The San Antonio Spurs pride themselves on being rude guests, even to the point of ruining the party.
They did just that Monday night, ending a 19-game home winning streak by the Phoenix Suns with a 113-102 victory. The Suns hadn't lost at Veterans Memorial Coliseum since Dec. 22.
Who spoiled the party that night? The Spurs, of course.
. "Most of the year, we've felt as good on the road as we do at home," said David Robinson, who had 34 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocked shots. "We're a real confident team and we've had a lot of close games this year and won a lot of them. We know how to win."
The Spurs, who got 12 of Willie Anderson's 18 points in the fourth period, are one of only seven NBA teams with a winning road record (17-16). The victory was the sixth in their last nine road games.
"San Antonio just caught us at the right time," said Phoenix coach Cotton Fitzsimmons, whose team missed injured all-star forward Tom Chambers and guard Jeff Hornacek.
Kevin Johnson, who led Phoenix with 36 points _ 18 in the final period _ and 12 assists, offered no excuses for the Suns' first loss in nine games.
"We were shorthanded with the injuries, but good teams find a way to win," he said.
The Spurs, winning for the fifth time in six games overall, offered no apologies.
"We played our best game of the year by far," Coach Larry Brown said.
Terry Cummings added 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs.
There were nine lead changes and five ties in the fourth period before San Antonio went on an 11-0 run started by David Wingate's layup with 3:09 left.
76ers 108, Nets 94
Charles Barkley had 29 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists as Philadelphia took over first place in the Atlantic Division while handing New Jersey its seventh straight loss.
The 76ers broke a four-game road losing streak and moved a half-game ahead of the idle New York Knicks. Hersey Hawkins added 21 points for Philadelphia and Derek Smith had 15.
The Nets, losers of 26 of their last 29 games, got 19 points from Chris Morris and 18 from Lester Conner. New Jersey, which fell behind by 24 points in the first period, pulled to 79-78 late in the third but went scoreless for 7 1/2 minutes in the fourth.
Philadelphia scored 17 straight first-period points en route to a 39-15 advantage. The Nets made the game close with a 24-4 third-period surge to get within a point.
Mavericks 117, Hawks 110
Brad Davis made two 3-point baskets to spark a 10-point run and Sam Perkins scored 12 points in the fourth quarter for Dallas.
Davis put the Mavericks ahead to stay at 93-92 on a 3-point goal with 9:04 remaining. Over the next 1:50, Roy Tarpley made a field goal, Davis got another 3-pointer and Perkins a basket to make it 100-92.
Tarpley had 24 points and 14 rebounds for Dallas. Perkins and Derek Harper scored 21 points apiece and Davis came off the bench to score 20. Dominique Wilkins had 32 points for Atlanta, including 11 in the fourth quarter. Moses Malone added 18 points and 20 rebounds.
Atlanta pulled to 113-108 with 56 seconds left on Malone's layup, but a basket by Rolando Blackman's field goal and two free throws by Harper finished the Hawks.