NBA ROUNDUP : Victory Is a Habit for Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks haven’t lost in nearly a month, and Dominique Wilkins is convinced it’s only going to get better.

The Hawks tied a franchise record Thursday night with their 12th consecutive victory as Wilkins scored 23 points and Andrew Lang a season-high 20 in a 105-95 decision over the San Antonio Spurs at Atlanta.

“The streak means a lot, but so does the way we’re playing defensively,” Wilkins said after the Spurs became the 12th team in 14 games to fail to score 100 points against the Hawks. “Our defense is winning games for us. When we start clicking on both ends on a consistent basis, we’re going to be hard to beat.”

Atlanta can establish a club record with its 13th consecutive victory Saturday night when it plays the Washington Bullets in Baltimore.

Houston 115, Miami 109--Mario Elie scored 17 of his season-high 25 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, leading the Rockets to a victory at home and a franchise-best 18-1 start.

Vernon Maxwell sank a 30-footer as regulation ended to send the game into overtime, which the Rockets opened with nine consecutive points.

Seattle 125, Dallas 93--Gary Payton, Kendall Gill and Ricky Pierce scored eight points each during a 37-18 second-quarter surge that gave the SuperSonics a victory at Dallas, which lost for the 14th time in a row and has a 1-17 record, worst in the NBA.

Indiana 111, Orlando 105--Eight Pacers, led by Reggie Miller with 23 points, scored in double figures to offset Shaquille O’Neal’s 49 points, high for his career, as Indiana won at Indianapolis.

Charlotte 95, Cleveland 93--Alonzo Mourning’s 10-foot jump shot at the buzzer gave the Hornets a victory at home and ended their five-game losing streak.

The Cavaliers used consecutive three-pointers by Mark Price to tie the score twice in the final 1:19, but the Hornets called time out with 10 seconds remaining and Larry Johnson found Mourning open on the baseline.

Phoenix 114, Washington 95--Charles Barkley scored 15 of his 22 points in the first quarter, and Kevin Johnson set a team record with 10 steals as the Suns won at Phoenix.

The Suns won their fourth consecutive game and improved to 7-0 at home.

New York 94, Golden State 81--John Starks scored 27 points and Patrick Ewing added 20 for the Knicks, who held Golden State to 31 points in the second half at Oakland.