Abdur-Rahim Leads Grizzlies

Any win is a cause for celebration for the Vancouver Grizzlies, the worst team in the NBA. A road win is something truly exceptional.

The Grizzlies accomplished that rare feat Wednesday night at San Jose, getting a season-high 34 points from rookie Shareef Abdur-Rahim to win only their second road game, 109-95 over Golden State.

“Especially the way this team is going, any time you can get a win it feels real good,” said Abdur-Rahim, who played one season at nearby California before becoming the No. 3 overall pick in last summer’s draft. “I think it does a lot for us.”

The Grizzlies are 2-14 on the road.

Joe Smith, who had a career-high 38 points and 15 rebounds, scored 14 consecutive Golden State points as the Warriors tried to rally in the closing minutes.

The Warriors’ Mark Price scored 11 points, leaving him two shy of becoming the 201st player in NBA history to score 10,000 points.

Miami 85, Portland 81--After Tim Hardaway scored 28 points--21 coming in the second half at Portland--Heat Coach Pat Riley was comparing him to Magic Johnson.

“I got the same feeling now that I had with Earvin, you know, Magic,” Riley said.

“He’s been doing it all year for us. It was one of his best games of the year. He’s good at reading when to go or not. He conserved his energy and then went.”

Hardaway’s clutch 21-footer with 15.8 seconds left was the game’s biggest shot.

Washington 115, Phoenix 113--Calbert Cheaney, a guard who rarely gets a chance to shoot in crucial situations, scored the go-ahead basket with 4.6 seconds left in overtime at Landover, Md., as the Bullets beat the Suns for the first time after 17 consecutive losses.

Juwan Howard finished with 24 points as the Bullets notched their first win against the Suns since March 9, 1988.

Kevin Johnson matched his season high with 34 points, including a three-point shot with 4.4 seconds left in regulation that sent Phoenix into overtime for a second straight night.

Phoenix’s Robert Horry completed a two-game suspension for throwing a towel in the face of Coach Danny Ainge.

Dallas 111, Philadelphia 93--George McCloud, one night after a dreadful night against the New York Knicks, made eight of 12 shots against the 76ers and scored 23 points to lead the Mavericks at Philadelphia.

McCloud was one for nine in a 30-point loss to the Knicks in a game in which the Mavericks shot only 29%.

Allen Iverson, who was held out of the starting lineup by 76er Coach Johnny Davis for missing the pregame team meeting, had 22 points for Philadelphia.

A.C. Green of the Mavericks played in his 845th consecutive game to move past Johnny “Red” Kerr and into second place on the NBA’s career list. Randy Smith holds the record of 906 consecutive games.

Houston 81, Cleveland 78--Hakeem Olajuwon made a tie-breaking hook shot with 27 seconds left as the Rockets beat the Cavaliers before 20,562, the first sellout crowd of the season at Cleveland’s Gund Arena.

Cavalier forward Tyrone Hill missed the game with a dislocated left middle finger, an injury he suffered against Indiana Tuesday.

Boston 107, San Antonio 83--The Celtics, who had only eight healthy players, won their second game in a row by beating the Spurs at Boston.

Milwaukee 119, Utah 112--Glenn Robinson scored 38 points and Vin Baker added 21, and the two Bucks forwards scored the first eight points of overtime to lead the Bucks to a rare victory over the Jazz at Milwaukee.

Seattle 109, Denver 99--Shawn Kemp had 26 points and 11 rebounds and Detlef Schrempf had 24 points to lead SuperSonics at Denver.