It was a unique situation for Alonzo Mourning. For the first time in his career, he was booed for having a great game.
In his first game at Charlotte since being traded by the Hornets to Miami on opening day, the former darling of the fans was lustily booed every time he touched the ball."It just gave me more energy," Mourning said after roughing up his old team for 26 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks in the Heat's 116-95 victory Wednesday night.
"One guy said, `Hey 'Zo, you left a championship team here.' I just started laughing. I said, `We didn't really win anything when I was here, did we?' That just shows you how narrow-minded the fans can be. They get a couple of drinks in them and they come here and it's like, `Hey, let's boo 'Zo."'
Leading the cheers was Miami coach Pat Riley, whose team moved within a half-game of Charlotte for the eighth and last playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. In 13 seasons, Riley has never failed to reach the playoffs.
"This is probably as well as we have played since we have been together," Riley said, referring to the two major trades this season that shuffled the Miami roster.
Miami converted 14 Charlotte turnovers into 25 points and shot 56 percent, making 12 of 20 3-pointers. Tim Hardaway was 3-for-6 on 3-pointers in scoring 29 points and Rex Chapman was 5-of-7 on the way to 19.
Dell Curry had 22 points and Glen Rice 21 to lead the Hornets, who have five games left.
"We need to try to win all five now," said Kenny Anderson, who had 16 points and 10 assists. "Somehow we've just got to bounce back. We just can't seem to bounce back after a big win. I don't know why."
Bullets 122, Celtics 108
Juwan Howard had 26 points and 11 rebounds as Washington won at Boston for its fifth straight win.
David Wesley led the Celtics with 19. Todd Day's 3-pointer brought Boston to 94-91, but reserve Chris Whitney answered with a 3-pointer to start the Bullets on a 12-4 run.
Magic 116, Cavaliers 104
Shaquille O'Neal, who has dedicated the season to his recently deceased grandmother, had 39 points as Orlando snapped a two-game home losing streak.
O'Neal made 15 of 18 shots and was 9-for-13 from the foul line in his first full game since leaving the team for five days to attend his grandmother's funeral.
Pistons 92, Sixers 76
Otis Thorpe had 24 points and 16 rebounds for Detroit, including six points in a 13-0 run that gave the host Pistons a 71-47 lead.
Detroit led by 26 before Philadelphia cut the deficit in the late going. Allan Houston added 17 points, Terry Mills 16 and Grant Hill 11 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Clarence Weatherspoon led the 76ers with 24 points.
Lakers 111, Timberwolves 90
Sedale Threatt replaced suspended guard Nick Van Exel with 20 points and seven assists at Minnesota.
Elden Campbell had 28 points as the Lakers won for their seventh in 10 games. Van Exel was suspended for the remainder of the regular season and fined an NBA-record $25,000 earlier in the day for shoving referee Ron Garretson in Tuesday's loss at Denver.
Threatt had 15 points as the Lakers built a 64-55 halftime lead. Threatt's 3-pointer triggered a 14-0 run and Los Angeles built the lead to 21. Isiah Rider had 28 for Minnesota.
Spurs 105, Grizzlies 82
Chuck Person led a balanced attack with 15 points as San Antonio moved within a game of its ninth Midwest Division title in 19 seasons.
The expansion Grizzlies lost their 27th in 28 games. Vinny Del Negro, Avery Johnson and Monty Williams had 14 each for San Antonio. Reserve guard Lawrence Moten led the visiting Grizzlies with 14.
Sonics 108, Kings 89
Detlef Schrempf scored 20 points and Shawn Kemp had 19 points and 11 rebounds as Seattle clinched a tie for the best record in the Western Conference.
Lionel Simmons had 19 points and Corliss Williamson 17 for visiting Sacramento. The Kings' Mitch Richmond, who averages 23, was limited to six.