SUNS MAKE SHORT WORK OF `AIR-LESS' BULLS

The Chicago Bulls minus Michael Jordan equalled another loss on a six-game road trip that may have ended their hopes of an unprece NBA All-Star Scottie Pippen had 26 points and 12 assists, Craig Hodges scored 21 points as a replacement for the suspended Jordan and Horace Grant had 19 points and 16 rebounds. But it wasn't enough to win on the road against Phoenix.

The Suns, matching a franchise record for consecutive victories at home with 19, got 26 points from Jeff Hornacek to beat the Bulls 126-114 Wednesday night."They've got some great players," Hornacek said. "Whenever you have a championship team, you may have one great player, but the rest of them must be able to play."

Jordan was suspended for one game for bumping a referee in a triple-overtime loss to Utah Monday night. Under league rules, he was not allowed at the arena, so he left Wednesday morning for the All-Star game at Orlando, Fla.

The loss was the fourth in a six-game road trip for the Bulls. When it started, they were 37-5.

"Scottie Pippen had a load on his hands," Chicago coach Phil Jackson said. "He was supposed to open the game up and give John Paxson and Craig Hodges the ball, but it wore him out considerably."

The Bulls, who trailed 60-44 in the first half, closed to 81-80 after five straight points by Pippen, but the Suns rebuilt the margin to 96-88 by the end of the quarter.

"We knew the Bulls would be pumped up. They're the world champions, and they certainly wanted to come out and prove that," Suns coach Cotton Fitzsimmons said.

Dan Majerle scored 23 points for the Suns, while Kevin Johnson had 16 points and a season-high 19 assists.

Celtics 98, Rockets 85

At Boston, Reggie Lewis had 22 points and 11 rebounds and the Celtics celebrated the return of guard Dee Brown with a victory over Houston.

Brown, out since the start of the season with a knee injury, saw his first action when he replaced Lewis with 7:35 remaining in the half. He finished with seven points in 11 minutes, including a three-point play that completed the Celtics' big third quarter. Hakeem Olajuwon had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets.

Heat 126, Warriors 124

Glen Rice scored 33 points, including a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 14.1 seconds left, helping Miami beat Golden State for the first time in nine meetings.

The Heat extended their franchise-record home winning streak to seven games and improved to 23-25, just one short of the team record for victories in one season.