Bulls Had to Lose, Sooner or Laettner

Christian Laettner made a big impression on the Chicago Bulls.

Laettner scored a career-high 37 points and added a season-high 14 rebounds at Atlanta as the Hawks beat Chicago, 108-103, to end the Bulls’ eight-game winning streak.

“No one could stop him,” said Michael Jordan, who scored 34 points. “He played like an all-star tonight. He really gave them the lift that they needed.”

Mookie Blaylock had 24 points and Steve Smith scored six of his 18 on free throws in the final 39 seconds as the Hawks ended a nine-game losing streak in the series and handed the defending NBA champions only their fourth loss in 29 games.

Houston 101, Milwaukee 90--Charles Barkley returned from a two-game suspension and had 20 points and 16 rebounds at Milwaukee to help the Rockets end a four-game losing streak.

“I think we’re a little better with me in there,” Barkley said.

Golden State 113, Dallas 108--After trading Jason Kidd, the distracted Mavericks were outplayed over the final 3 1/2 minutes at home. Joe Smith had 30 points and 16 rebounds and Latrell Sprewell added 27 points for the Warriors.

Minnesota 88, New York 80--Rookie guard Stephon Marbury, a native New Yorker, scored 13 of his 27 points in the third quarter at Minneapolis and the Timberwolves rallied from a 16-point deficit to surprise the Knicks.

“They only get to see me twice back home,” said Marbury, who missed his first chance because of an injury when Minnesota traveled to New York in November. “It was a lot of fun. It feels real good to beat the Knicks.”

Indiana 95, Detroit 89--Reggie Miller scored 23 points and Eddie Johnson had all of his season-high 14 in the fourth quarter as the Pacers pulled out a wild overtime victory at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Indiana led, 80-74, with a minute to play in regulation, but Grant Hill scored eight points in the final 51 seconds, including the tying layup with 2.5 seconds to go.

Utah 99, Portland 94--Karl Malone’s 10-foot jumper with 32.6 seconds left gave the Jazz the lead for good at Salt Lake City.

Malone scored 24 points and Bryon Russell had 23 for the Jazz, who closed the game with a 23-10 run.

Philadelphia 118, Denver 89--Allen Iverson broke out of a shooting slump to score 31 points and Jerry Stackhouse added 20 as the 76ers ended a season-high 10-game losing streak with the rout at Denver.

Miami 96, Orlando 76--The Heat held Orlando to 37% shooting at Miami and received an offensive spark from reserves Isaac Austin (17 points in 23 minutes) and Voshon Lenard (14 points, three three-point baskets).

Seattle 94, San Antonio 86--Gary Payton scored 20 points and made two free throws with 51 seconds left at Seattle as the SuperSonics won their fifth game in a row.

Toronto 98, New Jersey 96--The Nets made only 16 of 32 free throws and the Raptors held on at Hamilton, Canada.

Toronto’s Marcus Camby came off the injured list to get 13 points, nine rebounds and a big blocked shot in the final minute.

Sacramento 111, Vancouver 88--The Kings were never threatened at home after bolting to a 38-21 lead at the end of the first quarter.