their fifth consecutive victory.

Clinging to a one-point lead early in the third quarter, the Hornets went on a 13-2 run to pull ahead by 84-72.

Philadelphia 124, Utah 115--Orlando Woolridge scored 25 points at Philadelphia in only his third game for the 76ers.

Shawn Bradley, the 76ers’ No. 1 draft choice, didn’t start and played only eight minutes. He has been complaining of lightheadedness and dizziness since being poked in the left eye Monday night.

Jeff Hornacek scored 23 points for the 76ers.

Karl Malone led the Jazz with 32 points and John Stockton added 25.

Boston 115, Orlando 106--Kevin Gamble scored 14 points as the Celtics pulled away in the third quarter and overcame a 41-point performance by Shaquille O’Neal at Boston.

Gamble, who finished with 18 points, got the first four baskets of a 10-0 run and the last three of a 14-5 spurt in the third period.

Atlanta 95, Miami 92--Dominique Wilkins scored 21 points, including a running hook in the lane that give the Hawks the lead for good with 2:10 left at Miami.

The basket gave Wilkins his only points in the fourth quarter, but it was enough to help the Hawks to their third consecutive victory. Kevin Willis led Atlanta with 23 points.

Seattle 116, Dallas 87--Shawn Kemp scored 24 points and the unbeaten SuperSonics had 16 steals in Seattle en route to their seventh consecutive victory.

The SuperSonics and Houston (8-0) are the NBA’s only unbeaten teams.

The Mavericks (1-7) got 24 points from rookie Jamal Mashburn.