NBA Roundup : Wilkins (54), Hawks Beat Celtics

The Boston Celtics felt pretty good when they built a 58-51 halftime lead at Atlanta Tuesday night and held Dominique Wilkins to 14 points.

They knew that the Hawks, missing their sharpshooting guard Randy Wittman, had to place an extra burden on Wilkins. They also knew the star forward had an aching back.

Apparently the ache in Wilkins’ back disappeared, because in the second half, Wilkins was a one-man show. He finished with 54 points, nine of them in overtime, and the Hawks gained a hard-earned 126-123 victory.

Wilkins scored 16 of the last 17 points the Hawks scored in regulation. It was his jumper that tied the score at 111-111 and sent it into overtime.

He opened the overtime with a basket, and the Hawks were never headed.

Wilkins’ sensational performance overshadowed Larry Bird’s first triple-double of the season. Bird, although he was only 9 of 24 from the field, had 26 points, 15 rebounds and 14 assists.

“When you’re hot, you’re hot,” Boston Coach K.C. Jones said, “and ‘Nique was sizzling. He was going to the basket hard and jumping over people on the boards. He shot the ball about 100 miles in the air one time, and it went in. He was fantastic.”

It was Wilkins’ third-highest point total. Twice in his career, he has scored 57 points, both times against Chicago. He gave much of the credit to Doc Rivers and John Battle, the Atlanta guards.

“Once I got into my rhythm,” Wilkins said, “Doc and John were really looking for me. We played real good team defense. Bird is a great player, but it wasn’t a battle between us. It was a battle between teams.”

Chicago 98, Washington 91--Michael Jordan scored 16 of his 32 points in a third-quarter spurt at Chicago that helped the Bulls end a five-game losing streak.

Jordan scored 16 straight Chicago points in the third quarter to keep his team from getting run out of the game. Then, in the fourth quarter, unsung Mike Brown scored eight quick points to take the burden off Jordan.

Brown led the rally that wiped out an eight-point deficit. Jordan’s jumper, with 4:49 remaining, put the Bulls ahead for good, 83-82.

Philadelphia 99, Indiana 94--Andrew Toney, slowly returning to the form that made him one of the top guards in the NBA, rallied the 76ers at Indianapolis.

Indiana led, 80-73, with just more than 10 minutes remaining. But Toney, who missed 18 months of action with a foot problem, scored nine points in nine minutes, and so did Roy Hinson, as the 76ers handed the Pacers their seventh loss in a row.

New York 110, Milwaukee 109--Patrick Ewing scored 30 points, including two free throws with 52 seconds left that enabled the Knicks to win at Milwaukee for the first time since 1983.

San Antonio 111, Golden State 103--Artis Gilmore had 24 points and 18 rebounds at San Antonio to lead the surging Spurs to their sixth victory in a row and snap the Warriors’ three-game winning streak.

Utah 101, Sacramento 95--Thurl Bailey scored 25 points at Salt Lake City, and the Jazz handed the Kings their fourth defeat in a row.

The Kings led, 71-69, late in the third period, but Utah scored seven points in a row and the Kings never caught up again.

Portland 117, Phoenix 103--Kiki Vandeweghe scored 28 points and Steve Johnson had 12 rebounds at Portland to lead the Trail Blazers.

Caldwell Jones, starting at forward for Kenny Carr, who has back spasms, scored 15 points and had 9 rebounds.