Jazz Hit Low Note: 72 Points Against Rockets
The Houston Rockets did at least one thing right while holding Utah to its lowest point total in franchise history. The Rockets won.
“We did so many things wrong, it is amazing we could win a game like this,” coach Rudy Tomjanovich said after his Rockets beat the Jazz 75-72 Monday night at Salt Lake City on Charles Barkley’s go-ahead dunk with 15.8 seconds left.
The Jazz broke their record of 74 points, set in 1974 - when the team was based in New Orleans - in a game at New York.
Karl Malone led Utah with 16 points, but was held without a field goal in the fourth quarter. He wasn’t alone.
Barkley, who had 33 rebounds Saturday in Phoenix, had 20 rebounds and nine points in his second game of the season.
Five members of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History list were on the court during the game: Clyde Drexler, Hakeem Olajuwon, Barkley, Malone and John Stockton. Only when the Rockets play the Chicago Bulls will there be a chance that six will be on the floor at once, if the Houston three match up against Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan and Robert Parish.
Blazers score 76
Mookie Blaylock scored 22 points and Steve Smith added 19 as the Atlanta Hawks won their first game of the season and spoiled Portland’s home opener with a 94-76 rout of the Trail Blazers.
Portland turned the ball over 28 times, 24 in the first three quarters, and came within four points of its all-time franchise scoring low.
The Hawks, 11 for 17 from 3-point range, led by 21 points in the first quarter and 25 in the second.
The Blazers were booed heartily at the end of the first quarter, and again in the second and at the final buzzer.
Nets trade Askew
Vincent Askew has been traded by the New Jersey Nets to the Indiana Pacers for Reggie Williams.
Neither Askew nor Williams spent much time with the teams that traded them.
New Jersey acquired Askew from Seattle in an off-season trade for guard Greg Graham. Indiana got Williams and Jalen Rose in the off-season in the deal that sent Mark Jackson to Denver.
Shaq vs. Pat
When Shaquille O’Neal was with the Orlando Magic, he all too often seemed to get the best of the New York Knicks’ Patrick Ewing. He frequently beat Ewing in the low post and almost always beat him in All-Star balloting.
But now that O’Neal has joined the Los Angeles Lakers, Ewing, now the dominant center in the Eastern Conference, will face him only twice a season. Ewing is looking to make the best of it when the 2-0 teams meet tonight at Madison Square Garden.
Last season, Ewing averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds against the Magic. O’Neal, who missed one meeting because of his grandmother’s death, averaged 26 points and 10 boards.
Bouncing around
Former New York Knicks forward Anthony Mason was fined $250 and sentenced to 120 hours of community service after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct in connection with a scuffle with police. Mason was arrested July 24 in Times Square after a scuffle with 10 police officers during a dispute over a parking ticket… . The Hawks put forward Ken Norman on the injured list with a strained lower back. He was replaced on the roster by guard-forward Willie Burton… . Injuries continue to hinder the Boston Celtics. Point guard David Wesley has a sore foot and forward Eric Williams a sore right knee. Each is day to day. The Celtics already have three players - Dee Brown, Greg Minor and Steve Hamer - on the injured list and a fourth, Alton Lister, will be there after the club petitions the league this week for special circumstances.