Mourning Returns in Heat Loss

Alonzo Mourning was back, but he didn’t get much help from his teammates at Washington.

The Miami center scored 24 points in his season debut, but Tim Hardaway was held scoreless and the Heat fell behind early as the Wizards improved their record at the MCI Center to 6-0 with an 88-74 victory Wednesday night.

The Wizards were led by Rod Strickland, who finished with 21 points, eight assists, eight rebounds and four steals.

Mourning, who underwent surgery in September for a torn knee tendon, was activated from the injured list earlier in the day. He came off the bench and had 24 points on nine-for-16 shooting with nine rebounds, four blocks, six turnovers, a flagrant foul and a technical in 28 minutes.

“At the beginning, I was a little tentative with my moves and everything,” said Mourning, who wore a large brace on his left knee. “But as the game got going, my adrenaline was really pumping and flowing. I just started playing and not really thinking about it too much.

“It is going to take some time to get my strength back. I just wanted to go out there and be a positive contributor.”

Atlanta 94, Cleveland 83--Steve Smith scored 23 points and the Hawks extended their winning streak to four games with the victory at Atlanta.

Smith had a fine all-around game, making seven of 14 shots, including a couple of three-point efforts. He made all seven of his free throws and also had four rebounds, four assists and a steal.

Boston 88, Toronto 83--Walter McCarty made a key three-point shot with 59 seconds left and Chauncey Billups scored nine of his 18 points over the final 4:16 to lead the Celtics over the Raptors at Toronto.

Minnesota 94, Philadelphia 90--Tom Gugliotta scored a season-high 30 points, including eight in a late run, as the Timberwolves came back from a 10-point deficit to defeat the 76ers at Philadelphia.

Charlotte 99, Milwaukee 90--The Hornets shot 81% in the second quarter and, led by Vlade Divac’s 21 points and 12 rebounds, beat the Bucks for their fifth consecutive victory.

New Jersey 105, Detroit 101--Rookie Keith Van Horn broke a tie with a three-point play with 1:12 left at East Rutherford, N.J., and the Nets broke an 11-game losing streak against the Pistons.

Indiana 87, New York 80----Rick Smits scored 18 points and the Pacers handed the Knicks their sixth road loss in a row by winning at Indianapolis.

San Antonio 98, Vancouver 87--David Robinson scored 33 points and Avery Johnson had another 20-assist game as the Spurs survived a mid-game lull to defeat the Grizzlies at San Antonio and record their fourth consecutive win.

Notes

New Jersey Net forward Chris Gatling was placed on the injured list after his fractured right leg did not respond to treatment, the team said. Gatling suffered the injury Dec. 8 in a game at Miami. . . . The NBA held a news conference in New York to unveil All-Star 2ball, a competition involving both NBA and WNBA players from the same city that will replace the slam-dunk contest during All-Star weekend. All-Star 2ball is played by two-player teams on a half-court marked with six shooting locations worth different point totals based on difficulty.