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Show NATIONAL SPORTS . ·utah 'Jazzed' about playoff win : = ., DIGEST Rockets, Hawks and Knicks also record opening night wins "If we would have lost this ballgame, I would have felt the worst I've ever felt as a ballplayer By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS because of all the missed free throws," said John Stockton had 23 assists, one shy of his Malone, who shot 14-of-21 from the field. "I didn't play a good ballgame. To me, I NBA playoff record, and Utah came back from an eight-point deficit in the final quarter to played a so-so ballgame," Malone said. Stockton had 11 points to go along with his 23 defeat Portland 110-102 last night in their playoff opener. assists. He and Magic Johnson share the record Karl Malone scored.33 poin~s and Jeff of 24 assists in a playoff game. Homacek added 30, including a late 3-pointer Homacek shot 10-for-13 from the field. that iced the victory. Utah won despite missing · Rod Strickland led Portland with 27 points, 19 foul shots - including 10 by Malone in 15 and Arvydas Sabonis had 26. Clifford Robinson attempts. scored 21 points but shot just 6-of-17 from the Homacek's trey, field. his fourth in as The Trail Blazers many attempts, have lost eight came with 52.8 consecutive games seconds remaining at the Delta and gave the Jazz a Center. 104-97 lead, The game was close into the final capping a 37-21 run that began with the three minutes. Malone scored on Jazz trailing by eight at the start of a pass from the quarter. Homacek for a 99ln other games 93 lead, but last night, all three Strickland home teams answered with a suffered losses. driving bucket - . Reggie Miller Portland's first missed a playoff basket in over five minutes. game for the first time in his nineAntoine Carr year NBA career and Sabonis traded and the Pacers a pair of free missed him at throws, and home. Steve Smith Malone missed a scored 27 points, shot with 1:16 left matching his career to give Portland a chance to draw playoff high, as the within two. Atlanta Hawks beat the Indiana Pacers But Robinson 92-80. had his shot The New York blocked by Carr, and Stockton got Knicks set an NBA his final assist on playoff record with 17-3 pointers as Homacek's 3they went on to pointer that put beat the Cleveland Utah up 104-97. Cavaliers 106-83 in Trailing 8 1-73 at the playoff opener. the start of the Patrick Ewing fourth quarter, the scored 23 and Jazz went on a IOStarks 21 fo r the O run and took an 83-81 lead on Knicks. Dan Carr's baseline Majerle had 23 and Terrell Brandon 18 ~ jumper with 9:10 for the Cavs. ~ remaining.The The Houston c. Jazz never trailed Rockets began their § again, althoogh defense of their ~ the score was tied 5l three times before NBA crown, handing the Los ~ Utah broke away ~ on consecutive Angeles Lakers an Portland Trailblazers CJil-lord Robinson sneaks under jumpers by 87-83 first round 11 ' loss. Hakeem Malone. Olajuwon scored 33 the arm of Utah fazz center Felton Spencer as he heads Malone's points, including !for the basket in the first period of last night's 110-102 spinning 16azz win. six in the key footer with 4:45 stretch of the fourth to play gave Utah quarter when the Lakers were scoreless. Cedric a 94-91 lead. Ceballos had 22 points for the Lakers and Two free throws by Sabonis cut the lead to one point, but the Jazz outscored Portland 16-9 Johnson had 20 points and 13 rebounds in his first playoff game in more than four years. It the rest of the way. was the eighth straight road playoff win for the Utah, trailing by 12 at halftime, pulled within . .· • . four points in the third period with an 11-3 run . ~ . champ~. • ~ ,.Uti!h s 8ry~R~•.R a~d. l2tpoint!t-(e,!he ; ~sparked by Sori\acek's.consecutixe baskets. But · -.,,. -...~ '- who wilF try ffht a 2-~ adv_antage ~}i:elHne .:-:trortJ.a;ui-~} an· eikfir-'point lead futo ihe ·. . :_,.... .. ~ ~~reslllJl~s. S~urday m~t.' .. ~ ..-=? : • ~ -fourtfi ·q~re~fQUowii\ga tpun thatleatured \ ...; .... • ~ , , ,!_ 4'.. ....,.'f ... ~ ..J:= .....~... • -.;-,.. • - -i; ·~..... • ...: ··. . . ~ .. • . ... ~~ _. _ . ; -~r-: .. -'='-:..:: r..:::::-:: . . ~ ;~' _,. ,.'~....-," • ·· ~ ... ·~ ~ - -- . . . ..... -.-- ~,.,,~u • ~' . . :., ·~ ' .• .. ..,,.- ~-.·~-;r. ··• . 