Robinson, New Coach No Help for Spurs

San Antonio fired Bob Hill earlier Tuesday, then tried to give Gregg Popovich, the team’s general manager and replacement coach, a slam dunk.

The Spurs gave him center David Robinson, who had sat out the first 18 games of the season because of back problems, and an assignment to win in Phoenix.

Popovich missed the shot. He fired an airball.

Wesley Person scored 29 points for the Suns, who won, 93-76, for their fourth victory in a row and fifth in six games.

Popovich, a former Spur assistant, struggled in San Antonio’s 10th loss in 11 games.

“I felt like I was brought out of mothballs, and I’m sure in some ways it probably hurt them,” he said. “I could have made some decisions quicker, but I’m sure the mothballs had something to do with it.”

Robinson had nine points and nine rebounds in 20 minutes, leaving the floor occasionally during the game to stretch his back in the locker room.

“I thought we played better,” he said. “We were more competitive. We just have to put the whole game together and get our confidence back.”

Dominique Wilkins led San Antonio with 17 points but had only two in the fourth quarter when the Suns broke open a 69-63 game.

Sean Elliott was the only other Spur in double figures, with 12.

Danny Manning and Michael Finley scored 12 each for the Suns, and Finley had nine rebounds.

The Suns started the final quarter with a 12-6 spurt, and Hot Rod Williams deflected a pass away from Robinson and Sam Cassell made a baseline turnaround for an 85-71 lead.

Orlando 99, Portland 93--Gerald Wilkins scored 10 of his 18 points in the last 5:16 to help the Magic snap a four-game losing streak.

Penny Hardaway, returning to action after being sidelined since Nov. 17 because of a knee injury, scored 16 points, including a three-point basket just before the 24-second buzzer sounded to put the Magic ahead, 87-83, with, 4:30 to play at Portland.

Dennis Scott also had 18 points for Orlando in his first action since Nov. 23. He has been out because of a hamstring pull.

Utah 110, Indiana 86--The Jazz got 21 points and 15 rebounds from Greg Ostertag at Salt Lake City, where it set a franchise record with its 15th consecutive victory.

Karl Malone scored 12 of his 22 points in the third quarter, when he led a 16-2 Jazz run while being fired up by some physical and verbal jousting with Indiana’s Dale and Antonio Davis.

The byplay included Dale Davis being called for a technical foul for pushing Malone into a row of photographers, and Malone being hit with a technical on the next play for taunting Antonio Davis.

Indiana had its worst shooting night of the season at 33.8% (27 for 80).

New York 85, Washington 73--Patrick Ewing, playing for the first time since he criticized Knicks’ fans after their game Saturday night against the Clippers, was booed from introduction through missing his first eight shots, but recovered to score 15 points and help New York to a victory at home.

The Knicks improved to 6-4 at Madison Square Garden, where the fans have booed them in all but one of the 10 games, and where Washington last won on Jan. 31, 1991.

Houston 96, Minnesota 94--Clyde Drexler made an off-balance, driving layup with 1.3 seconds to play in Minneapolis and finished with 36 points for the Rockets in their 18th victory in 20 games.

Hakeem Olajuwon had 29 points for Houston, and Charles Barkley, slowed because of a foot injury, had only seven points with 12 rebounds.

Miami 76, Cleveland 74--Voshon Lenard banked in a twisting second-chance shot at the buzzer for the Heat, which blew leads all night long before winning in Cleveland.

Miami started the fourth quarter with a 12-2 run for a 69-59 lead, but the Cavaliers came back again and Bobby Phills tied it, 74-74, with two free throws with 24 seconds to play.

Miami set up a three-point shot that Dan Majerle missed from the top of the circle, and Lenard grabbed the rebound and dribbled through defenders before making a wild, double-clutch jump shot before the buzzer sounded.

Golden State 101, Toronto 91--Joe Smith scored 21 of his 36 points in the first half and his 17 rebounds led the Warriors in a 51-32 rebound advantage that helped them end Toronto’s four-game home winning streak.

Detroit 93, Milwaukee 85--Joe Dumars scored 14 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and Grant Hill added 26 at Milwaukee as the Pistons won their fifth game in a row.

Atlanta 89, Denver 88--Steve Smith scored only two points in the first half, but 16 in the second, the final two coming with 3.9 seconds to play for the Hawks’ seventh victory in a row at home and seventh of nine overall.