First, Kevin Johnson took care of business. Then he helped win the game for the Phoenix Suns.
Johnson had nine points through three quarters, then scored 11 in the fourth Sunday and Phoenix silenced Houston's crowd with a pair of second-half spurts for a 91-87 victory in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals."I had to do some other things in the first three quarters - defense and get some other people the ball," Johnson said. "In the fourth quarter, I had a lot of energy and I made a few shots."
Houston built a 39-21 first-half lead but it was cut to 45-37 by halftime. The Suns used a 15-4 run at the start of the third quarter to get back in the game and a 13-0 fourth-quarter surge to take the lead for good.
"I don't think they blew it," said Charles Barkley, who scored 21 points. "They were going at a hellacious pace in the first half. We started making some shots and we were very lucky to be down only eight points at halftime."
The Rockets, who have the homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, now have lost it in this series.
"It was a chess game and they've already got the queen," Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "It's bad if your guys don't play chess."
Houston will be home for the second game of the best-of-7 series Wednesday night in The Summit.
With Barkley drawing double coverage, coach Paul Westphal turned to Johnson for help.
"He's been doing that for us all year," Westphal said. "He's one of our two unguardable guys. When he sees single coverage, he knows he will get a shot or he'll get somebody else a good shot. With Charles double teammed, he had to spearhead our offense."
Phoenix extended its winning streak to 11 games and won for the first time this season in The Summit.
"We played hard but we didn't play smart," Houston's Hakeem Olajuwon said. "We lost the homecourt advantage but it's nothing to panic about. We just have to win one there. Our backs are against the wall."
The Suns, down 66-61 starting the fourth quarer, ran off 13 straight points for a 74-66 lead, their biggest of the game. The Rockets were scoreless over the first five minutes of the final quarter.
Olajuwon had 36 points and 16 rebounds.
The game featured a barrage of 3-pointers, with Phoenix (9-for-23) breaking the playoff record of 20 attempts, set several times. The Rockets and Suns combined for most 3-point attempts , breaking the playoff mark of 34, set by Houston and the Los Angeles Lakers in 1991.
Houston took the early lead and held on for a 45-37 halftime lead but Cedric Ceballos scored 10 third-quarter points during the Suns' 15-4 run to a 52-49 lead with 6:29 to go in the third quarter.
Houston drew to 88-87 with 28 seconds to play but two free throws by Danny Ainge and Johnson's foul shot in the final 13 seconds sealed it for the Suns.
Phoenix had its scoring problems in the first quarter. Over a 5:51 span in the first quarter, Houston went from a 13-10 deficit to a 22-15 lead with 1:44 to go in the period. Barkley took only two shots in the second quarter, finishing the half with 10 points and Oljauwon had 12 at halftime.
The teams split four games during the season, the home team winning each game.
Scott Brooks replaced rookie Sam Cassell in the Rockets' rotation. Cassell was suspended one game by the NBA for throwing a punch in Friday's first-round playoff final against Portland.
Phoenix reserves outscored Houston's 22-4.
Hawks 102, Heat 91
At Atlanta, the Atlanta Hawks have Mookie Blaylock to thank for extending their postseason.
The top-seeded Hawks, pushed to a fifth and deciding playoff game by the eighth-seeded Miami Heat, used an outstanding performance by Blaylock for a 102-91 victory Sunday to advance to the second round for the first time since 1988.
The Hawks, with the best record in the NBA Eastern Conference, had evened the best-of-5 opening-round series 2-2 with a 103-89 win Thursday night at Miami. By winning Sunday, they avoided becoming the second No. 1 seed ever to lose to a No. 8. On Saturday, Seattle, the top seed in the West, was ousted by No. 8 Denver.
Blaylock finished with a season-high 18 assists, 13 points, eight rebounds and four steals.
"He had a sensational game," teammate Kevin Willis said. "Defense, assists, he did it all. He was incredible."
Miami coach Kevin Loughery went even farther.
"Over the last two games, Mookie Blaylock was the most valuable player," he said.
Blaylock capped a late first-half surge that gave the Hawks a 54-44 lead with a desperation 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left, hitting from just over the half-court line. He had eight points, six rebounds and 11 assists in the opening half.
"Mookie makes an unbelievable shot to put them up 10 and it was an uphill climb from there," Miami center Rony Seikaly said.
"What that did was allow us to come in the half on a high," Atlanta coach Lenny Wilkens said.
"But Mookie was terrific the entire game. He gave us tremendous leadership."
Blaylock shrugged off the compliments.
"We just wanted to go out and play our game," he said. "We went out a couple of times and played their game and the result was a win for them."
Willis scored a game-high 24 points, 15 in the second half. He also had 12 rebounds.
The Hawks, who last advanced to the second round before losing in seven games to the Boston Celtics six years ago, will entertain the Indiana Pacers Tuesday night in the opener of a best-of-7 series. The Pacers eliminated Orlando in the first round in three straight games.
Miami, making its second playoff appearance in its six-year history, was led by Grant Long with 22 points, 15 in the fourth quarter.
Knicks 90, Bulls 86
At New York, Anthony Mason's fastbreak layup with 48 seconds left capped a New York rally from a 15-point second-half deficit Sunday, lifting the Knicks to a 90-86 victory over the Chicago Bulls in their playoff opener.
With the score 86-86, Mason took a long pass from John Starks ahead of the Chicago defense and scored, giving the Knicks their first lead since the first quarter. B.J. Armstrong then missed for the Bulls, and when Greg Anthony's long shot with the shot clock running down just grazed the rim, Mason grabbed the rebound, forcing Chicago to foul Starks for the clinching free throws.
The Bulls, who have eliminated the Knicks from the playoffs for three straight years en route to the NBA title, led 67-52 with 3:15 left in the third quarter, but New York outscored them 38-19 the rest of the way.
Patrick Ewing had 18 points and 12 rebounds and Starks 16 points for the Knicks, who limited New Jersey to an average of 86.5 points in the first round.
Scottie Pippen scored 24 points and Armstrong 17 for Chicago, which lost three of four regular-season games to the Knicks in its first year since the retirement of Michael Jordan.
The Bulls, who shot 51 percent in the first half, missed 19 of their first 28 shots in the second, allowing New York to come back.