Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 10

FINAL CHASER Sunday, February 3, 1991 The Arizona Republic D7 returns King 3' Thorpe guides Rockets past Spurs in OT to take place among stars Exiled by injury since '85 season NBA i The Associated Press SAN ANTONIO Otis Thorpe scored eight of his 30 points in overtime Saturday night as the Hous- ton Rockets held off San Antonio, 100-94. The Spurs received a big blow before the game when Rod Strickland vi was placed on the injury list. Strick- land suffered a broken right hand during an altercation at a San Antonio nightclub after the Spurs' victory over Chicago on Thursday night. Thorpe, who grabbed 17 rebounds, scored Houston's first two baskets of the extra period, giving the Rockets a 94-91 lead. San Antonio answered with a jump shot from Willie Anderson with 2:44 remaining, cut- ting the Rockets lead to 94-93.

But Thorpe responded with consecutive layups, giving the Rockets a five-point lead. David Robinson led the Spurs with 24 points and 1 1 rebounds. Nuggets 126, Hawks 125 DENVER Michael Adams, despite making only 8 of 31 shots, scored 31 points and had 16 assists, leading Denver to its sixth consecutive victory. It was the Nuggets' eighth victory in 10 games and the sixth consecutive loss for Atlanta. Adams has averaged 33.4 points in his past eight games.

Dominique Wilkins scored 34 points for the Hawks. Jazz 111, Nets 103 SALT LAKE CITY Karl Malone scored 32 points and John Stockton had 26 points and 13 assists as Utah handed New Jersey its fourth straight loss. Thurl Bailey added 18 points for the Jazz. Reggie Theus led the Nets with 26 points. Pacers 106 SuperSonics 100 INDIANAPOLIS Michael Williams and Detlef Schrempf, who was ejected for fighting with Seattle's Gary Payton, scored 29 points apiece for Indiana.

After Dale Ellis pulled Seattle to 103-100 with 18 seconds left, Schrempf was fouled by Payton and hit 1 of 2 free throws. Payton then threw a punch that started a fight and both players were ejected. Schrempf- grabbed 13 rebounds, while Williams had seven rebounds and seven assists. Payton had 19 points and five assists. Knicks 92, Kings 78 NEW YORK Gerald Wilkins scored 12 of his 16 points in a span of 4:41 in the third quarter as New York handed Sacramento a franchise-record 18th consecutive road loss.

The Knicks won for only the second time in six games despite the absence of leading scorer Patrick Ewing because of the flu. Kiki Vandeweghe led New York with 19 points, all in the first half, and Charles Oakley grabbed 18 rebounds. The Kings' previous-worst road losing streak was 17 in 1981-82. Antoine Carr led the Kings with 18 points. Cavaliers 113 Timberwolves 110 (OT) RICHFIELD, Ohio Larry Nance sent the game into overtime with a last-minute steal and a dunk, then scored five points in the extra period for Cleveland.

"Really, it's just a matter of seeing things and being able to make good decisions, adjust and take advantage of them," said Jeff Hornacek, whose sprained ankle gave him no undue day-after problems Saturday. "He's a gutty guy," Coach Cotton Fitzsimmons said of Hornacek, whom he did not start Friday but probably will today. "I tried to give him the night off, but he wouldn't take it." Meanwhile, the Pistons keep on rolling even without Thomas. They're 5-0 since he was placed on the injured list. Joe Dumars runs the offense with help from Vinnie "Microwave" Johnson, who moved into the lineup.

Thomas is out for the regular season. He is to wear a cast until mid-March, followed by six to eight weeks of rehabilitation during which he is not to play basketball. But Thomas has a gym in his house, and that concerns Dr. Kirk Watson. He fears Thomas will sneak into the gym and further damage the wrist.

"I really wish Isiah had come in six months earlier," Watson said. "If so, I'd be more optimistic. There was extensive ligament damage and substantial cartilage damage. That increases the prospect of arthritis setting in. I've performed hundreds of these procedures and this was one of the worst cases of damage I've seen." According to one report in Detroit, Suns to channel energy vs.

champ Pistons By Lee Shappell The Arizona Republic A teary-eyed Bernard Kirjg said he felt as if he had scaled Mount Everest and was looking out at the world beneath him. The Bullets' forward learned last week he was among the reserves added to the Eastern Conference All-Star team by vote of the conference coaches. King might even slide into the starting lineup because the fan-selected starting forwards Charles Barkley and Larry Bird are slowed by injuries. Barkley has returned to action but will have the stress fracture in his left ankle evaluated day-to-day. Bird has returned to practice and is having his back evaluated daily.

