NBA Roundup : Spurs Do Best to Get Coach Off Hook, Beat 76ers

It may be that the fans of the San Antonio Spurs will soon stop booing Coach Cotton Fitzsimmons.

At the moment, the fans are irate because Fitzsimmons traded their idol, George Gervin, to Chicago. For 11 seasons Gervin was Mr. Basketball in San Antonio. He won four NBA scoring titles and was largely responsible for the Spurs making the playoffs eight times.

In the Spurs’ two appearances at home this season, Fitzsimmons has been booed at every turn, but it all figures to change if he can develop a winner.

With Gervin, the Spurs stressed offense. They are now stressing a tenacious defense. For years, the Spurs, whenever it was clutch time, went to Gervin. Now, in a tight spot, they go to Mike Mitchell.

Mitchell and the newly-toughened defense proved too much for the 76ers Friday night at Philadelphia, and the Spurs evened their record at 4-4 with a 107-95 victory.

Mitchell scored 24 points and led the Spurs with 8 rebounds. It was the 40th consecutive game in which the sharpshooting forward has scored in double figures. For the second game in a row, the Spurs held the opposition under 100 points. Wednesday night, Washington scored only 80.

Steve Johnson came off the bench to help Mitchell lead the attack. He made 9 of 11 shots and all 6 free throws.

“I can take the heat,” Fitzsimmons said of the fans’ response to his trade of Gervin. “But our players believe in what we’re trying to do. I like the way they have responded.

“This is the second game in a row in which our defense has saved us.”

In losing for the fourth time in seven games, the 76ers fell 2 1/2 games behind Boston in the Atlantic Division.

The 76ers are the smallest team in the NBA. And Moses Malone, a dominating center in recent seasons, seems to be below par. The 6-10 veteran had only 14 points and 6 rebounds in 32 minutes.

Charles Barkley was the only spark for the 76ers. He had 26 points and 15 rebounds. But with the rest of the team shooting only 35%, they couldn’t cope with the hustling Spurs.

Golden State 130, Atlanta 119--The new look of the Warriors is producing more than just a couple of victories. The Warriors have the Bay Area fans excited. This game attracted 14,780 fans to Oakland Coliseum Arena, largest ever to see the Warriors.

The Warriors brought forward Greg Ballard off the injured list for this one. Wednesday night, they had Chris Mullin and Purvis Short join them when they beat Seattle.

Ballard was used sparingly, but Short scored 21 points, and the Warriors built a 95-77 lead after three quarters and breezed to their third win in eight games.

Boston 125, Phoenix 101--Larry Bird scored 9 points in a 28-5 first-quarter spurt at Boston that enabled the Celtics to overwhelm the hapless Suns.

The Celtics are 5-1, while the Suns are 0-6, the worst start in their 18-year history. Bird scored 20 of his 24 points in the first half to help the Celtics build a 63-51 lead. In the second half, Bird became a playmaker and finished with 10 assists.

Coach K.C. Jones continued to make use of his bench, something he didn’t do last season, even in one-sided games. Ten players played 11 or more minutes.

Jones feared the Celtics would be rusty after not playing for a week. They were----but only for the first five minutes, when they let the Suns break on top, 16-9.

Detroit 117, Washington 110--Isiah Thomas scored 14 of his 25 points in a 40-point third quarter at Landover, Md., that enabled the Pistons to win their fourth in a row.

The brilliant guard picked up his fifth foul early in the fourth quarter and was taken out. When the Bullets pulled even, 105-105, with 3:31 left, Thomas returned. He scored five points in the last two minutes to clinch the victory. It was the fifth loss in a row for the Bullets.

Jeff Ruland, with 22 points, 21 rebounds and 5 assists, kept the Bullets in the game.

Portland 92, Seattle 88--Rookie Terry Porter came off the bench in the fourth quarter to score nine points and lead the Trail Blazers to their 10th consecutive win at home.

Kiki Vandeweghe scored 28 points for the Blazers, but they trailed until Porter came in to spark the winning rally.