Well, Not That It Really Matters, but Heat Road Streak Ends at 14

If the Miami Heat are to be believed, the third-longest road winning streak in NBA history never meant all that much.

Miami’s streak came to an end at 14 games--two short of the NBA record--Saturday night at Salt Lake City as Tim Hardaway’s three-point attempt fell short at the buzzer in an 83-80 loss to the Utah Jazz.

It was the first road loss since Nov. 15 for Miami, which was trying to match or beat the Lakers’ 16-game streak in 1971-72.

“The streak wasn’t important at all,” said Alonzo Mourning, who had 18 points and 15 rebounds in the loss. “It was important to you [media members] to have something to write about. And it was important for us to win, to get a high seed in the playoffs.

“But I don’t feel like talking about the streak. It was a great run.”

“It’s over,” said Hardaway, who scored 15 points. “We’ll start another streak in Seattle on Tuesday.”

Said Coach Pat Riley: “I don’t even think about it. We are about winning basketball games. We are about building a team and not about setting records.”

Karl Malone scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Utah, but he was only one for 11 in the second half. Bryon Russell came up big with two free throws, a steal and a recovery of turnover in the final 1:42.

The third quarter, in which the Jazz built a 70-57 lead, was marked by five technical fouls, two ejections, one flagrant foul and 23 free throws.

Portland, 110, Dallas 104--Arvydas Sabonis scored a career-high 33 points and Kenny Anderson added 25 as the Trail Blazers completed a three-game sweep through Texas with a victory over the Mavericks at Dallas.

The 7-foot-3 Sabonis went 11 for 14 from the field and had 12 rebounds, overpowering the Mavericks’ frontcourt to lead Portland to its fourth consecutive victory. Cliff Robinson and Isaiah Rider added 19 points each for the Trail Blazers.

Atlanta 88, New York 71--Henry James made five three-point shots and scored 19 points as the Hawks extended their home winning streak to 11 games.

The Hawks took control with a 21-6 spurt to start the second half, with Steve Smith scoring nine and James six. It gave Atlanta a 59-42 lead, and the Knicks never got closer than 10 the rest of the way.

Smith scored 18, Christian Laettner added 17 and Mookie Blaylock had 15 for the Hawks, whose home record of 11-1 is the second-best in the league.

Washington 104, Charlotte 93--Rod Strickland scored 16 of his 28 points in the second half and the Bullets took advantage of a third-quarter collapse by the Hornets at Charlotte, N.C.

Washington rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit by outscoring Charlotte, 28-7, in the third quarter. The Hornets missed 16 of their 18 shots in the period, including their last 13.

Cleveland 99, Indiana 91--Terrell Brandon had 21 of his 32 points in the first half, and the Cavaliers kept Larry Brown from getting his 600th NBA victory by beating the Pacers at Cleveland.

Brandon, who scored at least 30 points three times in December, shot made nine of 13 shots in the first half but went 10 minutes without scoring in the second. He finally made a jumper with 6:01 to play, giving Cleveland an 85-70 lead.

Reggie Miller had 14 at halftime, but scored only once in the final 7:34--on a late three-pointer. He sat out eight minutes in the second half and was held in check by flu and Bobby Phills, a second-team all-defensive player last season.

Detroit 118, Toronto 74--Michael Curry tied a career-high with 17 points, including 13 in the first half as the Pistons crushed the Raptors at Auburn Hill, Mich.

The 44-point victory margin tied the second-largest in Piston history and was the second-worst in Toronto’s two seasons. The Raptors shot 32%.

Minnesota 97, Milwaukee 91--Tom Gugliotta scored 25 points and Kevin Garnett added 22 as the Timberwolves, who trailed for most of the game, beat the Bucks at Milwaukee.

Minnesota was playing the second of back-to-back games and Milwaukee hadn’t played in six days, but that didn’t stop the Timberwolves from sending the Bucks to their fourth consecutive loss--their longest slide of the season.

Garnett had eight blocked shots, four in the fourth quarter.

“A lot of guys don’t like to play defense,” he said. “That’s something I’ve been working real hard at, something I take pride in. I’ve worked real hard to where I’m comfortable playing defense.”

Coach Flip Saunders said Garnett should have been credited with at least 10 blocks.

“He probably changed 20 shots tonight,” Saunders said. “He was key for us.”