King, who was third among East forwards in votes, knows all about injuries. He underwent major knee reconstruction six years ago. Doctors told him he might have difficulty walking, much less returning to pro basketball on an All-Star level. King was an All-Star in 1982, '84 and '85. That's what makes this so special for him.

"It's the culmination of a dream," said King, who has been among the league scoring leaders all season. "Six years of hard work and effort have paid off. No one has ever done this before. When I think back to all those hours of rehabilitation, all that hard work I put in down in my basement (weight room), this is a very emotional moment. "For a great many players, the All-Star Game means one thing, but it's totally different for me.

My comeback was not complete until this occasion." Jugger-nuggets Don't look now but the Nuggets, the team everyone hooted early this season, have won six straight games and 8 of 10, and point guard Michael Adams was player of the week. Not only did Adams draw raves, he drew a charge from Bucks Coach Del Harris during the Nuggets' upset victory in the Bradley Center. Harris, irked about officiating, walked onto the court to protest. He apparently did not see Adams coming (and at 5-foot-11 Adams is easy to miss). Adams plowed into him.

Harris did not budge, Adams wound up on the seat of his pants. Harris was given two technical fouls and ejected. "I thought they were calling a charge on me," Adams said. "He wasn't trying to hurt me, I don't think. He just didn't see me." At any rate, Nuggets Coach Paul Westhead has begun waxing poetic about how long his team's newfound success might last: "Fresh-cut flowers lose their smell after a brief time but they sure are beautiful while they last." Rip city, part 1 Michael Jordan let his frustration with Bulls management flow last week.

He said the Bulls didn't do enough to acquire Walter Davis. Jordan directed his anger at Bulls operations chief Jerry Krause. "I can't understand it," Jordan said. "Jerry's going to have to explain this one to you guys. If I were GM, we wouldn't be in this position.

We'd be a better team." Jerry Reinsdorf, chairman of the Bulls ownership group, wouldn't let that pass. "Michael Jordan is the greatest player who ever lived," Reinsdorf said. "But he's still a player, and quite frankly, players don't know a lot about coaching and what it takes to make a deal. He's frustrated and I understand that But if he knew what we tried to accomplish, he wouldn't feel as frustrated." Rip city, part 2 It seems David Robinson still hasn't forgotten the 1988 Olympic experience under Coach John Thompson, and his comments in GQ magazine indicate Robinson wasn't impressed. "He was a dictator," Robinson said.

"He wants you to be scared of him. He degrades you. I just didn't agree with the mind games he played. He didn't understand that I could be dedicated to the game and still have other interests." Thompson fired back. "I don't permit people to question me or else they're not on my team," Thompson said.

"As for David's talent, the question is how much he works at it. I'm not ready to say anybody is the reincarnation of. Bill Russell until I see 11 championship rings on his fingers." Rip city, part 3 There was a difference of opinion between Coach K.C Jones and rookie point guard Gary Payton when the Sonics played the Suns at the Coliseum on Jan. 25. Jones benched Payton in the second half.

After the game, while Jones was NBA Notes Michael Jordan Shooting star would run the Bulls differently and says so David Robinson Thinks little of John Thompson's coaching style addressing reporters outside the locker room, the players could be heard inside yelling at each other. "Sounds like the story is in there," Jones said. Inside, Payton said, "It was a misunderstanding that's settled now." Apparently, it was settled by fairly new Sonic Eddie Johnson, swapped by the Suns for Xavier McDaniel. "It's good to air things out, get things out in the open," Johnson said. "I'm one of the veteran players here and I have to be a leader.

It's a good group of guys, but some of them are young and need to learn from experience." Rip city, final The Hawks took exception to Karl Malone, the 6-foot-9, 256-pound Jazz muscleman, putting a knee to Doc Rivers, a 6-3, 180-pound target, and knocking Rivers to the floor on a drive. It was in much the same way that Malone KO'd Jeff Hornacek of the Suns in the season opener in Tokyo. "There's no question it was malicious," Rivers said. "I had already passed the ball. It definitely was deliberate." Dominique Wilkins said he told Malone he was "a cheap-shot artist." "I told him, 'You are not a man.

You are not a true power forward. You always go after smaller people, that's your Wilkins said. No fun at all Coach Larry Brown's Spurs might be leading the Midwest Division but he professes it is no fun because he constantly has to push his players. It might become even less fun for him while forward Terry Cummings recovers from a broken left hand. "We have a good record so people wonder why I push so hard," Brown said.

"Well, I don't want to be a team that has a great regular-season record and then loses in the first round of the playoffs. I'm trying to develop a work ethic and professional attitude here. I wish they would demand it of each other instead of me being the one who has to demand it, though. From that standpoint, it's been an uncomfortable year." Back to business Bird didn't do his back exercises as he should have over the summer. "It hit me in training camp," he said.

