SPORTS WIRE: Trade reunites Webber and Howard in Washington

Nets top Gugliotta-less Bullets; Rockets deal bulls loss; Memphis tops Cajuns in NIT In exchange for the power forward who was last season's NBA rookie of the year, the Warriors received small forward Tom Gugliotta and the Bullets' first-round draft picks in 1996, 1998 and 2000. The move came after the Bullets earlier in the day had signed first-round draft pick Juwan Howard, who as a ''Fab Five'' teammate of Webber's led Michigan to the NCAA championship game in 1992 and 1993. And it came some 20 hours after the Warriors re-signed Webber, who exercised his option to terminate a 15-year, $74 million contract in the offseason and became a restricted free agent in June. The Warriors had to sign Webber to trade him. Webber said he was unhappy playing for Nelson, and the hard feelings intensified during the contract stalemate when Nelson said he'd quit if that would help bring Webber back to the team. That remark angered Webber, who felt it was an attempt to turn public opinion against him. The 6-10 forward averaged 17.5 points and 9.1 rebounds and shot 55 percent from the field last season. Despite Webber's absence this season, the Warriors won five of their first six games. New Warriors owner Chris Cohan, who signed Webber to a one-year contract Wednesday night with the understanding he would be traded, said there were irreconcilable differences between Webber and Nelson. Cohan, who sat next to Nelson during a Warriors news conference that seemed more like a divorce hearing than an announcement of a basketball trade, said he had little choice but to get rid of Webber. Cohan, who bought the Warriors in early October, said Webber and his agents made it clear he could no longer play for Nelson. Gugliotta, also 6-foot-10, has averaged 15.8 points and 9.5 rebounds since joining the Bullets as their top draft pick in 1992. As the leader of the rebuilding Bullets, he was clearly disappointed at being dealt away. He learned of the trade minutes before boarding the team bus to ride to the Meadowlands, where Washington was to play New Jersey, and left the building to return to the Washington area. Webber had made no secret of his desire to leave the Warriors, and said he would enjoy playing with the Bullets because he would be reunited with the 6-9 Howard. The Washington Post quoted a source yesterday as saying the Warriors and Bullets had been told by the NBA that the league would investigate charges the teams discussed a trade before Webber had re-signed. NBA spokeswoman Teri Washington said yesterday the league is not looking into possible collusion. She said there have been no formal complaints filed about the Webber deal. · LANDOVER, Md. -- The Washington Bullets signed top draft pick Juwan Howard to a multiyear contract yesterday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Howard, the No. 5 pick in this year's NBA draft, was reportedly asking for $24 million over six years. The Bullets had countered with an offer that would guarantee the 6-foot-9 forward $30.7 million over 10 years. The main point of contention was his first-year salary. Because of the salary cap, the Bullets could not pay Howard more than $1.3 million for 1994-95. · Nets 111, Bullets 103 EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Kenny Anderson had 24 points and 13 assists as the New Jersey Nets took advantage of a trade that cost Washington the services of Tom Gugliotta and beat the Bullets 111-103 last night. After falling behind by 13 in the early going and still behind 15 midway through the third quarter, the Bullets rallied behind Rex Chapman, Scott Skiles and Don MacLean. After narrowing the Nets' lead to four points after three quarters, Washington ran off eight straight points and grabbed its first lead since the opening seconds when MacLean drove the lane for a dunk and a 96-95 lead with 6:11 to go. Anderson then hit a jumper and two free throws to spark an eight-point burst that put New Jersey ahead 103-96 with 3:08 to play. Washington never got closer than five the rest of the way. · Cavaliers 81, Trail Blazers 80 PORTLAND, Ore. -- Mark Price scored 30 points, including five 3-pointers, as Cleveland took advantage of Portland's point guard woes last night to hand the Trail Blazers their second straight home loss, 81-80. The Blazers had three chances to take the lead after Terrell Brandon made one of two free throws to put Cleveland ahead 81-78 with 48 seconds left. Clyde Drexler scored on a driving layup and was fouled with 36 seconds to play. But he failed to make the free throw, only his second miss in 24 attempts this season. · Rockets 106, Bulls 83 HOUSTON -- Hakeem Olajuwon's 29 points and Kenny Smith's 3-point shooting led Houston to a 106-83 victory over the Chicago Bulls last night, extending the Rockets' season-opening winning streak to eight. The Rockets also have a 22-game November winning streak over the last two seasons. They were 14-0 a year ago in November when they won their first 15 games, tying an NBA record. They are 8-0 this year. Olajuwon dominated the inside from start to finish, and Smith, who finished with 19 points, hit four of six 3-point shots, including two in an early fourth-quarter run when the Rockets took command. The Bulls, who haven't won in The Summit since a 98-86 victory on Nov. 28, 1987, were led by Scottie Pippen's 15 points. · Charlotte 99, Los Angeles 83 CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Larry Johnson and Dell Curry had 19 points each last night to lead the Charlotte Hornets to a 99-83 victory over the winless Los Angeles Clippers, who equaled the worst start in club history. · Pistons 94, Nuggets 92 DENVER -- Terry Mills hit a 20-foot jump shot at the buzzer to lift the Detroit Pistons to a 94-92 victory last night over Denver, snapping the Nuggets' four-game winning streak. With his 21 points, Detroit's Joe Dumars became the 124th player in NBA history to score 12,000 points. Bryant Stith scored 22 points for the Nuggets. Mills finished with 20 points. Pistons rookie Grant Hill was limited to 13 points, the first time he didn't score at least 20 points in a game for the Pistons. Memphis 70, SW Louisiana 66 MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- David Vaughn had 17 points and 13 rebounds last night as Memphis defeated Southwestern Louisiana 70-66 in the opening round of the Preseason NIT. The Tigers, who trailed by as many as 16 in the first half, used a 27-6 run in building a 67-58 lead with 4:12 to play. The Ragin' Cajuns got within three at 69-66 when Bryan Collins hit a 3-pointer with 48.2 seconds left, but Southwestern Louisiana could get no closer, despite Memphis being unable to convert its free throws. The victory moves the Tigers into a second-round game tomorrow night at The Pyramid against San Francisco, which defeated New Mexico. The NHL season is down to 60 games. While negotiators tried to resolve the NHL's labor dispute, the league canceled 10 more games off its already abbreviated schedule yesterday, making it a 60-game season for each team. That is, if there is a season. ''The reduction at this time means that the greatest number of games a team can play in the 1994-95 season is 30 at home and 30 on the road,'' the NHL said in a statement from New York.