NBA Roundup : Aguirre Scores 34; Mavericks Win

Mark Aguirre scored 34 points, and the Mavericks went 15 games above .500 for the first time in team history when they easily trounced the Portland Trail Blazers, 135-115, Tuesday night at Dallas.

It was the seventh win in the last nine games for the Mavericks, who have the third-best record in the NBA (31-16), trailing only the Lakers and the Boston Celtics.

Aguirre played only 35 minutes as the Mavericks put the Trail Blazers, who had won four in a row, away early in the third quarter.

Dallas led, 66-49, by halftime. Then, with Aguirre getting 10 of his points in the first 10 minutes of the third quarter, Dallas’ lead soared to 100-73.

The Mavericks are proving that the three wins in a row over the Lakers were not a fluke. “When we got to 10 over .500 last month, I told the players it was like a magic number,” Coach Dick Motta said. “From there, you’ve got basically two-third of the season to get to get another 10 over .500, which is what you need to do if you’re going to make any noise.

“The way we are playing, we just may get to 20.”

There are several factors that have led to the improvement of the Mavericks. They were 44-38 last season and began to improve when 7-foot 2-inch James Donaldson was obtained from the Clippers. This season, he has arrived.

He is averaging 12 rebounds and 10.5 points per game.

The improvement off the bench also has been a factor, where rookie Roy Tarpley and second-year player Detlef Schrempf have given the Mavericks a big lift.

This game was one in which Schrempf wasn’t needed. Schrempf, who finished second to Larry Bird in the three-point shooting contest at Seattle last week, was only 1 for 13. However, he has been a 50% shooter and contributed almost 11 points a game as a reserve at either forward or guard.

But, the heart of the team is Aguirre and guard Rolando Blackman. Blackman backed Aguirre with 28 points. Both of them showed they belonged in the All-Star game Sunday at Seattle.

“Believe it or not, my mind wasn’t really into the All-Star game,” Aguirre said. “It was a great weekend and I had a lot of fun, but my main concern is the Dallas Mavericks.

“I think we’re a pretty good basketball team. We have to get pumped up and play aggressively every night.”

Chicago 104, Philadelphia 99--The 76ers were feeling pretty good after three quarters at Chicago. They held a 75-70 lead, and Michael Jordan was having a terrible night.

Jordan, held to 16 points to that point, scored another 13 in the fourth quarter to bring the Bulls from behind. Charles Oakley had eight points in the final period, and it was his free throw with 1:53 left that gave the Bulls their first lead of the game, 99-98.

A three-point play by Gene Banks finished off the 76ers and took some of the luster off a 30-point performance by Julius Erving, who scored 11 points in the first quarter when the 76ers twice built 12-point leads.

Charles Barkley, usually the leader for the 76ers, was held to 12 points and had only 6 rebounds in 40 minutes.

Houston 115, San Antonio 92--Going up against the hot Spurs without Ralph Sampson appeared to be a difficult task for the Rockets even though the game was at Houston.

It wasn’t much of a contest as the Rockets put an end to the Spurs’ seven-game winning streak. It was so easy that Akeem Olajuwon was able to sit out the fourth quarter.

Before calling it a night, he powered the Rockets to an 89-62 lead. Olajuwon, in 27 minutes, scored 25 points, had 7 rebounds and blocked 6 shots.

Boston 119, Denver 105--With the champion Celtics beginning a trip in which they will play eight games in 12 days, Kevin McHale made certain they opened it with a win at Denver.

The All-Star forward scored 11 of his game-high 36 points in the first 2 1/2 minutes to help the Celtics build a 17-10 lead. The Nuggets continued to fall steadily farther behind.

In addition to sinking 15 of his 21 field goal attempts, McHale also grabbed 14 rebounds.

Cleveland 100, New York 95--Rookie Mark Price picked a good time to return to action at Richfield, Ohio. In his first game since undergoing an appendectomy a month ago, Price lit a fire under the Cavaliers in the second half.

He scored 13 points after intermission, eight of them in the third quarter when the Cavaliers turned a 55-53 deficit into an 81-73 lead.

Phoenix 102, Utah 98--Larry Nance turned in a brilliant performance at Salt Lake City. He scored 30 points, including two free throws with 10 seconds left to clinch the victory for the Suns, and had 21 rebounds and 5 assists.

The Suns built a 62-45 lead in the second quarter, but by the middle of the last quarter the teams were tied, 92-92. In the last five minutes, Nance scored eight points, and the Jazz dropped three games behind Dallas in the Midwest Division.

Indiana 126, Golden State 125--Chuck Person sank a three-point basket with 10 seconds left in overtime at Oakland. The Pacers led the entire second half until Terry Teagle tied it, 113-113, on a jumper with 17 seconds left in regulation.

Atlanta 125, Seattle 113--Dominique Wilkins, one of the few stars who didn’t show his best stuff in the All-Star game, apparently was saving it for this contest at Seattle.

Wilkins scored 46 points, and the Hawks ended a six-game road losing streak. Tom Chambers had 35 points for the SuperSonics.