SPORTSWIRE: Lack of offense ends Spurs' 15-game winning streak

Jorand leads Bulls; Sixers lose; Kidd has career night; Montana may call it quits soon The points were a franchise low for a game as was the Spurs' 31-percent shooting and 23 field goals. Clifford Robinson had 23 points for the Trail Blazers, who took a 64-48 lead after three quarters, outscoring San Antonio 22-10 in the third period. It was the lowest scoring quarter for the Spurs this season. The 15-game winning streak was a franchise record for San Antonio and was the longest in the NBA this season. David Robinson led the Spurs with 21 points and 12 rebounds, but the All-Star center was only 6 of 23 from the field. Sean Elliott added 15 points for the Spurs and Avery Johnson had 11. Despite the victory, the Trail Blazers shot only 41 percent from the field. Otis Thorpe scored 16 points and had 10 rebounds for Portland, while Harvey Grant added 12 points. Portland led 24-19 at the end of the first quarter and held a 37-26 lead midway through the second. But a 10-4 run keyed by Johnson's seven points to end the half pulled San Antonio within 42-38. San Antonio's 38 points at halftime were a season low, but the bad night got worse. The Spurs are still awaiting the return of forward Dennis Rodman, who has missed 13 games since separating his right shoulder March 19 in a motorcycle accident. Rodman did not participate in the team's shootaround Tuesday because of an eye infection. Rodman sat in street clothes on the bench last night, wearing his familiar dark sunglasses. · Bulls 96, Pacers 89 CHICAGO -- Michael Jordan's shot was off again but he still scored 25 points as the Chicago Bulls defeated the Indiana Pacers 96-89 last night. Jordan, a .516 shooter during his first nine seasons, went 8 for 27, dropping his percentage to .396 in 11 games since coming out of retirement. He's at .338 over the last five games and .327 at home. Nevertheless, the Bulls are 8-3 since his return, partly because of the many other things he does. Last night, he had a season-high 11 rebounds and six assists. The 6-foot-6 Jordan also blocked shots by 7-4 Rik Smits and 6-10 Derrick McKey. Toni Kukoc added 18 points and Steve Kerr 16 for the Bulls, who have won seven of eight games to take a two-game lead over Cleveland in the race for the fifth Eastern Conference playoff seed. Smits scored 26 points for Indiana, which is two games ahead of second-place Charlotte in the Central Division. Reggie Miller, who outscored Jordan 28-19 in the Chicago star's return engagement March 19, had only 12 points on 3-for-13 shooting this time. · Knicks 112, Heat 99 NEW YORK -- Patrick Ewing scored 13 of his 31 points in New York's big third quarter last night as the Knicks defeated the Miami Heat 112-99 to reach the 50-win mark for the fourth consecutive year. It was the first time in franchise history that the Knicks posted four straight 50-win seasons, and the 13th season in a row Pat Riley has coached a team to that many victories. Miami, which lost for the fourth time in five games, fell three games behind Boston in the race for the Eastern Conference's final playoff spot. Ewing had 12 rebounds for the Knicks, who have won six of seven. John Starks had 19 points and reserve Greg Anthony made four three-pointers, finishing with 18 points. The Knicks hit their first eight shots in the second half, stretching a nine-point halftime lead to 73-58 on a basket by Ewing, who had six points in the spurt. They made 13 of 19 field goals in the period, led 89-78 entering the fourth quarter and didn't let Miami get within 10 points the rest of the way. · Magic 107, Cavaliers 90 ORLANDO, Fla. -- Orlando moved closer to clinching homecourt advantage through the Eastern Conference playoffs last night, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 107-90 behind a 30-point, 17-rebound performance by Shaquille O'Neal. With All-Star guard Anfernee Hardaway back in the lineup after missing four games because of an inflamed esophagus, the Magic played with more poise and confidence and ended a two-game losing streak. The Magic improved to 37-2 at Orlando Arena and reduced the number of combined victories and New York losses needed to clinch homecourt advantage in the East to two. O'Neal was 6 for 6 from the field and scored 16 points to Cleveland's 17 in the third quarter. He didn't attempt a shot in the fourth period and joined Hardaway, who had 15 points and six assists, in leaving the game with 2:24 remaining. · Hawks 110, 76ers 106, OT Grant Long scored a career-high 33 points and Steve Smith added 25 as the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 110-106 in overtime last night at the Spectrum to clinch a berth in the NBA playoffs. Andrew Lang had a season-high 21 points for the Hawks, who have defeated Philadelphia in nine of their last 10 meetings, including six straight at the Spectrum. The Hawks (38-38) are the seventh of the eight teams to clinch playoff spots in the Eastern Conference and the fifth from the Central Division. Dana Barros had 27 points and 10 assists for Philadelphia, while Clarence Weatherspoon added 25 points, 19 after halftime. A jumper by Long gave the Hawks a 106-102 lead with 29 seconds left in overtime and Long's free throw with 17 seconds to go put them ahead 107-104. ·