Unless they stumble in Houston, the Rockets are done playing in Seattle.
The Rockets put themselves in position to wrap up their Western Conference semifinal series at home with a 110-106 overtime victory over the SuperSonics on Sunday that gave them a 3-1 lead."We're looking forward to closing them out at home," Houston's Clyde Drexler said.
"We need to go home and take care of business," Charles Barkley of the Rockets said.
The Rockets didn't win the game in regulation because Barkley missed two free throws with 11 seconds left. In overtime, rookie Matt Maloney put them ahead in the final minute with his eighth 3-pointer of the game, one shy of the NBA playoff record set by Rex Chapman of Phoenix against the Sonics in the first round this year.
The Rockets can wrap up the series with a win in Game 5 in Houston on Tuesday night. Game 6, if necessary, would be in Seattle on Thursday night.
History says the Houston-Seattle series is probably over. Only five clubs have come back from 3-1 deficits. The Rockets were the last team to do that, rallying from that disadvantage to beat Phoenix two years ago.
If that's the case, it will be a disappointing ending to what the Sonics hoped would be a title season. Seattle lost in six games to the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals.
"We've been there before and come back," Houston's Hakeem Olajuwon said. "So we know it's not over yet."
"We just have to come out and play like the series is tied up and win the game Tuesday," said Gary Payton, who led Seattle on Sunday with 27 points and 11 assists.
"Game 5 is simple," Seattle coach George Karl said. "It's pride, it's heart. If we play with tremendous intensity, we'll have an opportunity to win."
In an emotional game that the Sonics knew they had to win to have a shot at winning the series, there were six technical fouls called, four on the Rockets.
Even in victory, the Rockets didn't have anything good to say about the officiating crew of Dick Bavetta, Bill Oakes and Don Vaden.
"I think they need to re-define the word foul," Drexler said. "It's getting out of hand."
Said Karl, who received one of Seattle's two technicals: "We had three or four tough calls in overtime. One OK, two maybe, three or four? It's hard to overcome that."
Maloney, equalling his career playoff-high with 26 points, broke the Sonics' backs with his 3-pointer with 37 seconds left in overtime that gave Houston a 108-106 lead.
"I've been really satisfied with the way I've been able to knock it down," said the 25-year-old Maloney, who is 30-for-57 (53 percent) from behind the arc in playoff series against Seattle and Minnesota after making 154 3-pointers during the regular season.
With the Sonics focusing on defending Olajuwon, Barkley and Drexler, Maloney found himself wide open a lot of times.
"That's their defensive decision," Maloney said. "They can double down and live with the shots I'm getting or guard three of the best players in the history of the league one on one."
Seattle's David Wingate missed a 3-point attempt with five seconds left and Mario Elie of the Rockets made two free throws with 3.2 seconds to go. Hersey Hawkins missed a 3-pointer as time ran out.
Barkley acquitted himself of the missed free throws by scoring seven of his 26 points in overtime. He also led Houston with 15 rebounds as the Rockets finished with a 62-56 advantage on the boards.
The Sonics got only 11 points and nine rebounds in 28 minutes from All-Star forward Shawn Kemp, who fouled out with 5:59 left in regulation.
Houston was 14-of-30 (47 percent) from 3-point range, while Seattle was 5-for-19 (26 percent). Maloney was 8-of-13 from beyond the arc.
Detlef Schrempf of Seattle had 19 points.
Hawkins sent the game into overtime when he hit a 3-pointer from the left corner with 2.4 seconds left.
The Rockets led 98-95 after a 5-footer by Barkley with 1:47 left and a free throw by Olajuwon with 51 seconds to go. They could have wrapped up the game after Barkley was fouled by Sam Perkins with 11 seconds left, but Barkley missed both free-throw attempts. When Terry Cummings rebounded the second, Barkley put a finger to his head as if to shoot himself.
After the victory, Barkley felt a lot better.
"I try not to psychoanalyze it," he said. "I shot them well. They just didn't go in."
The Rockets scored 10 straight points, including 3-pointers by Clyde Drexler and Maloney, for a 91-84 lead with 5:38 to go.
The Sonics took a 77-74 lead into the fourth quarter after scoring the final five points of the third period, four by Schrempf. Schrempf made a layup with 1:17 left and made two free throws with 50 seconds to go after Olajuwon fouled him, his fourth. Perkins made a free throw after Olajuwon was called for a technical for arguing the call with Bavetta.
Kemp was called for his fourth foul with 7:31 to go after he fouled Kevin Willis on a layup.
Knicks 77, Heat 73
At New York, both offenses were ugly, both defenses were suffocating. And when Game 3 of the Miami-New York series came down to one final shot, it was appropriate that the biggest play of all was a blocked shot.
Patrick Ewing blocked Tim Hardaway's 3-point attempt with three seconds left Sunday to preserve the Knicks' 77-73 victory over the Heat. It gave New York a 2-1 advantage heading into Game 4 Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks made only five field goals in the fourth quarter and none in the final 6:20, but they also held Miami to just two baskets over the final 12 minutes and zero points in the final 2:50.
Ewing led New York with 25 points and 11 rebounds and outplayed his counterpart, Alonzo Mourning, for the third straight game. Mourning had 14 points and seven rebounds and was not a factor in the fourth quarter.
Allan Houston added 13 points and John Starks had 11, including three free throws with 2:42 left to give New York a 76-73 lead.
Each team botched its next three possessions, and Miami got one last chance to go for the tie when Ewing lost control of the ball and touched the sideline after he recovered with 13.4 seconds left.
The Heat managed to get Hardaway into a mismatch in which he was guarded one-on-one by Ewing, but in this instance it was just the kind of mismatch the Knicks needed.
With the clock ticking, Hardaway attempted a 3-pointer from the right wing and Ewing rejected it. The ball came down into Ewing's hands, Hardaway fouled him and Ewing - after waving his arms to the crowd to call for more applause - made one of two free throws with 1.8 seconds left to clinch it.
Bulls 89, Hawks 80
At Atlanta, Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan were back in their familiar roles Sunday, leading the Chicago Bulls to an 89-80 victory over the Atlanta Hawks and firm control of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Jordan scored 27 points and Pippen added 26 in a superb all-around game as the Bulls rolled to a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. Chicago can wrap it up when the teams return to the United Center on Tuesday night for Game 5.
Shaken by a rare home playoff loss Thursday that evened the series, the Bulls beat one of the best home teams in the league on consecutive days and showed they have every intention of making a run for their fifth NBA championship in seven years.
Trailing by as many as 24 points in the second half, the Hawks made a serious run at the Bulls in the fourth quarter. A 16-2 spurt brought Atlanta within 83-80 in the final minute, but Jordan hit two free throws, Ron Harper made two more and Jordan closed it with a steal and dunk.