Charles Barkley scored 31 points and Kevin Johnson had 22 - 20 in the second half - as the Phoenix Suns beat Golden State 122-112 Sunday at Oakland to send the Warriors to their sixth straight loss.

Donyell Marshall had 29 points and 11 rebounds and Tim Hardaway added 25 points, but it wasn't enough to reverse Golden State's tailspin. Hardaway made six 3-pointers, increasing his season total to 142 to surpass by one the team mark Latrell Sprewell established last year.Pacific-division leading Phoenix, up by a point heading into the fourth period, lost the lead 93-91 when Sprewell hit a 3-pointer with 10:42 remaining.

Barkley quickly helped the Suns regain command, pulling up for a 6-foot jumper to trigger a 17-6 run. Barkley had seven points during the flurry, Johnson had five and Danny Ainge's 3-pointer at the end put Phoenix on top 108-99 with 6:05 remaining.

Hardway's sixth 3-pointer cut it to 108-105 with 5:28 left but the Warriors lost ground from that point and there would be no repeat of their last meeting with the Suns, a 139-128 OT victory at Phoenix on Feb. 17.

The win at Phoenix was the first for coach Bob Lanier, who slipped to 2-9 since taking over for the fired Don Nelson.

Down by four at the break, the Suns went back in front 73-71 midway through the third on A.C. Green's stuff and took an 89-88 advantage into the final period.

Golden State trailed early but came back to take a 62-58 halftime lead behind 20 points from Marshall.

It was a heated game that saw Barkley draw a technical foul for arguing with officials and a flagrant foul for driving his shoulder into David Wood's chest.

Dan Majerle scored 14 first quarter points, hitting four 3-pointers, including two in the Suns' 13-4 opening burst.

But Marshall, who scored 30 points against Phoenix in his first career while with Minnesota last November, came through with 13 points in the opening period to help Golden State fight back for a 34-29 lead.

Phoenix pulled into a 43-all tie on Elliott Perry's 3-foot hook but Clifford Rozier then scored six straight points for the the Warriors, including two slams over Barkley for a 49-45 advantage.

Barkley was hit with a technical when he argued with officials that Rozier had gone over his back.

In the first period, Barkley was called for a flagrant foul for lowering his shoulder into Wood after the two initially bumped while running down court. Wood made both free throws and then drove around Barkley for a layup on the possession awarded the Warriors because of the penalty.

Spurs 124, Rockets 103

At San Antonio, David Robinson and the San Antonio Spurs were intent on making a statement for the rest of the country.

Robinson scored a game-high 31 points to power the Spurs to a 124-103 victory over the Houston Rockets in a nationally televised game and won a personal battle with 1994 MVP Hakeem Olajuwon. Robinson grabbed 11 rebounds and had three blocked shots, compared to Olajuwon's 25 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots.

"Last year, he was the MVP and they were the better team," said Robinson, who finished second behind Olajuwon in the voting. "I had a point to prove and this team had a point to prove. We're becoming the team we want to be."

Spurs coach Bob Hill said Robinson's recent performances validate his MVP candidacy. Robinson scored 30 or more points for the 12th time on Sunday, all San Antonio victories.

"We've beaten Houston five of six games and Shaq (Orlando Magic center Shaquille O'Neal) has never beaten him," Hill said. "What else is there? The guy is proving he's an MVP out there every game."

The Spurs stretched their winning streak to eight games, pulling within 1 1/2 games of Midwest Division-leading Utah. It was the fourth straight loss for the Rockets.

"We're playing good, solid basketball, better than we did earlier in the season," Robinson said. "We expect to play like this. We have a lot of confidence in how we can play."

San Antonio, the NBA's hottest team, has won 11 consecutive home games, 17 of its last 19 games and is 32-7 since Dennis Rodman returned to the team on Dec. 10.

The Spurs took advantage of injuries to Houston starting forwards Robert Horry and Carl Herrera to outrebound the defending NBA champions, 53-32.

"Right now, we're taking our lumps, but it will be good to have everybody back," Houston guard Clyde Drexler said. "We have as good a chance as anybody."

Rodman had a game-high 27 rebounds, his seventh straight game with 20 rebounds and 14th in his last 20.

"I'm going to have to get on Dennis, because he's grabbing some of my rebounds," Robinson said, laughing. "Today I got 11, so I started getting some of my share. But when I was getting six or seven, he was getting mine."

Sam Cassell's 3-point shot brought Houston within 101-90 with 7:01 left. San Antonio then ran off the next five points on a Sean Elliott 3-pointer and a Robinson fast-break slam to ice the victory.

"We started shooting too many jumpers and our transition defense was terrible," Spurs point guard Avery Johnson said. "We wanted to get back in the game."

Houston is 6-6 since acquiring Drexler from Portland on Feb. 14. "It's difficult to turn it around when you start losing," Olajuwon said. "You start playing tight and not natural. You're not playing with confidence. Right now, we need to regroup. I still like our team even though we're losing right now."

