NBA Roundup : Erving Takes Over as No. 3 All-Time Scorer

Julius Erving became the No. 3 all-time scorer in professional basketball Tuesday night at Milwaukee, but he did it in a game he and his Philadelphia 76ers would just as soon not talk about.

Erving needed seven points to pass Elvin Hayes and move in behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain and it took him almost the entire game to get it. A tip-in with 6:05 left in the game, gave Erving 27,037 points. By that time, though, the amazing Bucks had long since put the game away.

Former Clippers’ Terry Cummings (27 points) and Craig Hodges (20) led the Bucks to an easy 116-97 victory to prevent the 76ers from moving into a tie for first place with Boston in the Atlantic Division. The amazing Bucks lengthened their big lead in the Central Division to 7 1/2 games.

The Bucks led most of the way and, when Cummings scored four points in an 11-1 spurt late in the third quarter, they led, 81-65. The 76ers were never closer than 13 in the last quarter.

The 76ers, who have enjoyed an injury-free season for the most part, were without Maurice Cheeks, who is injured and Clint Richardson, who stayed behind because his wife is expecting.

Erving was unable to take up the slack for the loss of the two guards. He was 3 for 10 from the field and only 1 for 4 from the line.

At 35, Erving doesn’t figure to climb any higher. He would have to score 4,112 points to catch Chamberlain.

The brilliant 6-6 forward received a one-minute standing ovation when he passed Hayes. After the game, he wasn’t in a talkative mood. “It’s not so bad when you’re playing happy,” he said. “I’m thankful for it. That’s all I’ve got to say.”

Paul Pressey, the unsung star of the Bucks, was largely responsible for Erving’s low total.

Utah 103, Dallas 96--The Jazz has only one tower, Mark Eaton, but on occasion he is something special. In this game at Dallas, Eaton completely disrupted the Mavericks’ offense.

The 7-4 center blocked 12 shots and so intimidated the Mavericks that they shot only 31.1% from the field. The starters, with Mark Aguirre only 3 for 19, were 19 for 67 from the field.

Darrell Griffith led the Utah attack with 31 points and Fred Roberts came off the bench to score a career-high 25 points.

Denver 106, Atlanta 94--Alex English scored 13 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter at Atlanta as the Nuggets recovered from a slow start to win going away.

The Hawks led, 34-19, early in the second quarter, but English and Calvin Natt brought the Nuggets charging back. The loss cut the Hawks lead over Cleveland in the battle for the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference to 3 1/2 games.

Cleveland 123, Chicago 118--World B. Free sank a 20-foot jumper from the corner with 27 seconds left in overtime at Chicago to clinch the big win for the Cavaliers.

A slam dunk by Orlando Woolridge with 32 seconds left in regulation tied the score at 107 and sent it into overtime.

The Bulls, despite a 28-point performance from Michael Jordan, lost for the ninth time in their last 11 games.

New York 129, San Antonio 122--The Knicks, too, are in the fight for the last playoff spot in the East. They took advantage of injuries to George Gervin and Artis Gilmore to pull within 4 1/2 games of the Hawks.

Bernard King, taking advantage of the absence of Gervin and Gilmore, scored 14 of his 41 points in the last 6 1/2 minutes. Gervin, after scoring 18 points in the first half, left with an arm injury in the third period. Gilmore hurt his back in the fourth period.

Gervin and Gilmore had 23 of the Spurs points in the first quarter, but the Knicks still led, 34-31.

Kansas City 110, Phoenix 103--Larry Drew scored a season-high 27 points and his back-court mate Reggie Theus had 26 at Kansas City to help the Kings end a two-game losing streak. The Suns have lost five in a row.

Walter Davis, slowly rounding into shape after missing the first half of the season with a knee injury, scored a season-high 22 for the Suns.

Golden State 128, Seattle 119--Purvis Short scored 33 points and the Warriors held off a desperate SuperSonics rally at Oakland.

Although it was the Warriors’ second win in a row at home, it was only their 14th win in 58 games this season.