Barkley Trial Waits For End Of Season

Charles Barkley won’t have to face trial for throwing a man through a bar window until after the NBA season.

Orange County, Fla., Judge C. Jeffrey Arnold on Friday delayed Barkley’s misdemeanor trial until July to accommodate the athlete’s playing schedule.

The Houston Rockets player is accused of throwing Jorge Lugo into a mirror during an October confrontation at a bar.

Barkley, 34, faces charges of disorderly conduct, battery, criminal mischief and resisting arrest without violence.

Lugo, 20, is charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

Sonics’ deal delayed

The trade that would send Seattle SuperSonics point guard Eric Snow to the Philadelphia 76ers has been put on hold for at least a day, according to sources close to the negotiations.

Additionally, although a source on Thursday indicated the Sonics were interested in getting former Sonics forward Terry Cummings in return, the compensation for Snow will be a second-round draft pick.

Sources say the Sonics are poised to make the trade, but Sixers management called Seattle general manager Wally Walker late Friday afternoon and told him to wait for at least a day. Walker continued to say that teams are interested in Snow but declined to comment further.

According to sources, Philadelphia vice president of basketball operations Billy King wants to get the OK from president Pat Croce since the Sixers will have to waive a player with a guaranteed contract to place Snow on their roster.

Kerr sidelined

It has been a tough season for Steve Kerr.

First, he got off to a slow start with his shooting, which happens every year. And just when he was finding his touch, he went down with a knee injury. It took him a while to find his touch again.

Now this.

Kerr received his latest bit of bad news when he learned he will be out for at least eight weeks with a fractured collarbone, the result of a hard foul from Derrick Coleman in Thursday night’s 106-96 loss in Philadelphia.

Kerr, who hadn’t missed a game during his previous four seasons with the Bulls, now will spend his second stint on the injured list. He missed 10 games this season when he suffered a deep bruise to his left knee.

The Detroit Pistons have placed center Scot Pollard on the injured list with a strained right groin. The rookie was injured during practice.

On the courts

At Portland, Isaiah Rider scored 22 of his 28 points in the second half as the Portland Trail Blazers snapped a five-game losing streak by defeating Utah 96-86.

Utah, which has lost all three of its games with Portland this season, had its seven-game winning streak snapped. The Jazz hadn’t lost since the Blazers beat them in Salt Lake City 102-91 on Dec. 27.

Michael Jordan scored 27 points and Scottie Pippen added 21 to lead the Chicago Bulls to their 11th straight victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, 96-86, in Milwaukee.

Jordan had 10 points in the fourth, including eight down the stretch to keep the Bulls comfortably ahead.

Tom Gugliotta scored 33 points, including a 5-footer off an alley-oop inbounds pass with less than a second left in overtime, as the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Houston Rockets 116-115 in Houston.

At Denver, Wesley Person scored 20 points and Shawn Kemp had 19 points and 11 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers coasted to a 99-74 victory over Denver, handing the Nuggets their 19th consecutive loss. The league record is 23, set by Vancouver in 1996.

Chris Webber blocked Blue Edwards’ layup attempt at the buzzer and the Washington Wizards rallied from a 13-point, fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Vancouver Grizzlies 112-110 in Washington.

Christian Laettner scored 23 points and Steve Smith added 20 to help Atlanta to a 102-89 victory over visiting Golden State, giving the Hawks their sixth consecutive victory.