NBA Roundup : Atlanta Bench Presses Houston, 109-93

The Atlanta Hawks are opening eyes around the NBA because they have something in reserve.

Mike McGee led a 52-point effort by the Atlanta bench with 18 points as the Hawks defeated the struggling Houston Rockets, 109-93, Thursday night at Houston.

Houston lost its third straight game and failed to reach 100 points for the sixth time in seven games.

The victory, Atlanta’s 14th in 17 games, gave the Hawks a 2 1/2-game lead over Milwaukee in the Midwest Division. Atlanta is 7-3 on the road, best in the league.

Cleveland 113, Detroit 105--Rookie Brad Daugherty scored 29 points as the Cavaliers rallied to beat the Pistons at Richfield, Ohio.

John Bagley scored 24 points for Cleveland, and John (Hot Rod) Williams added 22 points and 18 rebounds. Adrian Dantley had 26 points for Detroit, and Bill Laimbeer added 25.

Seattle 109, San Antonio 102--Tom Chambers scored 36 points as the SuperSonics rallied to beat the Spurs at San Antonio.

Seattle trailed, 96-90, with 3:55 left, but Chambers and Dale Ellis teamed for the last 19 points by the Sonics to pull out the victory. Chambers had 11, including a three-pointer. Ellis had eight, including two three-pointers.

The Spurs lost their fourth straight game despite 19 points and 22 rebounds by David Greenwood.

Portland 106, Sacramento 102--Reserve forward Jerome Kersey scored three points in the final eight seconds to assure the Trail Blazers of a victory over the Kings at Sacramento.

Clyde Drexler scored 31 for the Blazers, and Kiki Vandeweghe added 20 points. Eddie Johnson led the Kings with 22.