NBA ROUNDUP : Old Play Works to Winning Perfection for Spurs

Coach Bob Hill dug deep into the San Antonio Spurs’ playbook and found the “surprise play,” an isolation play that set up Sean Elliott’s 15-foot game-winning jump shot.

“It’s a good play and one that I really like,” said Elliott, whose shot with 2.9 seconds left gave the Spurs a 98-96 victory Friday night and extended their six-game winning streak before a NBA season-high crowd of 31,514 in San Antonio. “We used to run it a lot when (former coach) Larry (Brown) was here. It worked just like we drew it up. Avery (Johnson) was struggling with two guys, and then David (Robinson) made a big pick to get me open.”

Elliott’s shot was set up after Vernon Maxwell was called for traveling. Houston Coach Rudy Tomjanovich was assessed a technical foul for disputing the call, but Vinny Del Negro missed the technical before Elliott’s game-winner.

David Robinson, who started the game with a painful left ankle and sprained his right ankle in the first quarter, preserved San Antonio’s victory by blocking Hakeem Olajuwon’s shots on the final two plays of the game.

Del Negro scored 17 of his team-high 26 points in the final quarter. Elliott scored 19 points and Robinson had 18 and 10 rebounds. Olajuwon had 19 points and 10 rebounds for Houston, which was led by Maxwell’s season-high 27 points.

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Cleveland 80, New Jersey 75--The Cavaliers, relying again on their furious double-teaming defense, won their eighth consecutive game, beating the Nets in Cleveland behind 18 points and 19 rebounds from Tyrone Hill.

The eight-game winning streak is their best since they won a team-record 11 in a row last February and March.

New Jersey played without injured Derrick Coleman for the third consecutive game.

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Atlanta 97, Detroit 77--Mookie Blaylock had 18 points and eight assists to lead the Hawks to a rout of the Pistons in Auburn Hills, Mich., leaving Lenny Wilkens one victory shy of Red Auerbach’s all-time coaching victories record.

The win was the 937th of the Atlanta coach’s career. He can tie the record Tuesday at Houston.

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Orlando 123, Milwaukee 91--Shaquille O’Neal scored 32 points and the Magic, playing without Anfernee Hardaway, held the Bucks to two field goals in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter while scoring 17 points to break open a close game in Orlando, Fla.

Nick Anderson had 27 points for the Magic, who were without Hardaway for his first time as a pro because of a sore hamstring.

Glenn Robinson led the Bucks with 20 points.

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Phoenix 126, Denver 110--Danny Manning scored seven of his 18 points in 52 seconds of the fourth quarter, giving the Suns an insurmountable 21-point lead with 4:18 remaining in Phoenix.

Kevin Johnson, starting his first game since coming off the injured list, had 21 points and 11 assists. Wayman Tisdale, another surprise starter who replaced Joe Kleine at center, scored 17 points.

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf scored 22 points for the Nuggets.

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Chicago 116, Indiana 92--Toni Kukoc scored 17 of his 27 points in the second quarter as the Bulls pulled away to snap a three-game losing streak with a victory over the Pacers in Chicago.

The Bulls led by as many as 30 points early in the fourth quarter.

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Philadelphia 85, Boston 77--Dana Barros had a career-high 34 points as the 76ers broke a five-game losing streak with a victory over the poor-shooting Celtics in Boston.

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Portland 118, Dallas 92--Clifford Robinson had a season-high 31 points in a rout in Portland, Ore.

Dallas’ Jimmy Jackson, the league’s second-leading scorer at 28.8, was five for 14 from the field and finished with 10 points.

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Miami 116, Charlotte 93--Glen Rice scored 37 points and Ledell Eackles sparked the Heat’s injury-depleted backcourt with 15 in a victory over the Hornets in Miami.

Eackles was pressed into service because Harold Miner was out because of a sprained left ankle and starter Billy Owens sprained his left ankle in the second quarter and did not return.

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NBA Notes

Point guard Doc Rivers, waived by the New York Knicks last week, turned down more lucrative offers to join the San Antonio Spurs for the NBA minimum of $150,000, The New York Post reported. Because Rivers cleared waivers, the Knicks must still pay him $1.4 million this season and are responsible for half of his $3.2 million contract in 1995-96.