Ricky Pierce scored 26 points and Sam Perkins had 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter as Seattle beat San Antonio 94-87 on Friday night in the SuperSonics' final home game of the regular season.

The loss ended San Antonio's hopes of being the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs. The Spurs will play the fifth-seeded Utah Jazz in the first round.Led by Pierce's 10-of-14 shooting in 24 minutes, the Sonics' bench outscored the Spurs' bench 49-11 and Seattle completed a four-game sweep of the season series.

The Sonics, who wind up their regular season Sunday in Portland, improved their NBA-best record to 62-19, including 37-4 at Seattle Coliseum. Seattle became the 11th team and sixth franchise to win 37 home games in a season.

David Robinson, San Antonio's MVP candidate, had 29 points and 16 rebounds.

Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, Seattle's two All-Stars, scored 15 points apiece. Payton came through with six steals, and Seattle had 15 overall. The Sonics need 17 steals in their final game to break the NBA record of 1,059 set by the 1977-78 Phoenix Suns.

Suns 127, Clippers 121

At Phoenix, Dan Majerle end-to-end for a layup after a steal to complete a 10-0 run at the start of the third quarter that led Phoenix to the win.

The Suns, who led 73-64 at halftime, held their biggest lead - 19 points - after Majerle scored the layup with 9:34 left in the period.

The Clippers were stubborn all night and got back within eight points, 95-87, on a dunk by Loy Vaught with 3:52 to go, but Phoenix managed to lead 104-90 after three quarters.

Then Majerle, who had 24 points, got the last of them on a three-point play with 8:35 in the game, sending the Suns to a 114-97 lead which the Clippers couldn't overcome.

Celtics 104, Bulls 94

At Chicago, Robert Parish, playing in perhaps his next-to-last NBA game, scored nine points in the second overtime as the Boston Celtics beat Chicago, damaging the Bulls' chances for the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

The 40-year-old center hit three straight baskets to start the second overtime, putting the Celtics ahead 96-90. He also had three free throws.

Dee Brown scored a career-high 40 points for Boston, which will miss the playoffs for the first time since 1978-79.

Blazers 118, Timberwolves 103

At Minneapolis, Cliff Robinson scored 23 of his 28 points in the second half and the Portland Trail Blazers pulled away for a victory over the Timberwolves in what might have been the final NBA game in Minnesota.

Cavaliers 117, Bullets 96

At Richfield, Ohio, Tyrone Hill scored 20 points on 8-for-8 shooting and seven of his Cleveland teammates also reached double figures as the Cavaliers beat the Washington Bullets.

Pacers 133, Sixers 88

At Indianapolis, Rik Smits scored a career-high 40 points as the Indiana Pacers won their seventh straight game, over the depleted Philadelphia 76ers.

Mavericks 107, Rockets 95

At Dallas, Jamal Mashburn scored 28 points and Jim Jackson added 22 as the Dallas Mavericks handed the injury-depleted Houston Rockets a resounding defeat.

View Comments

The Rockets were without center Hakeem Olajuwon and guard Vernon Maxwell, each of whom played in Houston's 126-100 victory over Dallas Friday at Houston.

Knicks 125, Bucks 85

At Milwaukee, the New York Knicks enhanced their playoff chances and coach Pat Riley won his 700th game as an NBA coach with their second straight blowout victory.

Patrick Ewing scored 22 points for the Knicks, who defeated Philadelphia 130-82 Thursday in New York.

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.