'i',.,.,·•"•"'• •• · · ~ • , ' - ,if;~- - ·-'· • - . .. ~~- quick exit to a jeering crowd while an out-ofshape Boris Becker made a more expected departure, both joining a growing list of ousted seeds in the Monte Carlo Open. Alberto Costa of Spain routed the Agassi, the No. 2 seed, 6-2, 6-1 in the third round. Becker followed Agassi on court and out of Boris Becker the tournament, beaten 6-4, 6-3 by Marcelo - - - - - - Rios of Chile. "You know, you go out there and you try," Agassi said of the response from the fans. " They expect you to do well. They want you to win. It's disappointing." Becker, the No. 4 seed, was playing his first tournament in six weeks while Rios had lost in the Barcelona final to Thomas Muster, who has won his last six clay-court tournaments. Muster, the top seed, advanced to the quarterfinals also with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) victory over Spanish teen-ager Carlos Moya to run his clay-court streak up to 32. BECK AND KITE TOP LEADERBOARDS AT GREENSBORO CLASSIC: Chip Beck and Tom Kite found two things they've been in search of lately - a big dose of confidence and a spot on the leaderboard .Beck, a North Carolina native seeking to make a turnaround before the home folks, shot a 5-under-par 67 for a share of the first-round lead yesterday in the Greater Greensboro Classic. Kite, golf's career earnings leader whose recent paydays have been meager by comparison, is among four golfers at 68 on the Forest Oaks Country Club course.So far this year, neither Beck nor Kite has played the type of golf that built their reputations. After seven yea.rs of being a top 25 money winner, Beck fell to 68th in 1994 and 111th in 1995. In 11 outings this vear, Beck has missed three cuts and finished no better tha!'l the tie for 38th he managed in last week's MCI Classic. NOW COMES THE TOUGH PART FOR JOHNSON: Now that the schedule has been changed to accommodate Michael Johnson's run for immortality, he realizes that anything less than two gold medals will make him a failure in the eyes of many." It definitely adds a tremendous amount of pressure going into the games," Johnson said yesterday during a gathering of Olympic athletes in Atlanta."People are going to be saying, 'The entire Olympic schedule was changed for you." Johnson, top-ranked in the world at 200 and 400 meters, will try to become the first athlete to win both events in the same Olympics. The IAAF, track's governing body, made things easier for him by adjusting the.schedule so the events don't overlap in Atlanta this summer."Everyone is looking at me," be said. Johnson became the first man ever to rank No. 1 in both events in 1990. Then he did it again the next year, and again in 1994 and 1995. The only thing that bas eluded him is an individual gold medal, denied in Barcelona four years ago after he came down with food poisoning. PATRIOTS OWNER MADE CALLS ON DRAFTING AND RELEASING CHRISTIAN PETER: According to the team, it was Patriots owner Robert Kraft who gave the goahead to draft the 6-foot-3, 304-pound Comhusker Christian Peter in the fifth round of last weekend's NFL draft. This despite league reports that Peter pleaded no contest to grabbing a woman by the throat and harassing her in a Kearney, Neb., bar last month and is awaiting sentencing. It also was Kraft who later gave Peter the heave-ho after reading the lineman's history: 18 months on probation after pleading no contest to sexually assaulting a former Miss Nebraska; other arrests for trespassing, · · m · publi·c, refusing to comp1y unnatmg with th e order of a po li·ceman and threatening to kill a parking attendant; and being accused of rape by two Nebraska students, one of whom has filed a federal lawsuit against Peter and the university. The Patriots say they ~ew too ~ttle, too late. "I guess they said_ they di~t know what they w~re SC~ mto1 ~ter told The Associated . -~ e..te!tc!~~froni his Locust, N{t . "": .._ :~ ~tnc• .~ ' ··OJmstiariPeter:~: ~.. .... ;.,,t ¥, 1...• AGASSI, BECKER CRAP OUT IN MONTE CARLO: Andre Agassi made a ·-- - ,. . . , , . , .. , ~ , , -y, • \ • ': . .:.•c... ~-.,,-. ·- -... ~.• .. ..: ::,,.... , · "· . ..- --· ·.~....,. ·. ~-·.. ., . - ( l"F"° . -~ - 77' ~- • .,, .. ~ ... -,. ' - ,::,; ... -t.. .. • ,-.,. . •" ... 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