A Free Hand Pays Off for Cavaliers

One thing you can be sure about World B. Free. Just because he isn’t hitting won’t cause him to stop shooting. He just keeps on firing.

In the Cleveland Cavaliers’ overtime loss to Atlanta Saturday night, Free made only 6 of 23 shots from the field. Mainly because of this, the Cavaliers lost and dropped into a tie with the Hawks for the final playoff spot in the East.

The Cavaliers took on the crippled New York Knicks Tuesday night at Richfield, Ohio, and once again, Free couldn’t hit his hat. With 0:24 left in the third period, Free was 1 for 9 and the Knicks led, 64-56.

But Free kept firing. The ball started dropping and Free’s 10-point spurt helped the Cavaliers pull in front and win going away, 112-98.

Free had one string of three baskets in a row and finished 4 for 14, but with Atlanta losing, the Cavaliers regained a one-game lead.

The Knicks, who have almost an All-Star team on the injury list, had only one regular on the floor, Darrell Walker. The latest casualty is Bernard King, the scoring champion, who underwent knee surgery.

One of the reasons the Cavaliers ended a three-game losing streak was the return of Phil Hubbard. The team’s No. 3 scorer didn’t shoot much better than Free (3 for 9), but his presence gave the team a lift.

New Jersey 109, Atlanta 108--Micheal Ray Richardson scored three of his 34 points in overtime at New Orleans and his free throw with one second left in regulation sent the game into the five-minute extra session.

The Hawks’ Glenn Rivers opened the overtime with a three-point basket, but Albert King scored six of his 11 points in overtime to beat the Hawks.

Denver 104, Utah 89--Lafayette Lever scored eight points as the Nuggets opened the second half at Denver with a 17-2 spurt en route to their 18th straight win at home.

The Nuggets brilliance at home has kept them in front in the Midwest Division most of the season. The Nuggets lead Houston by four games and have 10 games left, only four of them at home.

Alex English had 25 points and Calvin Natt had 21 as the Nuggets improved their record to 46-26.

Detroit 119, Phoenix 93--Kelly Tripucka scored 13 of his 25 points in the third quarter at Phoenix to break open a tight game and hand the fading Suns their sixth loss in the last seven games.

The Suns have lost six of their last 10 home games and lead Seattle by only two games in the battle for the final playoff spot in the West.

Dallas 134, Golden State 107--Dallas Coach Dick Motta, pun intended, proclaimed Golden State as short-handed for this game at Dallas.

The Warriors played without their leading scorer, Purvis Short, who has a lower back injury.

Chicago 120, Indiana 119--Michael Jordan had 38 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists at Chicago, and the Bulls needed his outstanding performance to barely beat the pesky Pacers.

Jordan’s two free throws with five seconds remaining gave Chicago a 120-116 lead, so when Jim Thomas sank a three-pointer, the Pacers were still a point short.

Milwaukee 107, Washington 96--Coach Don Nelson has said the Bucks owe their success to the ample use of reserves. In this game at Landover, Md., Ricky Pierce became the third Milwaukee sub in a week to lead the Bucks to victory.

Pierce scored eight points in the fourth quarter as the Bucks pulled it out. Kenny Fields and Charles Davis starred in other games.

Houston 115, Kansas City 93--Ralph Sampson had 22 points and Akeem Olajuwon had 20 at Houston as the Rockets ended the Kings’ five-game winning streak.

The Kings made only eight of their first 26 shots. Sampson made seven dunks in the first half to help the Rockets grab a 56-46 lead.