Wisconsin State Journal from Madison, Wisconsin • 19

SPORTS it Saturday, November 1, 2003 C3 NBA UW MEN'S HOCKEY Wisconsin State Journal Learning the hard way ewis tf, i nits 50 XTAfr.J Associated Press past Clippers' Chris Wilcox for two of victory today in Japaq. have had to kill a penalty." Shortly after becoming the fifth NHL first-round draft pick in Badgers history last June, Suter heard warnings that he would be targeted for abuse this season. Opponents would mock his high profile and test him with harsh words and harsher deeds. Things were quiet through the first four games. Then Quinnipiac came to town.

Suter was assessed three penalties in the series opener, includirfg one sequence in which he and Morrison got matching minors for roughing less than 3 minutes into the game. Suter got busted two more times in the second game, including another dust-up with Morrison immediately after Suter left the penalty box following his major infraction. The code of the rink is that you never let anyone take liberties with your well-being. Trash talk is one thing. Punching, spearing and slashing are another.

"There's always that 'Don't-let-him-in-your-kitchen' kind of attitude," Eaves said. "Take a (uniform) number and wait for later." In this case, time was running out when Suter made a bee-line for Morrison with less than 2 minutes left in the series finale. "I had his number," Suter told Eaves, "and it was getting pretty late." Eaves believes Suter will be tested like this every week of the season, starting again next Friday and Saturday when UW follows up a bye week by traveling to Michigan Tech. Suter is now better equipped to deal with it. "I can't get caught up in that," he said.

"I've got to play my game, and my game's on the ice. Now that I know how it can get, I've just got to be aware of it." tantly punched Suter in the head, then used a head-lock to drive Suter face-first into the boards. Never mind Suter that slash looked worse than it was. Television replays showed Kelly felt only a glancing blow along the left side of his helmet. Never mind that referee Brad Albers either missed or ignored that and other moments throughout the two-game series in which Kelly (6-foot-4, 210 pounds) or winger' Tim Morrison (6-4, 220) got away with cheap shots on Suter (6-1, 190).

"It was a tough lesson to learn the first time, but it won't happen again," Suter said. The drawbacks to what Suter did are obvious. The Badgers had a 3-1 lead at the time and had to kill off a major penalty without one of their best players. Teams in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, all of whom have better personnel than Quinnipiac, probably would have exploited such a mistake. "You do that against (two-time defending NCAA champion) Minnesota 3-1 with 6 minutes to go we could be in trouble," UW coach Mike Eaves said.

Suter not only apologized to Eaves, he took some heat from his father, Bobby, a former UW defenseman who held the school record for most career penalty minutes for 15 years. "I should have just tied (Kelly) up down there (in the corner) and it would have been over with," Ryan Suter said in retrospect. "Two minutes each and we wouldn't roar past WCHA Conference games only Pts in win Rashard Lewis leads the SuperSonics to a sweep of the Clippers in Japan. Associated Press Rashard Lewis scored a career-high 50 points to lead the Seattle SuperSonics to a 124-105 win over the Los Angeles Clippers and close out the two-game series today in Saitama, Japan. Lewis, who led the SuperSonics with 25 points in Thursday's 109-100 win, scored 26 points in the first half at Saitama Super Arena.

"It just comes down to a lot of hard work over the summer," Lewis said. "I am one of the go-to guys on this team and it all comes down to making the right decisions and not making bad shots." Soatfls 35 31 27 31 124 Lot Angelas Clippers 30 28 22 25 105 SEATTLE Lewis 18-25 10-13 50. Radmanovic 5-110-011, Booth 1-1 2-2 4, Barry 5-11 2-4 14, Murray 8-19 4-4 22, Evans 4-5 1-2 9, Ridnour 4-9 2-2 10, Sesay 1-4 2-2 4, James 0-1 0-0 0, Frahm 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 46-86 23-29 124. LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS Maggette 8-15 6-11 26.

Wilcox 5-8 3-3 13, Drobnjak 3-9 4-4 10, Dooling 3-6 1-2 7, Richardson 6-16 4-4 19, Simmons 1-4 2-2 4, House 3-12 0-1 7, Jaric 3-8 0-0 8. Kaman 3-9 1-1 7, Wang 0-1 2-2 2, Ely 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 36-89 25-30 105. 3-point goals 9-26 (Lewis 4-7, Barry 2-6, Murray 2-6, Radmanovic 1-5, Sesay 0-1, Ridnour 0-1), LAC 8-21 (Richardson 3-5, Jaric 2-5, Maggette 2-7, House 1-3, Drobnjak 0-1). Rebounds 50 (Evans 9), LAC 54 (Drobnjak 8).

