SPORTSWIRE: Payton explodes for 30 against Akeem-less Rockets

Magic blow by Cavs; Bullets-Suns postponed; Arkansas cruises; NHL talks go nowhere With Olajuwon sitting out after injuring his right wrist crashing into a photographer's camera last Thursday at Golden State, the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Rockets 103-90. Gary Payton scored a season-high 30 points for Seattle, which took over the game in the third quarter by outscoring Houston 32-17 and won its sixth in a row. Vincent Askew had 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting and Detlef Schrempf added 15 points. Houston scored the first six points of the game and set the pace for the first 14 minutes before the Sonics took their first lead at 32-31. The lead changed hands 13 times after that and was tied eight times before Payton's layup with three seconds left in the half gave Seattle a 52-51 edge at intermission. Seattle moved ahead to stay at 63-61 on two free throws by Schrempf. · Magic 114, Cavaliers 97 CLEVELAND -- Anfernee Hardaway scored 10 points and Shaquille O'Neal had nine during Orlando's 42-point first quarter last night as the Magic beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 114-97. O'Neal and Nick Anderson finished with 26 points each -- both on 11-of-14 shooting -- and Hardaway finished with 20. The Magic, whose nine-game winning streak ended with a two-point loss at Atlanta on Saturday, bounced back with a fury, running off the game's first eight points on fast-break dunks by Hardaway and Donald Royal and two baskets by Horace Grant. · Knicks 104, Celtics 90 NEW YORK -- Charles Smith had 20 points and the New York Knicks shut down the Celtics in the second half, beating Boston 104-90 last night. The Knicks, who have won their last eight games against the Celtics, led by as many as 20 points early in the final period. Boston, which dropped its third straight, made only 12 of 36 shots after halftime. Dino Radja had 23 points -- 13 in the first half -- to lead Boston, which was outrebounded 54-28. Dominique Wilkins added 20 but was held to just 2 in the second half and didn't play the fourth quarter. Anthony Mason had 14 points and 12 rebounds and Herb Williams added 12 points off the bench for New York. Patrick Ewing had 11 points. · LANDOVER, Md. -- Last night's NBA game between the Phoenix Suns and Washington Bullets was postponed after a 90-minute delay because of moisture on the court at the USAir Arena. The wetness was caused by the humidity outside combined with the new ice surface underneath the court, Bullets president Susan O'Malley said. The ice was put down Sunday for a figure skating show this weekend. No makeup date was set, although O'Malley said a decision would be made by tomorrow. The last time an NBA game was postponed was Jan. 17, 1994, when the Los Angeles Lakers called off a home game against the Sacramento Kings because of an earthquake. Workers at USAir arena used towels to mop up the moisture as a sellout crowd of more than 18,000 looked on, but the condensation quickly reappeared. NBA vice president of operations Rod Thorn, head referee Paul Mihalak and O'Malley spoke on the telephone and decided to postpone the game. .No. 9 Duke 103, G. Washington 73 DURHAM, N.C. -- Cherokee Parks scored 19 of his career-high 29 points in the first half as No. 9 Duke put on a shooting clinic in downing George Washington 103-73 last night. The Blue Devils (4-1) sank 11 of their first 13 shots in the opening 6 1/2 minutes, and led by 30 points at halftime after shooting 65 percent. The Colonials (5-2), expected to challenge Duke after upsetting No. 19 Syracuse earlier in the season, became the 91st straight non-ACC team to lose at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke came into the game shooting better than 47 percent from 3-point range, and attacked the Colonials from the outside. The Blue Devils sank eight of their first 10 shots from long range to help open their big first-half lead. · Vanderbilt 70, No. 20 Virginia 65 NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Ronnie McMahan and Frank Seckar scored 23 points apiece -- including six 3-pointers by Seckar -- as Vanderbilt upset No. 20 Virginia 70-65 last night. Virginia (3-2) whittled away with a 22-7 run. Curtis Staples capped the spurt with a free throw that pulled the Cavaliers to 63-59 with 1 minute, 27 seconds to go. That was the closest Virginia had been since the opening two minutes of the game. But the Commodores make seven of 10 shots from the free throw line in the final 1:14 to seal the victory. · No. 3 Arkansas 121, Centenary 94 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Clint McDaniel had two steals, five points and three assists as third-ranked Arkansas ran off 19 straight points last night en route to a 121-94 victory over Cententary. Centenary (1-4) stayed in the game on some long-distance shooting in the first half, and Aljay Foreman's 3-pointer cut it to 64-51 with 16:45 to play. Darnell Robinson scored a career-high 24 points in 23 minutes, and McDaniel had 17 plus 10 rebounds for Arkansas. Foreman scored 24 points and Anthony Stephens 14 for Centenary. CHICAGO -- NHL labor talks broke down yesterday, with both sides agreeing only that prospects are slim for salvaging the season. Commissioner Gary Bettman said the sides were ''too far apart on substance'' regarding salary arbitration, free agency and rookie salary cap. He said negotiations ended even before owners introduced a 25 percent ''modified contribution proposal'' -- previously called a luxury tax -- on teams that have payrolls exceeding $18 million in what would be the agreement's first year. The players felt negotiations were going well and the sides were close on most issues before the owners dropped the tax bomb. They consider the tax a form of salary cap and have said all along they would never accept an agreement that includes it. NHL Players Association executive director Bob Goodenow said the tax proposal "seriously endangers the prospects of a deal and the prospects of a season.'' No talks are scheduled before the NHL Board of Governors meet Monday in New York. The NHL may be the first pro sport ever to cancel an entire season.

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