NBA Roundup : Jordan Gets 47 Points and Some Help From Sellers; Bulls Win, 124-119

Whenever Michael Jordan gets a little offensive help, the Chicago Bulls have a chance to win.

Brad Sellers, making the most of his first start, scored 27 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to give Jordan a big hand in a 124-119 victory over the hot Detroit Pistons Saturday night at Chicago.

Jordan, after two consecutive games in the 30s, scored 47 points to put the Bulls at the .500 mark (15-15) and end the Pistons’ four-game winning streak. It was the 17th time that Jordan, on his way to the scoring title, had scored 40 or more points.

Sellers, a 7-footer who played at Wisconsin and Ohio State before becoming the Bulls’ first pick in the draft, has been erratic as a rookie.

He was shooting 45% from the field and averaging just 5.8 points a game until he came off the bench Friday night at Boston to make six of his eight field-goal attempts and grab six rebounds in 25 minutes.

Coach Doug Collins decided to make a lineup change. He benched Granville Waiters, who has contributed little as a starting center. The Bulls went with a front line of Earl Cureton, Charles Oakley and Sellers.

The big men dominated the Pistons, holding a 49-30 margin in rebounds.

With Sellers making 12 of his 14 shots from the field, that was all the help Jordan needed.

The performance got Sellers out of Collins’ doghouse. When Sellers missed a team flight Christmas night, he was fined $5,000 and suspended for four games.

“Brad was super,” Collins said. “He rebounded, ran the floor and shot.”

The Bulls, scoring 12 of the last 14 points in the first quarter, zoomed in front, 37-25. They maintained that lead until the fourth quarter when Isiah Thomas led rallies that three times cut the lead to three points. Each time, Jordan came through with the points that ended the rallies.

Thomas, playing all but four minutes, led the Pistons with 36 points. However, the Pistons, who had won 13 out of 16, dropped into third place in the Central Division 3 1/2 games behind Atlanta.

Houston 138, Seattle 114--On Dec. 6, the SuperSonics handed the Rockets a 136-80 drubbing, the worst defeat in their history. Two weeks later, Seattle beat them only 114-100.

This game at Houston was a measure of revenge. With Lewis Lloyd scoring 19 of his 25 points in the first quarter, the Rockets roared to a 43-23 lead, and it was never a contest. The SuperSonics had to score 42 points in the fourth quarter just to make it look good.

Lloyd made all seven tries from the field in the first quarter and five of six free throws. During his 28 minutes on the court, Lloyd was 9 for 11.

By halfway through the second quarter, it was “garbage” time and Houston led by 30.

Atlanta 114, New York 92--Although they still haven’t regained their shooting touch, the Hawks have returned to top form in other aspects of the game.

In this game at Atlanta, the Hawks shot only 43.3% from the field, but had complete control of the boards and easily ended the Knicks’ four-game winning streak.

Friday night at Landover, Md., the Hawks shot only 42.7% from the field, but beat Washington by 17.

On the way to their 12th home win in 13 games, the Hawks took the lead for good halfway through the first quarter, led by 16 at halftime and surged ahead by 30 before clearing the bench in the fourth quarter.

Tree Rollins had 16 rebounds for the Hawks, who had an overwhelming edge on the boards, 64-40.

In the battle of the Wilkins brothers, Dominique of the Hawks outscored Gerald of the Knicks, 21-20.

Milwaukee 104, Cleveland 95--Any time the Bucks get into a jam they just bring Ricky Pierce in off the bench, and he sets things right.

In this game at Milwaukee, Pierce, the highest scoring non-starter in the NBA (a 20.2 average), contributed 27 points. He started an 8-0 run in the fourth quarter that gave Milwaukee a 104-89 lead with two minutes left and also finished it with a layup.

Pierce made 10 of 16 shots from the field to help the Bucks improve their record to 21-11 and take over second place in the Central Division.

Dallas 106, San Antonio 89--Quietly, the Mavericks are becoming one of the powers in the West. With Detlef Schrempf coming off the bench to score 19 points at San Antonio, the Mavericks improved their record to 21-9 and increased their lead in the Midwest Division to two games over Utah. They lead defending division champion Houston by eight games.

The Mavericks had only a 50-45 halftime edge over the hapless Spurs (8-23), but steadily pulled away in the second half.

Portland 116, Denver 108--The Nuggets built a 95-86 lead early in the fourth quarter at Portland, then collapsed. They made only 5 of 22 field-goal attempts the rest of the way, missing their last 6.

Kiki Vandeweghe and Clyde Drexler led the late surge of the Trail Blazers, who became the sixth team in the league to win 20 games. Vandeweghe finished with 30 points.