NBA Roundup : Bucks Give Nelson 500th Victory

Even without Sidney Moncrief, probably their best player, the Bucks didn’t have any problem presenting Coach Don Nelson with his 500th victory Wednesday night at Milwaukee.

Terry Cummings had 30 points and Ricky Pierce 28 to lead the Bucks to a 122-103 victory over the Washington Bullets.

Now in his 11th year with the Bucks, Nelson has reached the 500 victories faster than any coach in NBA history. Only 11 coaches have reached that figure.

Red Auerbach, who coached Nelson when he played for the Boston Celtics, is the only coach who has a better winning percentage than Nelson. Auerbach’s teams won 66% of their games, and Nelson’s teams have won 61% of theirs.

The Bucks led, 52-48, at halftime, but with the Bullets’ key player, Moses Malone, obviously tired, it was no contest.

Cummings led a 15-4 burst to open the third period and wound up the 12-minute session scoring 17 points as the Bucks took a 95-76 lead.

Once again, the Bullets’ dependency on Malone was evident. In each game this season that Malone has scored 30 or more points, the Bullets have won. But in the eight games he has had 23 or fewer points, the Bullets have lost.

Malone had 32 Tuesday night and the Bullets won. Wednesday night, he played only 28 minutes, had 19 points and only 4 rebounds.

“I got my wish,” Nelson said. “I was hoping it would be an easy game. It is hard for me to believe I won 500 faster than Red did it. It’s really something.”

Dallas 129, Sacramento 117--In an amazing demonstration of handling the ball, the Mavericks, in this game at Dallas, tied an NBA record with only four turnovers.

Mark Aguirre scored 29 points as the Mavericks took an early lead and were never in danger, but he also had three of the turnovers.

“I’ve always thought turnovers are the most important stats in a basketball game,” Dallas Coach Dick Motta said after the Mavericks won their third in a row.

Houston 92, Indiana 88--The Rockets won their first game without the Twin Towers (injured Akeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson) but not because they played well at Indianapolis.

The Rockets shot only 41.4% but won because they outshot the Pacers, who shot only 40.7%.

Thanks to the Pacers, Rocket Coach Bill Fitch’s prediction failed to hold up.

“If we’re missing those two,” Fitch said, “for five games, it’s five forfeits.”

Cleveland 118, Portland 114--Phil Hubbard, playing for the first time in almost a year, helped the Cavaliers snap a seven-game losing streak in this game at Richfield, Ohio.

Hubbard, a veteran forward hampered by hand and wrist injuries, played 38 minutes in his first game since last Dec. 20. He scored 18 points and had 4 assists.

“He was an inspiration to our young team,” Cleveland Coach Lenny Wilkens said. “He comes to play.”

Boston 101, New York 90--Another sensational performance by Kevin McHale enabled the Celtics to end a two-game losing streak and extend their homecourt winning streak to 47 games.

With his other front line running mates, Robert Parish and Larry Bird, getting a rest, McHale scored the first nine points of the last quarter to turn the game into a rout.

McHale scored 31 points in just 31 minutes, making 13 of 19 shots.

Bird scored 13 points in the third quarter to give the Celtics the lead.

Denver 109, Chicago 107--Coach Doug Moe’s strategy was simple for this game at Denver: Let Michael Jordan have his 37 points and beat the rest of the Bulls.

It worked, but just barely. Jordan got his average, and the Nuggets won when Fat Lever made a reverse layup at the final buzzer.

But the real star for the Nuggets was Bill Hanzlik. He scored 18 of his 29 points in the last quarter to enable the Nuggets to wipe out a six-point deficit.

Phoenix 120, Atlanta 106--Hawk Coach Mike Fratello’s worst fears were realized. After his team scored successive victories over the Celtics and Lakers, he worried about a letdown.

It came at Phoenix, where Walter Davis scored a season-high 33 points and the Suns handed the Hawks just their third loss in 13 games.

Utah 127, Seattle 91--The Jazz jumped in front early at Salt Lake City and never let the SuperSonics get close. Eight Utah players scored in double figures.