NBA ROUNDUP : Drexler’s 41 Help Stop Hornets

Clyde Drexler made sure the Charlotte Hornets’ winless streak in Houston remained intact.

Drexler scored a season-high 41 points as the Rockets beat the Hornets, 113-98, Saturday night to climb into a first-place tie with Utah in the Midwest Division and beat Charlotte for the ninth time in a row at home.

“A smart team always goes to a guy who’s on fire and we’re a smart team,� said Drexler, who at one point made 13 consecutive shots. “I felt real good tonight.�

Charlotte, led by Larry Johnson’s 23 points, is allowing opponents to shoot a league-high 49%; the Rockets shot 57%.

Golden State 100, Indiana 97--Rookie Joe Smith scored 20 points and Rony Seikaly added 19 to lead the Warriors at Oakland.

Indiana center Rik Smits, playing his first game of the season after ankle surgery, scored 15 points.

Sacramento 109, Orlando 106--Brian Grant capped a season-high 27-point performance with two free throws with 11 seconds left at Sacramento as the Kings snapped the Magic’s six-game winning streak.

Detroit 104, Atlanta 96--Grant Hill had 24 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists for his second career triple-double as the Pistons won at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Lindsay Hunter nearly gave the Pistons a second triple-double, finishing with 14 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.

San Antonio 101, Phoenix 93--David Robinson had 37 points and 15 rebounds as the Spurs let an 18-point third-quarter lead slip away before beating the Suns at San Antonio.

Charles Barkley had 34 points and 18 rebounds as the Suns lost for the third time in four games.

Washington 135, Boston 107--Robert Pack scored 14 of his 26 points in the first quarter and the Bullets took advantage of 58% shooting in a victory at Baltimore.

Washington closed out the first half with a 17-4 run to take command at 62-52, then started the third quarter with a 10-3 spurt.

New Jersey 79, Cleveland 78--Kevin Edwards made a go-ahead jumper with 35 seconds left and the Nets remained unbeaten at home by rallying from a 17-point second-half deficit to beat the Cavaliers and continue a season-high three-game winning streak.

The Nets held Cleveland to 28 second-half points and only five in the final 4:46.

Denver 109, Minnesota 105--Dikembe Mutombo had 22 points, 16 rebounds and 10 blocked shots at Denver as the Nuggets defeated the Timberwolves for the ninth consecutive time.

The Nuggets’ Dale Ellis scored 20 points, becoming the 12th active player and the 71st in NBA history to reach 15,000 career points.

New York 94, Philadelphia 85--Patrick Ewing, who left the game after a nasty fall and returned with five stitches, finished with 19 points as the Knicks handed the 76ers their 10th consecutive loss.

Ewing fell on his chin and chest in the first quarter.

Anthony Mason added 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks.