NBA Roundup : Trail Blazers Rally, Beat Warriors

The Portland Trail Blazers put on a furious second-half rally Sunday night at Portland to come from behind and rout the Golden State Warriors, 136-120.

Early in the third period, the Warriors, behind the sharpshooting of Purvis Short, built a 64-55 lead. But Jim Paxson, starting with a three-point play on a driving layup, ignited the Trail Blazers.

In three minutes they outscored the Warriors, 14-2, to take a three-point lead. After Short, who scored 36 points before fouling out in the last two minutes, sank a jumper to cut the lead to a point, the Blazers went on another spurt. A 43-point third quarter enabled them to take a 93-83 lead.

With Clyde Drexler coming off the bench to score 17 points in the fourth quarter, the Blazers steadily pulled away and beat the Warriors for the fourth time in a row.

Paxson, sinking 10-of-14 shots from the field, finished with 25 points in just 29 minutes.

Although the Trail Blazers have won seven of their last nine games and hold a solid grip on second place in the Pacific Division, they are not a contender for the title. They trail the Lakers by eight games.

Phoenix at Seattle, postponed, rain--It probably couldn’t happen in baseball at Seattle, because the Mariners play in the Kingdome.

But the Seattle Coliseum sprung a leak, and referee Mike Mathis ordered the game stopped one minute into the second period. The Suns were leading, 35-24, when a leaky roof caused the floor to become slippery.

Apparently, the game will be resumed tonight with the Suns holding the 11-point lead after 13 minutes.

It is the first time an NBA game was canceled in progress. The league office will have to make a ruling on whether to resume the game or restart it.

Seattle guard Al Wood said he was hurt when he slipped and fell.

“I came up and hit a wet spot and slightly pulled my hamstring,” Wood told the Associated Press. “They had one spot marked, but this was in another place on the floor.”

Referee Mike Mathis said he allowed the game to begin despite the leaks because he felt the water could be wiped up as play progressed. He said the leaks worsened, however, making it impossible to mop up the water before the court became dangerously slick.

“When multiple leaks developed and two players hit the floor, I felt there was too much of a chance of a player getting injured and made the decision to stop the game,” Mathis said.

Coaches John MacLeod of the Suns and Bernie Bickerstaff of the Sonics agreed with the move.

“It’s just not worth it to play a game under these conditions,” MacLeod said. “There’s no sense running the risk.

“We have been through this before when Walter Davis was hurt (because of a slippery floor) in Los Angeles with long-term effects.”

Davis missed 47 games last season because of torn knee ligaments from his fall in an exhibition game at the Forum. His lawsuit against the Lakers is still pending.

The leak was discovered Sunday morning and a tarpaulin was placed over the hole in the roof. But high winds blew the tarp away and the court became unplayable.