"I was lucky to get 30 games in." Actually, he got in 31 games before succumbing to back problems. After missing 12 games, Bird resumed practice with the Celtics last week. "I'm pretty excited about it," Bird said. "I feel better now than at the beginning of the season. At least at this stage I can practice." His teammates must be excited, too, because they've dropped from one of the league's elite to a .500 club during Bird's absence.

More stuff Pat Riley, new host of the NBC halftime show on league telecasts, said there are only six teams with serious championship hopes, and the Suns aren't on his list. Riley lists Detroit, Chicago and Boston in the East; Portland, San Antonio and the Lakers in the West. "It's just a pipe dream for anyone else," Riley said Riley also said Kurt Rambis, one of his former Lakers players and now on the Suns' injured list, would be a good addition to the TV crew. "Kurt Rambis would be a good broadcaster well-rounded, witty, funny," Riley said. "He reminds me of Todd Christensen." Barkley on playing 32 minutes against the Suns on Friday, his first game after missing seven because of his foot injury: "I was tired and it was hard to breathe.

But the guys all told me if I needed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, wasn't nobody going to give it to me." LU IHF-; 10 1 Chucky Brown of Cleveland dunks as Cavaliers beat the Timberwolves, 113 Minnesota's Tony Campbell, who returned from a five-game layoff because of a sprained ankle, made two three-pointers in the final 10 seconds of overtime. Campbell had one last shot at tying the score, but his three-pointer bounced off the rim. Brad Daugherty scored 35 points for the Cavaliers, and Nance had 28. Campbell and Sam Mitchell scored 28 apiece for Minnesota. SUNS AT PISTONS When: Today, 1 1 a.m.

Where: Palace of Auburn Hills (Channel 12) Radio: KTAR (620 AM) Records: Suns 28-15, Pistons 33-13 Series: Suns lead, 1-0, this season; tied, 40-40, overall UPDATE Suns end four-game trip in NBC national telecast Lost at Orlando, struggled to hang on at Miami, outscored, 21-7, in final eight minutes in loss at Philadelphia Lost four of seven overall Kevin Johnson, Western Conference All-Star starting guard, has been sporadic in ballhandling, shooting and decision-making left Hornacek, Suns' other guard, questionable because of ankle sprain Pistons 5-0 since All-Star guard Isiah Thomas placed on injured list Lost only once at home in 21 games. Suns stopped Pistons on final five possessions in 103-102 victory in Phoenix on Jan. 18, ending Pistons' 11 -game streak. Thomas and his wife are in Hawaii. "It's like the Lakers losing Magic (Johnson) and the Celtics losing (Larry) Bird," Pistons Coach Chuck Daly said.

"He's a spontaneous player defeat KC period put the Roadrunners ahead, 3-2. Rick Barkovich tied the score for the expansion Blades with 6:52 to play before Kontos got his game-winner on the power play. The Blades beat the Roadrunners, 6-5, in overtime Friday. Mario Gosselin made 26 saves for the Roadrunners. Kansas City goalie Bruce Hoffort stopped 18 shots.

Bob McGill scored for league-leading Chicago, which lost its second game in as many nights. The Black-hawks were 4-3 losers in overtime to the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night. Blues 5, Devils 4 ST. LOUIS Brett Hull scored his 53rd goal and Adam Oates had a goal and two assists for St. Louis.

The Blues have won five jn a row. The loss ended New Jersey's two-game winning streak. Whalers 2, Flyers 0 PHILADELPHIA Bobby Holik and Ron Francis scored second-period power-play goals and Peter Sidorkiew-icz earned his first shutout for Hartford. Sidorkiewicz stopped 20 shots Tim CulakReuters Minnesota's Sam Mitchell watches. The 110, Saturday.

Magic 108, Heat 98 ORLANDO, Fla. Scott Skiles broke out of a shooting slump with 27 points and Orlando made 14 of 15 free throws in the fourth quarter. Skiles, 8 for 42 from the field in the Magic's previous three games, made 10 of 24 shots. Miami's Glen Rice scored 35 points. INJURIES Suns: Kurt Rambis (ankle), Ian Lockhart (ankle, knee), injured list; Joe Barry Carroll (conditioning), suspended list; Jeff Hornacek (ankle) questionable.

