NBA Roundup : Mavericks Give Motta 700th Win

When Dick Motta took his first pro coaching job in 1968, he planned on using it as a stepping stone for a return to college coaching.

But when Mark Aguirre scored 32 points and Rolando Blackman 28 Sunday at East Rutherford, N.J., to lead Dallas to a 126-113 victory over New Jersey, Motta became only the fourth coach to win 700 games in the NBA.

Motta, who had been highly successful in six seasons at Weber State in Utah before taking over the Chicago Bulls, joins Red Auerbach, Jack Ramsay and Gene Shue as winners of 700.

“I didn’t expect to be around any 17 seasons,” Motta said. “If you stay around that long, you should win 700. I just hope I have the energy to reach the next figure.”

The victory, which gave the Mavericks a 35-29 record this season, left them three games behind Houston in the battle for second place in the Midwest Division. The Mavericks are almost a cinch to become Motta’s 12th team to make the playoffs. He won the championship with Washington in 1978.

The Mavericks, after taking a 61-54 halftime lead, scored the first eight points of the second half to take a commanding lead.

Milwaukee 110, Portland 94--Sidney Moncrief scored 19 of his 27 points in the first quarter at Milwaukee to give the Bucks an early lead on the way to their ninth win in the last 11 games.

It was the fourth road game in six nights for the Trail Blazers, and they showed the effects in the second half.

At halftime, the Brewers, leading the Central Division by nine games, led only, 59-54. But early in the third quarter the Bucks ran off 10 points in a row to put the game out of reach.

Rookie center Sam Bowie led the Trail Blazers with 20 points. The Trail Blazers, battling to earn a playoff berth in the Western Conference, are 30-35. If the playoffs were to start now, they would qualify.