Nets Might Do Well Drawing 76ers in Playoffs

Considering what happened Wednesday night at Brendan Byrne Arena in the New Jersey Meadowlands, the New Jersey Nets might what to rethink their position.

Sixth might be better than fifth.

If the Nets earn the fifth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, they will meet the Detroit Pistons in the first round. If they finish sixth, they will play the Philadelphia 76ers.

Wednesday night, the Nets showed that Philadelphia might not be that much of a challenge, after all.

Behind 27 points from Micheal Ray Richardson and 23 from Albert King, the Nets scored their most convincing victory of the season, a 125-100 thrashing of the 76ers.

New Jersey led by as many as 31 points, 107-76, with 6:45 to go in the game. Philadelphia shot just 41% for the game, while the Nets hit 57%.

Detroit 116, Indiana 114--Bill Laimbeer’s jump shot from the top of the key gave the Pistons a last-second victory at Detroit and a sweep of its six-game season series with the Pacers.

Clark Kellogg scored 31 points to lead Indiana. Kelly Tripucka led Detroit with 23 points. Terry Tyler and Laimbeer each added 20.

The Pistons’ Isiah Thomas was credited with 16 assists, giving him 1,089 for the season. He needs 11 more assists in Detroit’s final two games to break the NBA single-season record of 1,099 set in 1978-79 by former Piston Kevin Porter.

Milwaukee 106, Washington 97--Sidney Moncrief scored 27 points and Terry Cummings added 23 to help the Bucks turn back the Bullets at Milwaukee.

The victory ended a two-game losing streak for the Bucks and was their 15th consecutive home win.

Atlanta 98, New York 94--Dominique Wilkins scored 27 points and led a fourth-quarter comeback as the Hawks beat the Knicks at Atlanta.

It was the 10th straight loss for New York. Both teams have been eliminated from playoff contention.

Louis Orr scored 22 points for New York, while Darrell Walker added 19. Eddie Johnson led Atlanta with 16.