Pistons: Isiah Thomas (wrist), injured list. SUNS STARTERS Xavier McDaniel (6-8) 19.7 points, 6.6 rebounds Tom Chambers (6-1 0) 21.2 points, 6.6 rebounds Mark West (6-10) 9.0 points, 6.9 rebounds Jeff Hornacek (6-4) 17.0 points, 5.6 assists Kevin Johnson (6-1) 21.9 points, 10.0 assists PISTONS STARTERS Dennis Rodman (6-8) 7.7 points, 1 1.3 rebounds James Edwards (7-1 13.4 points, 3.9 rebounds Bill Laimbeer (6-11) 10.6 points, 8.6 rebounds Vinnie Johnson (6-2) 9.6 points, 3.1 assists Joe Dumars (6-3) 19.0 points, 4.8 assists and our emotional leader. "When you lose someone like that, all you can do is circle the wagons." And put a bag of popcorn in the microwave before you hit the couch. while Pat Verbeek assisted on both goals. Jets 4, Capitals 2 LANDOVER, Md.

Mark Osborne's second goal, with one minute remaining, highlighted a four-goal third period for Winnipeg. Thomas Steen and Brent Ashton also scored for the Jets. Calle Johansson and Mike Ridley had Washington's goals. North Stars 6, Nordiques 4 QUEBEC Brian Propp had two goals and two assists while Dave Gagner, Minnesota's top goal-scorer, notched his 29th goal and set up four others. Quebec held a 3-2 lead early in the second period before Minnesota responded with four straight goals.

Red Wings 5, Maple Leafs 2 TORONTO Detroit captain Steve, Yzerman scored his 38th goal and set up linemates Gerard Gallant and Johan Garpenlov for one goal each. Dave Barr and Keith Primeau also scored for the Red Wings, who won for only the fifth time in 27 games on the road (5-17-5). Islanders 3, Canadiens 3 UNIONDALE, N.Y. Ray Fer-raro scored a power-play goal early in the third period to give New York the tie. win, but Lemieux injured again SUNS, from page Dl If the Suns solve their problems, this could be great TV.

They rallied from 13 points behind to beat the Pistons, 103-102, in Phoenix. If the Suns play like they did this past week, though, it will be more like Tales from the Darkside awfully scary. The Suns made Orlando look like a title contender Tuesday, let Miami make a run at them Wednes- day, and gave hope to struggling Philadelphia on Friday. The Suns' two All-Stars, Kevin Johnson and Tom Chambers, seem stuck in a malaise. Johnson gets trapped in the two-man game, holds the ball too long or makes a bad pass or takes a bad shot.

When Chambers does get the ball, either he misses a shot badly, or opponents often knock the ball away from him a la Buck Williams in the Western Conference finals. The Suns have become predictable and they're well-scouted. "Philadelphia really did take us out of just about everything we wanted to do," said Chambers, whose sore back flared up again Saturday. "We still get awfully good shots sometimes that just won't fall," said Xavier McDaniel, who scored 34 points Friday, his most as a Sun. Penguins The Associated Press PITTSBURGH Jaromir Jagr had the first three-goal game of his career, but Mario Lemieux suffered another injury Saturday as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Boston Bruins, 6-2.

Lemieux, who returned last Saturday after missing 50 games because of back problems, abruptly ended a shift with 14:56 left in the second period because of a pulled groin. He did not return. Lemieux is out at least until next Friday when the Penguins visit Winnipeg. "I think we've proven this season we can still play well when he's not in the lineup," Penguins defenseman Paul Coffey said. "When he's there, we're that much better." Jagr, who had gone nine games without a goal, scored on Pittsburgh's first power-play opportunity.

Jagr scored again at 7:00 of the second. After taking a pass from Coffey, Jagr weaved through the Bruins' defense. Jagr got his third goal at 12.00 of the third period on a breakaway. Kings 9, Canucks 1 INGLEWOOD, Calif. Los Angeles dealt former coach Pat Quinn a defeat in his return to coaching with Vancouver, as defenseman Marty McSorley had a career-high six-point effort with a goal and five assists.

It was Quinn's first game behind the bench since his controversial and Roadrunners The Associated Press KANSAS CITY Marc Sau-mier had two goals and Chris Kontos scored with 5:24 remaining as the Roadrunners beat the Kansas City Blades, 4-3, in an International Hockey League game Saturday night. Sylvain Couturier's power-play goal with 3:01 left in the second period and Saumier's second goal at the 10:04 mark of the third NHL costly move from Los Angeles to Vancouver in January 1987. Tony Granato and Luc Robitaille each scored twice for the Kings. Kings goalie Kelly Hrudey, who stopped 29 shots, was denied his first shutout in 14 months when Greg Adams notched his 18th goal. Flames 3, Blackhawks 1 CALGARY, Alberta Theoren Fleury scored a goal and assisted on another for Calgary.

Doug Gilmour and Gary Roberts also scored as Calgary won its third consecutive game, its sixth straight at the Olympic Saddledome..