NBA Roundup : Hawks, Soaring Again, Win Fourth in a Row, 109-108

The Atlanta Hawks have battled their way back into contention in the Central Division with a tough defense.

With Dominique Wilkins scoring nine of his 30 points in the fourth quarter at Indianapolis, the Hawks edged the Indiana Pacers, 109-108, Tuesday night for their fourth win in a row.

It has taken the Hawks quite awhile to shake a slump, but they are now just one game behind first-place Detroit.

The Hawks, leading only 96-94 with seven minutes left, shut down the Pacers, scored nine points in a row and seemed to have a commanding lead at 105-94. The Pacers fought back to within a point and missed a chance to win when Chuck Person’s 18-foot jumper bounced off the rim with time running out. Wilkins’ tough defense forced Person to shoot from outside.

“We have been playing defense with a better attitude lately,” Coach Mike Fratello said. “We have the ability to explode when we play really tough defense.”

Pacer Coach Jack Ramsay blamed poor outside shooting for the loss. “We had only eight scores outside the paint,” he said.

New York 99, Utah 86--When his team fell behind the Jazz, 65-55, early in the second half at New York, Knick Coach Bob Hill brought Louis Orr and Trent Tucker off the bench.

It was the right move, and the two substitutes led the rally that carried the Knicks to their 17th win of the season and ended a five-game losing streak.

First, Orr and Tucker led an 11-4 spurt, and between them they scored 20 of the Knicks’ last 31 points.

The Knicks, the weakest rebounding team in the National Basketball Assn., averaging only 40 a game, had 61 rebounds in this one, 16 by Patrick Ewing.

Portland 127, Cleveland 122--Clyde Drexler tied his season high with 36 points, and Kiki Vandeweghe added 33 to lead the Trail Blazers past the Cavaliers at Portland, Ore.

Drexler scored 25 points in the second half as Portland came back from a seven-point, third-quarter deficit.

Rookies Brad Daugherty and Ron Harper scored 33 and 31 points, respectively, for the Cavaliers.