Rodman dominated the game inside in the third quarter, outrebounding Houston while he was in the game 9-7.

Nets 99, Bucks 94

If the New Jersey Nets hope to make a fourth straight appearance in the NBA playoffs they realize they need point guard Kenny Anderson at the top of his game, both physically and mentally.

In New Jersey, Anderson played like the All-Star that he was last year scoring a game-high 22 points and passing for 12 assists while leading the Nets to a 99-94 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.

That hasn't been the case lately - in the last three games, all losses, Anderson had averaged just 8.3 points and six assists a game. He said he was depressed and also complained of soreness in his surgically repaired left wrist.

"It felt good today," said Anderson after he hit the 20-point mark for the first time since Feb. 16. "The team played well, I played well and I was able to do some things I haven't done in a while.

"I've been in a little bit of a funk lately," said Anderson. "Some people have blown things out of proportion but I'm OK. I'm doing fine. We're still in the mix of things and have a chance to get that last playoff spot.

"It was definitely good to see Kenny play like this," said Derrick Coleman who added 21 points and 11 rebounds and combined with Anderson to have a hand in all but three of the Nets' 23 fourth quarter points.

And to make the playoffs the Nets not only need Anderson and Coleman to step up they need to beat teams like the Bucks who are one of five teams battling for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

"This was a very much needed win," said Nets coach Butch Beard whose team had lost three in a row and five of its previous six. "We played very well at times and Kenny played a lot better."

Not only did he play better but when the game was on the line it was he and Coleman who took matters into their own hands.

The Nets, who led in the game from early in the second period, saw the Bucks rally within 84-83 on Jon Barry's steal with 4:32 to play.

But Coleman hit a jumper from the top of the key. Anderson followed with a 3-point basket from the wing.

After Barry hit one of two free throws, Anderson passed to Armon Gilliam for a dunk. Then, following a Vin Baker drive, Coleman found Gilliam for a short jumper to give the Nets a 93-86 lead with 2:19 to play.

In the final two minutes, both Coleman and Chris Morris hit three free throws to wrap up the victory.

Glenn Robinson, who led Milwaukee with 21 points, hit a 3-point basket at the buzzer to give the Bucks a 29-28 lead after one period. But the Nets scored the first seven points of the second period and 10 of the first 12 - including five by Gilliam to take a 38-31 lead they never surrendered.

Miami 103, Bullets 90

Ledell Eackles, once driven out of Washington because of a weight problem, drove past his former mates on Sunday.

Eackles, still a robust 231 pounds, scored 17 points to help Miami to a 103-90 win over the Bullets in Miami.

Eackles averaged 12.7 points for the Bullets from 1988-92. Earlier this year, the free-agent pickup scored a season-high 22 points in Miami's 109-99 loss to Washington. Eackles, averaging 7.6 points, took no extra satisfaction in Sunday's performance.

"I know a lot of those guys," said Eackles, who shot five of seven, grabbed four rebounds, and doled out four assists. "They're friends. It's not like it's a stab in the back."

Eckles led a strong effort by the Heat bench, which outscored the Washington bench 41-18.

The Miami victory kept the Bullets from their first three-game winning streak of the season. Miami has won four of five at home and is 12-6 over its last 18 at Miami Arena.

Miami's Glen Rice, Billy Owens, and Matt Geiger scored 16 points apiece, while Juwan Howard and Chris Webber combined to score 46 of Washington's 90 points. Webber scored 21 points, several coming on thunderous dunks, and Howard added 25, his 40th consecutive game in double figures.

Two free throws by Calbert Cheaney sliced Miami's lead to 91-81 with 4:13 remaining but four points by Glen Rice and three consecutive inside baskets by Matt Geiger down the stretch secured the victory.

"We didn't have a very good flow," said Washington coach Jim Lynam, whose team shot 1 for 14 from three-point range and was outrebounded 59 to 48. "You're not going to be as sharp as you can every night."

Howard nailed a 10-footer to cut Miami's 18-point lead to 67-59 with 4:53 remaining in the third quarter before Eackles scored seven points and had an assist during Miami's quarter-ending 13-6 run for an 80-65 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

"He's our best one-on-one player and one of the best in the league," said Heat coach Alvin Gentry. "Being so strong, he causes officials to almost call every foul or he finishes the job himself."

View Comments

Washington center Gheorge Muresan dominated the first quarter, scoring nine points while grabbing six rebounds. He finished with 11 points.

But Miami's Keith Askins hit a 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds to tie the game at 27-27. Askins finished with 9 points and 8 rebounds.

Miami rookie guard Khalid Reeves returned to action after a six-game layoff because of tendinitis of his left knee and scored 6 points before spraining his left ankle. He's listed as day-to-day.

Kevin Willis missed his fourth straight game because of a strained back.

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.