Assists 27 (Barry, Murray 7), LAC 23 (Jaric 5). Total fouls 23, LAC 25. Technical fouls defensive 3 seconds, LAC defensive 3 seconds, LAC coach Dunleavy, House. Att. 19,664.

Kings 100, 76ers 89: Peja Stojakovic scored 28 points, and Bobby Jackson had 18 as host Sacramento beat Philadelphia for the sixth straight time Friday. Allen Iverson had 27 points and seven assists for the 76ers. Philadelphia 23 20 23 23 89 Sacramento 27 26 27 20 -100 PHILADELPHIA Salmons 2-8 2-2 6, Thomas 8-12 3-3 19, Coleman 5-13 1-2 11, Iverson 10-23 7-8 27, Snow 2-8 9-10 13, McKie 2-5 0-2 4, M. Jackson 1 -5 0-0 2, Green 1-21-2 3, Dalembert 2-3 0-1 4, Korver 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-79 23-30 89.

SACRAMENTO Stojakovic 9-13 7-8 28, Miller 4-10 3-4 11, Divac 4-6 3-411, Christie 3-7 0-0 6, Bibby 7-17 2-2 16, B. Jackson 7-14 1-118, Songaila 4-6 0-0 8, Wallace 0-1 0-0 0, Massenburg 0-0 2-4 2. Totals 38-74 18-23100. 3-point goals 0-7 (Salmons 0-1, Green 0-1, Coleman 0-2, Iverson 0-3), 6-11 (Stojakovic 3-4, B. Jackson 3-5, Bibby 0-2).

Rebounds 52 (Coleman 10), 42 (Miller 91 Assists 16 (Iverson 7), 26 (Bibby, Miller 5). Total fouls 21, 23. Att. 17,317. Nets 84, Timberwolves 61: Jason Kidd recorded his 51st career triple double with 21 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds, and Richard Jefferson added 26 points as New Jersey rolled past Minnesota in East Rutherford, N.J.

The Nets' home opener will Freshman Ryan Suter knows he has to beware of opponents' attempts to get him out of his game. By Andy Baggot Wisconsin State Journal The curse of having as much talent as Ryan Suter is that his occasional lapses will be magnified and analyzed almost to excess. In his first six games for the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team, Suter has consistently defied the reality that he is an 18-year-old freshman playing the toughest position on the game. Suter is the only UW de-fenseman who has had a plus rating which reflects the number of goals a team has scored against goals allowed while a player is on the ice every week this season while playing major minutes. He has quarterbacked a rookie-dominated, power-play unit that has looked sharp despite scoring just one goal to date.

He has done all of the little things, especially in the defensive end, that separate the adequate from the awesome. In essence, Suter has looked every bit the blue-line prodigy chosen by Nashville with the seventh overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft last summer. But it was a mistake in judgment Suter made last Saturday against Quinnipiac that triggered the loudest buzz about his work this season. Late in the third period of UW's 4-1 win, Suter was assessed a 5-minute major penalty for swinging his stick at the head of Quinnipiac winger John Kelly. Never mind that Suter was reacting to a sequence seconds earlier when Kelly bla- Gophers Danny Irmen and Grant Po-tulny scored in 10-second span less than 5 minutes into the game, sparking Minnesota to a 6-2 victory over Denver in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association game Friday night in Minneapolis.

Matt Koalska, who had three points on the night, added a goal late in the first period as the Gophers (2-3 overall) ranked 10th by U.S. College Hockey Online took control early in the showdown against the No. 6 Pioneers. Former Madison West ath lete Kevin Ulanski assisted on both goals for Denver (4-1). Denver 8 1 1 2 2 18 Irmen (Kennedy), G.

Taylor), Koalska (Vanek, Minnesota. First Potulny (Guyer, Hirsch 14:24. Second period: Drummond (Fulghum, Ulanski), 5:19. Vanek (Sertich, Koalska), G. Potulny (Guyer, Hirsch), 8:30.

Thlrf pertoc Caldwell (Ulanski), 2:55. Riddle (Koalska. Smaagaard). 7:30. Saves: 0 (Berkhoel 16.

Fisher 21) 37; (Brings) 25. Penalties: 0 6-12, 6-12. Att. 9.687. Minnesota-Duluth 8, Alaska-Anchorage 1: Junior Lessard netted his second career hat trick, and Isaac Reich- muth became the first goaltender in school history to record two assists in a game as the host Bulldogs (3-2-1) crushed the Seawolves (3-2).

