What a difference a week makes for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Seven days after losing to the Sacramento Kings by 56 points, the 76ers won their third consecutive game, 104-91 over the defending champion Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.Rookie Clarence Weatherspoon scored 23 points, Hersey Hawkins 22 and Armon Gilliam 20 for the 76ers (11-18), who have defeated Chicago (23-10) in both of their meetings this season.
Michael Jordan, who scored his 20,000th career point Friday night, led the Bulls with 30 points despite missing 14 of 18 shots in the second half. Scottie Pippen finished with 26.
The 76ers outscored Chicago 29-17 in the third quarter to take an 84-65 lead into the final 12 minutes. Weatherspoon scored nine points and Hawkins eight in the period to match the Bulls' total by themselves.
A free throw by Jeff Hornacek gave Philadelphia its largest lead of 87-67 with 10:34 left.
The Bulls then scored the next 11 points and held the Sixers scoreless for 3:30 before a scoop shot by Weatherspoon, a left-handed hook by Gilliam and two free throws by Hawkins put Philadelphia ahead 93-78 with 6:02 remaining.
A 13-3 run by the Bulls closed them to 96-91 with 1:20 left, but the Sixers scored the final eight points of the game.
Chicago led 9-2, but the Sixers dominated the rest of the first half, leading by as many as 11 points and holding a 55-48 advantage at halftime.
Pacers 104, Magic 88
At Orlando, Fla., Reggie Miller led six Indiana players in double figures with 16 points as the Pacers ran to a win over Orlando that snapped a seven-game road losing streak.
The Magic, who got 30 points, 20 rebounds and eight blocked shots from rookie Shaquille O'Neal, never got closer than 12 points in the second half.
Sam Mitchell and Dale Davis each added 15 points for the Pacers. Davis also chipped in a career-high 19 rebounds.
Indiana led 63-43 at halftime time after building a 23-point lead three times in the second quarter.
O'Neal had 20 points and nine rebounds by the intermission, but he had little help from the rest of the Magic starters. The other four starters combined for 14 points before halftime, hitting just 5 of 20 shots.
Cavaliers 116, Timberwolves 93
At Richfield, Ohio, Mark Price had 11 points and five assists in the first quarter as the Cleveland Cavaliers built a quick double-digit lead and coasted past the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The victory was Cleveland's 12th in 14 games, while Minnesota has lost four in a row and 16 of its last 18.
Larry Nance scored 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, and Price and Brad Daugherty each had 18 for Cleveland. Daugherty also grabbed 12 rebounds.
Christian Laettner and Doug West each scored 20 for the Timberwolves, who have won only twice since November, both times against the Dallas Mavericks.
This one was all but over very quickly.
Price opened the scoring with a 10-foot runner and also sank a 3-pointer and an 18-foot jumper during the first five minutes, helped the Cavaliers to leads of 13-2 and 17-4.
Nets 124, Bullets 79
At East Rutherford, N.J., the New Jersey Nets posted their biggest victory ever by hitting 25 of their first 35 shots en route to a victory over the Washington Bullets.
The 45-point margin of victory was three better than the old mark that the Nets posted twice, once in a 128-86 ABA win over Denver on Nov. 23, 1973, and other coming in a 121-79 win over Washington on March 10, 1987.
The Nets led 42-15 early in the second quarter and made it a 40-point edge late in the third period.
Seven players scored in double figures as New Jersey hit 56 of 94 shots from the field, 59.6 percent. The performance, which was accomplished with Drazen Petrovic out with an ankle injury, came just one night after New Jersey shot a season-low 36.6 percent in losing 102-88 to Boston.
Reserve Rafael Addison led New Jersey with 19 points while Rumeal Robinson had 18, Derrick Coleman 17, Kenny Anderson had 15 points and 14 assists, Rick Mahorn 14 and Chris Morris 13. Chris Dudley added 12 and a season-high 17 rebounds.
Spurs 109, Blazers 93
At San Antonio, David Robinson scored 32 points and Sean Elliott added 18 as the San Antonio Spurs whipped the Portland Trail Blazers.
Dale Ellis added 17 points and Avery Johnson had 12 points and nine assists for the Spurs, who are 7-2 since John Lucas took over as coach.
Portland, which shot just 38 percent from the field, was led by Rod Strickland with 20 points and Buck Williams with 16.
With the score tied at 58 midway through the third quarter, San Antonio went on a 21-6 run, fueled by 5 points from Ellis, to go up 79-64 with 1:22 left in the period.
Warriors 108, Pistons 104
At Auburn Hills, Mich., Chris Mullin scored nine of his 32 points during a key fourth-quarter burst and the Golden State Warriors started a five-game road trip with a victory over the Detroit Pistons.
Joe Dumars, scoring 20 of his 32 points in the third quarter, had helped the Pistons forge an 82-all tie. But the nine by Mullins helped Golden State open a 97-89 lead in the first 4:35 of the final period.
Terry Mills scored a career-high 26 points for Detroit while Dennis Rodman had 26 rebounds and 12 points for the Pistons.
Sonics 107, Nuggets 95
At Denver, Shawn Kemp had 25 points and 16 rebounds as Seattle beat Denver, the SuperSonics' fifth consecutive victory and the Nuggets' 14th loss in 15 games.
The Nuggets played without leading scorer Chris Jackson, who sprained his right foot Friday night as Denver broke a franchise-record 14-game losing streak with a 115-90 victory over the Houston Rockets.
The game was tied nine times and there were five lead changes before Seattle took charge with a 21-11 run over the last 71/2 minutes of the third period for a 76-66 lead.
Reggie Williams and Robert Pack had 19 points each for the Nuggets. Eddie Johnson, a reserve, scored 16 for the Sonics.
Kings 108, Heat 94
At Sacramento, Calif., Mitch Richmond scored 32 points and Sacramento pulled away in the fourth quarter for its fifth straight home victory.
Lionel Simmons scored 11 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and added nine rebounds for Sacramento, which outscored Miami 32-23 in the fourth quarter.
Rony Seikaly scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half and had 11 rebounds for Miami. The Heat lost their sixth consecutive road game.