Hawks Remain Unbeaten

Christian Laettner scored 18 points and Alan Henderson came off the bench for 17 Friday night as the unbeaten Atlanta Hawks extended the best start in franchise history by defeating visiting Sacramento 104-103.

The Hawks, 9-0, moved within six victories of trying the best start in NBA history - 15 games by the Washington Capitols in 1948-49 and the Houston Rockets in 1993-94.

Suns win in 4 overtimes

Danny Manning scored six of his 35 points in the fourth overtime to give the visiting Phoenix Suns a wild 140-139 victory over Portland in the eighth quadruple-overtime game in NBA history.

It was the first four-overtime game since Feb. 1, 1987, when Golden State defeated New Jersey 150-147.

Phoenix’s victory snapped the Trail Blazers’ six-game winning streak. Rex Chapman, who scored 28 points, finally clinched the victory with two free throws with 11.2 seconds to play.

Other games

In Houston, Nick Van Exel scored 35 points, including 12 in the two overtimes and a 25-footer at the end of regulation, as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets 113-103 for their seventh straight victory.

The Lakers, who won despite blowing a 15-point lead, are off to their best start since they opened the 1987-88 season 8-0.

In Chicago, Michael Jordan scored 28 points and a tardy Dennis Rodman hauled in 14 rebounds in 23 minutes as the Bulls hit 100 points for the first time all season, defeating the Charlotte Hornets 105-92.

Jordan hit 9 of his 14 first-half attempts for 22 points and finished 12 of 24 from the field. He sat out the final 5:41.

Rodman arrived on the bench with 7:59 left in the first quarter.

Traffic in the Chicago area was heavier than usual Friday because of rain, and Rodman called ahead to say he would be late, Bulls coach Phil Jackson said. Rodman started the second half and was allowed to sit out the fourth quarter.

Notes

Dallas Mavericks forward Kurt Thomas, who had bone graft surgery to repair his broken right ankle on May 29, has broken the ankle again… . The Chicago Bulls placed guard Steve Kerr on the injured list with a deep bone bruise in his left knee. … The NBA fined the Minnesota Timberwolves $25,000 and five of its players $2,500 each for wearing shorts that were too long. … The Boston Celtics said they will retire the uniform No.00 worn by Robert Parish and give No.99 to new forward Roy Rogers.