Evan Schwabe added a goal NHL SuperSonics' Rashard Lewis drives his 50 points in a Seattle's 124-105 be remembered as much for holding Minnesota to a franchise low in points as for an ankle injury to Kenyon Martin. The New Jersey power forward fell awkwardly with 10 minutes, 5 seconds left in the third quarter when he landed on a player's foot. X-rays were negative. Minnesota ....10 20 22 1 61 Naw Jersey 24 20 17 23 84 MINNESOTA Hoiberg 0-1 0-0 0, Garnett 10-21 3-3 23, Olowokandi 3-7 0-0 6, Sprewell 4-18 0-0 9, Cassell 2-10 4-4 8, Madsen 1-1 2-4 4, Trent 3-7 0-0 6, Johnson 0-2 0-0 0, Q. Lewis 1-3 0-0 3, McLeod 1-3 0-0 2, Hassell 0-2 0-0 0.

Totals 25-75 9-1 1 61 NEW JERSEY Jefferson 12-17 2-4 26, Martin 5-9 1-2 11, Collins 0-2 0-0 0, Kittles 2-10 0-0 4, Kidd 7-18 5-8 21, Mourning 5-8 0-0 10, Armstrong 2-8 0-0 4, Planinic 1-3 0-0 2, Williams 2-2 2-2 6, Scalabrine 0- 2 0-0 0, Overton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-79 10-16 84. 3-point goals 2-10 (Q. Lewis 1-2, Sprewell 1- 5, Cassell 0-3), NJ 2-15 (Kidd 2-6, Armstrong 0-2, Scalabrine 0-2, Kittles 0-5). Rebounds 45 (Sprewell 10), NJ 56 (Kidd 11).

Assists 15 (Cassell 7), NJ 29 (Kidd 14). Total fouls 22, NJ 20. Technical fouls Garnett, Cassell, NJ defensive 3 seconds. Att. 17,145.

Pistons 93, Heat 81: Chauncey Billups scored 27 points as Detroit won for the first time under new coach Larry Brown, beating host Miami. Brown, hired in June to replace Rick Carlisle, earned his 880th career victory and his first with the Pistons, his seventh NBA team. The Heat lost their home opener under new coach Stan Van Gundy, the former University of Wisconsin coach, and fell to 0-3 on the season. Eighteen-year-old forward Darko Milicic, Detroit's No. 2 pick in the June draft, made his NBA debut with 1:23 left.

He had two rebounds, two turnovers and a foul. Detreit 22 25 29 17 03 Miami 14 24 24 19 81 DETROIT Prince 3-12 0-0 8, B. Wallace 3-7 0-0 6, Campbell 3-5 2-2 8, Billups 6-13 12-14 27, R. Hamilton 9-15 6-6 24, Sura 0-1 0-0 0, Atkins 1-5 3-4 5. Okur 1-5 1-4 3, Williamson 4-5 4-5 12, Rebraca 0-1 0-0 0, Fowlkes 0-0 0-0 0, Milicic 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals 30-69 28-35 93 MIAMI Odom 4-15 4-6 12, Haslem 6-12 4-5 16, Grant 5-8 2-2 12. Wade 1-9 2-2 4, Jones 8-19 3-3 20, Alston 1-6 3-4 5, Allen 2-7 1-2 5, Woods 1-2 0-0 2. J. Wallace 1-4 1-2 3, Coles 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 30-84 20-26 81.

3-point goals 5-14 (Billups 3-6, Prince 2-5, R. Hamilton 0-1, Atkins 0-2), 1-9 (Jones 1-3, Alston 0-3, Odom 0-3). Rebounds 0 52 (B. Wallace 15). 54 (Haslem 11).

Assists 15 (Prince 5), 54 (Haslem 15 (Prince 5), 14 technical foul B. Wallace. Flagrant foul Grant. Att. 15,825.

(Jones, Alston, Odom 3). Total fouls 27, 25. for each other and they're on the same page with each other as far as what the goals are and how you go about and achieve them on the floor. "We're going to need everybody to go out and do what they can do." Porter's message seems to have spread to an overhauled roster that features just five players that started last season with the Bucks. On paper, last year's team had go-to guys who ostensibly were locker room leaders, veterans such as Sam Cassell and Ray Allen who were supposed to lead the Bucks to the promised land.

