The Phoenix Suns were hot, giving them high hopes of extending a seven-game winning streak when they arrived at Chicago Stadium.
Those hopes were dimmed when Kevin Johnson injured his back in the third quarter. And unfortunately for the Suns, Michael Jordan was still playing for the Chicago Bulls, who beat Phoenix 108-102 Tuesday night for their 10th consecutive victory."I thought we could win this one," said Johnson, who had 18 points and 15 assists but sat out 11 minutes in the second half after playing the entire first half. "It kind of took the wind out of us when I left. Overall, this team has done well without me. Unfortunately, we couldn't pick it up tonight."
Johnson injured his lower back late in the third quarter when he was upended by Scottie Pippen going for a steal. At the time, the Suns had a three-point lead, but a 17-5 run spanning the third and fourth quarters put the Bulls in control, and they went on to their 15th victory in 16 games.
Jordan scored 23 of his 30 points in the second half for Chicago, which trailed by 14 points in the second quarter.
Pippen had 22 points, Horace Grant 19 and Bill Cartwright a season-high 17 for Chicago. Dan Majerle scored 17 and Tom Chambers 16 for Phoenix.
Trail Blaers 131, Lakers 92
Nine Portland players scored in double figures as the Trail Blazers notched their most lopsided victory of the season and Los Angeles suffered its biggest loss.
Clyde Drexler had 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for Portland, which improved its home record to 17-5. The Blazers outscored the Lakers 16-4 at the end of the first quarter, led by 18 at halftime and extended the margin to 31 in the third quarter.
The Lakers, whose previous worst loss was 126-94 at Milwaukee on Dec. 3, were playing without leading scorer James Worthy because of a swollen left knee.
Spurs 114, Clippers 100
San Antonio, playing under Bob Bass just hours after coach Larry Brown was fired, got 17 points and 11 rebounds from David Robinson to win at home against Los Angeles.
The Spurs took a 17-point lead into the fourth quarter, then fended off a rally by the Clippers, who were led by Danny Manning with 23 points.
Rockets 117, Bucks 107
Reserve guard Sleepy Floyd scored a season-high 31 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, leading Houston over Milwaukee.
Hakeem Olajuwon had 23 points and 13 rebounds and Otis Thorpe 20 points to help offset 28 points by Milwaukee's Dale Ellis and 20 by Jay Humphries.
Hawks 128, SuperSonics 119
Dominique Wilkins scored 29 points and Atlanta's reserves outscored Seattle's bench players 52-9.
The Hawks, winning for the first time in four games in Seattle since Feb. 4, 1988, used a 7-0 spurt at the end of the third quarter to take a 92-80 lead into the fourth period.
Kings 94, Nuggets 85
Lionel Simmons had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Spud Webb 18 points and 13 assists as Sacramento matched its longest winning streak of the season at two by winning at home against Denver.
Magic 105, Timberwolves 92
Nick Anderson scored 26 points and Orlando snapped a nine-game home losing streak by defeating Minnesota, which lost its sixth consecutive game.