There were doubts whether Hakeem Olajuwon would be well enough to play in the Houston Rockets' game against the Atlanta Hawks.

There was no need to worry.Playing with a sore right knee, Olajuwon scored eight of his 38 points in a third-quarter charge that carried Houston to a 114-106 victory Thursday night.

"This is really a big win starting off a homestand, particularly with a little question about Dream's health," Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "But he put any doubts to rest early. He was phenomenal. He was really smooth out there tonight. "

Olajuwon's knee started bothering him in practice on Tuesday, but he decided to play against the Hawks. Bad move for Atlanta.

"We were going to try and double team defensively and help as quick as possible with rotations (on Olajuwon)," Atlanta coach Lenny Wilkens said. "I don't think we got there quick enough, and he's too good to give him that much time."

Olajuwon also had nine rebounds and six assists.

It wasn't just Olajuwon that did Atlanta in.

The Rockets pounded the Hawks from 3-point range, especially in the second half when they were 10 of 14. They hit 13 of 27 for the game.

"Our guys were phenomenal in moving the ball around and taking good shots," Tomjanovich said. "Tim Breaux was phenomenal. He had a good practice yesterday and he hung in there tonight and used all his strengths."

Breaux, who hit a trio of 3-pointers, scored 17 points, while Sam Mack was 5-of-8 from 3-point range and finished with 15 points.

Clippers 110, Mavericks 106

Playing at Anaheim Arena, Loy Vaught had 20 points and 14 rebounds and Pooh Richardson hit a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the final two minutes as the Clippers handed Dallas its fifth straight loss.

George McCloud scored 21 of his 34 points in the second half and Jason Kidd added 31 points and 13 rebounds for the reeling Mavericks, who lost to the Clippers for the 13th time in their last 14 meetings.

Lakers 106, Warriors 103

Magic Johnson scored 21 points, and the Lakers withstood two 3-pointers in the last 12 seconds to win at Golden State.

Elden Campbell grabbed Bimbo Coles' 3-point try at the buzzer, sending Golden State coach Rick Adelman onto the court arguing unsuccessfully for a goaltending call.

Campbell had 20 points and nine blocks and Nick Van Exel scored 18 points for the Lakers, who snapped a seven-game losing streak at Oakland.

Joe Smith had 28 points to lead the Warriors, who lost their fourth straight.

Spurs 120, Heat 100

David Robinson scored 28 points as host San Antonio won its eighth straight in a game that saw four players ejected for arguing calls.

Vinny Del Negro had 27 points and Chuck Person 25 for the Spurs, while Tim Hardaway led Miami with 26.

Person hit seven 3-pointers, giving him 1,002 in his career and tying him with Danny Ainge for third on the NBA career list.

Officials called 10 technical fouls in the game.

Cavaliers 98, Celtics 73

Chris Mills scored a career-high 30 points and rookie Bob Sura had a career-high 10 assists to lead host Cleveland past Boston.

Mills, who made 11 of 14 shots and all six of his free throws, scored the Cavs' final eight points of the second quarter and first two of the second half.

The Celtics, led by David Wesley with 16 points and Eric Montross with 11, were held to their fourth-lowest point total since the NBA went to the 24-second clock in the 1954-55 season. The Celtics were without injured Dino Radja, Dee Brown and Pervis Ellison.

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Bullets 100, Nets 92

Brent Price and Ledell Eackles hit late 3-pointers as Washington overcame Shawn Bradley's first triple double.

Bradley finished with 19 points, a season-high 17 rebounds and a career-high 11 blocks.

Juwan Howard had 25 points to lead the Bullets, who won on the road for only the fourth time in 17 games. Gheorge Muresan added 16, Price 15 and Eackles 13.

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