But something got in the way, something that resulted in that change in the roster, the front office and the coaching staff. This season's players say last season's problems no longer exist. "All of the egos are gone," said forward Tim Thomas, one of the holdovers from last a St. Cloud State 3 0 1 7 Minnesota-Duluth 3 0 0 6 Colorado College 10 0 2 Minnesota 12 0 2 Michigan Tech 0 11 1 North Dakota 0 0 0 0 Alaska-Anchorage 0 10 0 Denver 0 10 0 Minn. 0 10 0 Wisconsin 0 2 0 0 9 Celtics 93, Grizzlies 91: Mike James hit a 16-foot jumper with 1.8 seconds left to give Boston the victory over host Memphis.

Boston 27 17 26 23-93 Memphis 29 18 22 22 91 BOSTON K. Brown 2-6 0-0 4, Baker 10-14 4-7 24, Blount 0-1 0-0 0, James 6-12 2-3 16, Pierce 7-15 9-11 23, Battie 2-3 3-3 7, LaFrentz 2-5 0-0 4, E. Williams 2-8 3-5 7, Banks 1-5 1-4 3, McCarty 2-3 0-0 5. iotaiswz ii-SiU6. MEMPHIS Posev 2-7 0-1 5.

Gasol 5-11 6-8 16. Swift 7-11 4-6 18, J. Williams 3-11 4-4 13, Miller 4-11 2-3 10, Battier 3-8 2-2 9, Outlaw 2-5 2-2 6, Wright 1-8 0-0 2, Watson 1-3 4-6 6, Person 2-6 1-1 6. Totals 30-81 25-33 91. 3-point goals 3-13 (James 2-5, McCarty 1-1, K.

Brown 0-1, Banks 0-1, Pierce 0-2, LaFrentz 0-3), 6-26 (J. Williams 3-8, Posey 1-3, Person 1-4, Battier l-6. Gasol 0-1. Miller 0-4). Fouled out Pierce.

Blount. Rebounds 57 (Pierce, Baker 8), 51 (Gasol 10). Assists 21 (James 6), (J. Williams n. lotai fouls 26, 29.

Technical fouls Baker, coach O'Brien, Posey. Att. 16,178. Raptors 82, Wizards 79: Vince Carter scored 18 of his 26 points in the second half as host Toronto recovered from its lowest-scoring first half in team history (27 points) to beat Washington. 21 18 23 19 79 Toronto 11 16 26 29 I WASHINGTON Hayes 5-13 0-0 10.

K. Brown 6-9 4-4 16. Havwood 0-2 2-4 2. Hughes 5-15 2-2 13, Arenas 5-9 6-8 16, Thomas 5-9 2-2 12, Dixon 1-5 0-0 2, Laettner 4-6 0-1 8, Blake 0-0 0-0 0, Jeffries 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 31-70 16-21 79.

TORONTO Curry 0-4 0-0 0, J. Williams 6-10 5- 7 1 7, Davis 3-8 0-0 6, Carter 9-22 6-6 26, A. Williams 2-10 0-0 4, Palacio 1-7 0-0 2, Bosh 2-5 1-2 5, Murray 6- 12 2-2 15, Peterson 3-5 1-1 7. Totals 32-83 15-18 82. 3-ooint ooals 1-7 (Huohes 1-4.

Dixon 0-1. Arenas 0-1. Haves 0-1), 3-9 (Carter 2-2, Murray 1-5, Peterson 0-1, Curry 0-1). Rebounds 41 (K. Brown 9), 57 (Davis 15).

Assists 17 (Arenas 7), 24 (A. Williams, Palacio 6). Total fouls 18, 13. Technical fouls defensive 3 seconds 2. Att.

14,183. Bulls 100, Hawks 94: Eddy Curry had 22 points, and Tyson Chandler had 13 points and a career-high 22 rebounds for host Chicago against Atlanta. Atlanta 21 21 28 28 84 Chicago 28 18 24 28 100 ATLANTA Jackson 7-12 2-3 17, Abdur-Rahim 4-13 2-2 10. Ratlift 3-13 2-3 8. Glover 6-20 1-2 14.

Terry 8-15 3-4 24, Mohammed 3-7 5-7 11, Diaw 0-1 0-0 0. Nailon 3-6 0-0 6, Vaughn 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 36-90 15-21 m. CHICAGO Chandler 5-9 3-4 13, Rose 4-16 5-8 15, Curry 9-18 4-4 22, J. Crawford 3-7 0-2 7, Gill 4-13 3- 3 iz.

