Terry Porter

Hakeem Olajuwon gave himself another line in the NBA record book and helped put an end to a three-game Houston losing streak. Olajuwon had 20 points last night to become only the 12th player in NBA history to reach 24,000 career points as the Rockets raced past visiting Minnesota, 118-98. "I didn't realize it until somebody told me," said Olajuwon, who had 10 of his points in the fourth quarter. "I'm just happy to get there. It's not easy to do, you know. I feel so privileged to play this long.

This will be a very busy weekend for the Spectrum workers who change the hardwood floor to ice and back again. The Sixers start tonight against the Portland Trail Blazers at 7:30 and face the Sacramento Kings on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Blazers, who lost to the Chicago Bulls in the NBA finals last year, are led by forward Cliff Robinson and guards Terry Porter and Clyde Drexler, who has been hobbled by an injury lately. The Kings feature two former Big Five stars - Lionel Simmons from La Salle at forward and center Duane Causwell from Temple.

Hakeem Olajuwon scored 10 of his 28 points in the final 6:06 last night as the visiting Houston Rockets blew a 21-point first-half lead, then held on to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 92-89 and advance to the second round of the NBA playoffs. Olajuwon also had 16 rebounds for the Midwest Division champions, who won the best-of-five series, 3-1, and open the Western Conference semifinals at home against Phoenix tomorrow. But he missed one of two free throws with 4.2 seconds to play to give the Trail Blazers a final chance to tie the game.

Terry Porter is finally over the heartache of being bypassed by his hometown team in the NBA draft 18 years ago. Now he's coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. "I'm glad they didn't pass on me this time; '85 was a tough year for me," Porter said yesterday at his introductory news conference. Porter replaces George Karl, who was fired on July 20. Porter becomes the first black coach in franchise history. After starring at Milwaukee South Division High and Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Porter was hoping to be drafted by the Bucks in 1985.

Former Temple Owls guard Lynn Greer was one of three free agents signed by the Milwaukee Bucks yesterday. The 6-foot-2 Greer spent last season playing in Greece and in the NBA's developmental league after going undrafted. In 2001-02, Greer was selected as the Big Five's outstanding player and named all-Atlantic Ten. He is second to Mark Macon on Temple's all-time scoring list and holds the Owls' record for career three-pointers. The rebuilding Bucks are entering their first season under coach Terry Porter with only one returning player at guard, Michael Redd.

He took his seat on the west side of the scorers' table, after previously striding to the opposite end for his semi-annual South Florida appearances. He sat by Heat trainer Ron Culp, in front of Heat scout Tony Fiorentino, with Heat players following his every word during timeouts. The 115-88 victory over the Dallas Mavericks was practice, a meaningless exhibition. But the Pat Riley part was very real, overwhelmingly significant. With hair meticulously slicked back, with black blazer and charcoal trousers perfectly pressed, and with an intense visage never breaking its stoic glare, Riley made his South Florida coaching debut Saturday night in the Heat's romp over the Mavericks.

There is only piece of the NBA conference finals puzzle missing, and the Portland Trail Blazers can slide right into place with a win over the Spurs in San Antonio tonight. The Blazers hold a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals, having defeated the Spurs, 138-132, in a double-overtime marathon two night's ago that lasted more than three hours. That Portland is competitive against - let alone leading - the Spurs, is a bit of a surprise considering they've been playing the series without starting center Kevin Duckworth, who broke his right hand in the Blazers' first-round series victory over Dallas.

The 76ers' exhibition season, which covered eight games in seven states in just over two weeks, ended last night, in about the best way a coach could ask. With a victory. Charles Barkley scored 31 points, including the first eight of the game and 20 in the first half, as the Sixers jumped out to an early lead then held off a late Portland rally to defeat the Trail Blazers, 123-117. The result, coupled with Portland's 108-106 win over the Sixers on the Trail Blazers' regular home court on Saturday, left both teams with 3-5 exhibition records.

Sixers forward Clarence Weatherspoon made the first high-profile appearance of his young NBA career last night, and made it a nice showing. Weatherspoon advanced to the final round in the annual slam-dunk contest held by the league as part of its all-star weekend. Using an assortment of powerful dunks, windmills and reverses, Weatherspoon was second only to fellow rookie Harold Miner of the Miami Heat. "It was a nice experience," said Weatherspoon. "But I want to come back as a player in the game.

Is it Kevin Porter or Terry Porter? Is it Rick Aydelman or Addelman? Has anybody ever been to Wisconsin-Stevens Point? Is there still a Longwood College? And how much does it rain in Portland, anyway? Questions, questions, questions. That's all anybody has had about the Portland Trail Blazers. Despite their 59 regular-season victories. Despite their first appearance in the NBA finals since the 1976-77 season. "If we're not known by now, we'll have to start asking people if they know how to spell Portland," center Kevin Duckworth said after the Blazers, behind Clyde Drexler's 33 points and his game-winning free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining in overtime, startled the defending champion Detroit Pistons, 106-105, last night at The Palace.

WELCOME TO YOUR first NBA draft as president and general manager of the 76ers, Ed Stefanski. Hope you survive the experience, or at least do better than many of your predecessors. It's unreasonable to expect Stefanski to find a franchise-altering player at No. 16 in tonight's draft, but hopefully, he will buck the trend of the majority of the Sixers' draft history and hit a double to left instead of whiffing on a third strike. The Sixers' draft results are full of what-ifs, did-not-becomes, and flat-out misses.

The Milwaukee Bucks fired head coach Terry Porter yesterday, 2 months after finishing their worst season in almost a decade. The Bucks have the first pick in Tuesday's draft, and general manager Larry Harris said the team needs to take a new direction. "Certainly for the direction of this franchise heading forward, we certainly need to make a move," Harris said. Plagued with injuries and a revolving roster, the Bucks went 30-52 this season and failed to make the playoffs in Porter's second year with the team.

Former Temple Owls guard Lynn Greer was one of three free agents signed by the Milwaukee Bucks yesterday. The 6-foot-2 Greer spent last season playing in Greece and in the NBA's developmental league after going undrafted. In 2001-02, Greer was selected as the Big Five's outstanding player and named all-Atlantic Ten. He is second to Mark Macon on Temple's all-time scoring list and holds the Owls' record for career three-pointers. The rebuilding Bucks are entering their first season under coach Terry Porter with only one returning player at guard, Michael Redd.

Terry Porter is finally over the heartache of being bypassed by his hometown team in the NBA draft 18 years ago. Now he's coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. "I'm glad they didn't pass on me this time; '85 was a tough year for me," Porter said yesterday at his introductory news conference. Porter replaces George Karl, who was fired on July 20. Porter becomes the first black coach in franchise history. After starring at Milwaukee South Division High and Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Porter was hoping to be drafted by the Bucks in 1985.

NBA owners yesterday approved the use of instant replay next season after disputed calls were made in the 2002 playoffs. The 29 owners endorsed a plan in which referees can use replay at the end of each quarter and overtime period to determine whether a player shot the ball before time expired. The officials will have two minutes to make a decision. The initial call will be reversed when the replay shows a "clear and conclusive" reason to change it, the NBA said. Referees also can use replay to determine whether a player should be credited with a two- or three-point basket.

Hakeem Olajuwon gave himself another line in the NBA record book and helped put an end to a three-game Houston losing streak. Olajuwon had 20 points last night to become only the 12th player in NBA history to reach 24,000 career points as the Rockets raced past visiting Minnesota, 118-98. "I didn't realize it until somebody told me," said Olajuwon, who had 10 of his points in the fourth quarter. "I'm just happy to get there. It's not easy to do, you know. I feel so privileged to play this long.

He took his seat on the west side of the scorers' table, after previously striding to the opposite end for his semi-annual South Florida appearances. He sat by Heat trainer Ron Culp, in front of Heat scout Tony Fiorentino, with Heat players following his every word during timeouts. The 115-88 victory over the Dallas Mavericks was practice, a meaningless exhibition. But the Pat Riley part was very real, overwhelmingly significant. With hair meticulously slicked back, with black blazer and charcoal trousers perfectly pressed, and with an intense visage never breaking its stoic glare, Riley made his South Florida coaching debut Saturday night in the Heat's romp over the Mavericks.

It could have been awkward for Aaron McKie. Here he was, four months into his rookie season with the Portland Trail Blazers, sitting much more than playing and even getting parked on the injured list a couple of times. And there on the TV screen was his hoops soulmate, Los Angeles Lakers rookie Eddie Jones, flying high in the NBA rookie all-star game, outplaying top draftees Glenn Robinson and Jason Kidd on his way to an MVP award. On second thought, it might have been awkward for someone other than McKie, whose clear-eyed perspective saw him through the North Philadelphia basketball bastions of Simon Gratz High School and Temple University, where he and Jones formed an explosive on-court partnership and strong off-court friendship.

Hakeem Olajuwon scored 10 of his 28 points in the final 6:06 last night as the visiting Houston Rockets blew a 21-point first-half lead, then held on to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 92-89 and advance to the second round of the NBA playoffs. Olajuwon also had 16 rebounds for the Midwest Division champions, who won the best-of-five series, 3-1, and open the Western Conference semifinals at home against Phoenix tomorrow. But he missed one of two free throws with 4.2 seconds to play to give the Trail Blazers a final chance to tie the game.

The 76ers were greeted by more cheers than boos from their fans last night. They made a surprisingly high number of their jump shots and charged to an early lead. They played defense as if they really meant it. Too bad they had to play the Portland Trail Blazers, one of the deepest, strongest and most resourceful teams in the NBA. Getting double-figure scoring from five players and a key offensive rebound and blocked shot in the last minute, the Blazers withstood the Sixers' inspired start and late charge to win at the half-filled Spectrum, 96-91.