Marsnan 3-8 i-i mount 1-3 i-z 3, nppen 4- 1 1 2-2 1 2, Robinson 2-3 0-04, fizer 1 -2 2-2 4. Totals 36-90 22-29 100. 3-ooint ooals A 7-12 (Terry 5-6, Jackson 1-2, Glover 1-4), 6-12 (Rose 2-3, Pippen 2-5, J. Crawford 1-2, uih 1-2). rouieo out Hatnn, Aoour-nanim.

tie-bounds A 57 (Abdur-Rahim 10), 64 (Chandler 22). Assists A 22 (Terry 5), 27 (Rose 7). total fouls A 29, 21. Technical foul Abdur-Rahim. Att.

15,300. Forward Brian Skinner, one of the newcomers, understands the reality of the Bucks' situation. "We don't have anybody that's going to give us 30 points a night consistently," he said. "We're going to have to be scrappy. We're going to have to know we have each other's back.

We have to know we have defensive structure and play with that, as well as offensive structure, if we want to win ball games." It's Porter's responsibility to extract that attitude from his players. He figures it's an advantage that he's just two years removed from playing in the league. "I've been in their shoes before," Porter said. "I try to be approachable and patient. I think back to what I was like as player and how I liked to be handled.

"But I also want to be very demanding and recognize what needs to be done to be successful." us," Pacers forward Jeff Foster said. "They just outran us." Ford wasn't the only player hustling for Milwaukee. The Bucks seemingly got their hands on every loose ball and outrebounded Indiana 59-35. In one sequence in the third quarter, the Bucks missed three shots but tracked down every rebound. IT S2 25 11-9) 18 17 20 23 78 Pioneers TliW period: MD Lessard (Schwabe.

Brosz). 1 McFarland (Reichmuth), 10:49 (sh). AA Four-nier (Perez, Smith), 15:00 (pp). Sam: AA (King) 40; MD (Reichmuth) 21 Penalties: AA 10-20, MD 6-12. Att.

3,644. Colorado College 3, Minnesota State-Mankato 0: Curtis McElhinney turned aside all 15 shots he faced, and three players scored as the eighth-ranked Tigers (4-0-1) blanked the Mavericks (1-3-1) in Colorado Springs, Colo. Minnesota Stats-Msnkate 8 8 8 8 Celsrade Collect 1 8 2 1 First period: CC Salcido (Canzariello), 1 1 42 TtiM eerie CC Polaski (Thauwald), Crabb (Cox, Sertich), 6:46 (pp). Sam: MSM (Volp) 35; CC (McElhinney) 15. Penalties: MSM 6-12, CC 6-12.

Att. 5,423. Non-conference St. Cloud State 2, Princeton 1: Billy Hengen scored his third goal of the season 1:58 into overtime, lifting the host and 13th-ranked Huskies (4-0-1) over the Tigers (0-1). North Dakota 8, Yale 4: Brandon Bochenski and Quinn Fylling both scored twice as the second-ranked Fighting Sioux (3-1) thumped the Bulldogs (0-1) in Grand Forks, N.D.

Michigan Tech 7, Vermont 3: Chris Conner had two goals, and Taggart Demet added a goal and three assists as the Huskies (2-2-1) crushed the Catamounts (0-3-1) in Houghton, Mich. Team concept emphasized Today's games Denver at Minnesota Alaska-Anchorage at Minnesota-Duluth Minnesota State-Mankato at Colorado College Vermont at Michigan Tech (nc) Princeton at St. Cloud State (nc) Yale at North Dakota (nc) and two assists for 12th-ranked Duluth, which is 3-0 in WCHA play for the first time since the 1996-97 season. Alaska-Anchorage 8 8 11 Mlnnttota-Ouluth 3 3 2 8 First period: MD Lessard (Williams. Petruic).

3:17 (pp); Lessard (Brosz, Schwabe), Caig (Geisler, Peluso), 17:33 (pp). Second eerled: MD Williams (Geisler, Reich-muth), 4:11 (pp); Anderson (Caig. Peluso), 18:21 (pp); Schwabe (Smith, Lessard). 16:39. Lacking a leader or a go-to player, the overhauled Bucks plan to work together to succeed.

By Vic Feuerherd Wisconsin State Journal In two games, the Milwaukee Bucks have yet to determine if they have that one player who can take control of a game at crunch time. But as the Bucks prepare for tonight's home opener against the Chicago Bulls at the Bradley Center, they might be learning it's not a matter of one player setting the tone, but 12 players tuned in to the demands of a new coach. "I've been involved with teams who have had one (goto) guy and teams that had multiple guys to look to," said first-year Bucks coach Terry Porter, a Milwaukee native who played 17 seasons in the NBA. "The important thing is that everybody has a respect factor Ford Semin, Capitals end slide Associated Press Alexander Semin scored his first NHL goal Friday night to help the host Washington Capitals snap a six-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over the Adanta Thrashers. Semin gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead on a power-play breakaway with 30 seconds re maining in the first period.

He faked right and beat Pasi Nur-minen to the left with a backhander. Olaf Kolzig made 37 saves for Washington. The Capitals won for the first time in three weeks, ending an eight-game winless streak (0-7-1). Their other win was a season-opening 6-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Oct. 9.

Atlanta 1 I 1 1 WasklnatM 2 8 8 2 First period: A Kozlov 3 (Savard. Kovalchuk). 5 30 (pp). Pettlnger 2, 7 41, Semin 1 (Lang), 19:30 (pp). Same: A JNwmlnen) 36; (Kolzig) 19.

Canucks 4, Coyotes 1: Dan Cloutier made 23 saves, and four players scored as Associated Press Capitals' Olaf Kolzig had allowed three goals or more in six of his previous seven starts, but held the Thrashers to one goal in Friday's win. "We got outworked," first-year Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "They got the game going at their speed and we were just never able to get the game at our tempo." That was thanks to Ford, who controlled the game with a lightning-quick first step and a crossover dribble that allowed him to penetrate the Indiana defense and get easy buckets for his teammates. "He really pushed it up the floor for us tonight and created a lot of opportunities on the fast break," Porter said. Ford spurred the Bucks to 24 fastbreak points in the first half, helping the Bucks build a 49-36 lead.

"The 24 fastbreak points in the first half absolutely killed ijf, j4 Cloutier allowed only Ladis-lav Nagy's power-play goal in the second period. VsncHnr 2 1 1 4 Pheenli a 1 1 First period: Linden 3 Arvedson, Malik), Slegr 2 (Ohlund, 0. Sedin). 9:07 (pp). Secernl eertee: Nagv 5 (Tanabe, Johnson), 1 :05 (pp).

Morrison 4 (Bertuzzl, Arvedson). 6:08. Mta Naslund 8 (Bertuzzl. Malik), Sets VJCtoutier) 23; (Burke) 27. Continued from Page C1 who gave new coach Terry Porter his first win.

"It's a pretty good step, but I've got to do it for 80 more games," Ford said. Harrington led the Pacers with 26 points on 11 -for-17 shooting. He didn't get any help, however, with his teammates going 22 of 68 (32 percent) from the floor. Pacers guard Reggie Miller left after the third quarter with a sore back and didn't return. His availability for tonight's game at Atlanta was not immediately known, a team spokesman said.

MILWAUKEE Skinner 7-11 0-1 14. Thomas 7-12 4-6 20, J. Smith 3-10 2-2 8, Redd 9-17 1-2 21, Ford 5-7 1-1 11, Kukoc 1-4 0-0 2, 0 Jones 0-3 0-0 0, 0. Mason 7-8 3-6 17. Totals 39-72 11-17 93.

INDIANA Attest 4-17 5-8 13, O'Neal 6-18 0-0 12, Pollard 1-4 0-0 2, Miller 1-2 0-0 2, Anderson 3-7 0-0 6, Harrington 11-17 3-3 26, Foster 3-3 0-0 6, Tin-sley 1-9 0-0 2, F. Jones 0-2 0-0 0, Croshert 0-1 0-0 0, Johnson 3-5 1-1 10. Brezec 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-85 9-12 79. 3-point goals 4-15 (Redd 2-4, Thomas 2-6, Kukoc 0-1, Ford 0-1, J.

Smith 0-1, 0 Jones 0-2). 1 4-16 (Johnson 3-4, Harrington 1-2, F. Jones 0-1, Tinsley 0-4, Arrest 0-5). Rebounds 59 (Ford 11). I 35 (O'Neal 7).

Assists 20 (Ford 7), I 20 (O'Neal 5). Total louls 15, 1 20 Technical foul delensive 3 seconds. Att 17,607. Vancouver dropped host Phoenix to run its unbeaten streak to seven games. Trevor Linden, Jiri Slegr, Brendan Morrison and Markus Naslund had goals for the Canucks, who became the second team in NHL history to score first in its first 1 1 games of the season..