NBA Roundup : Wilkins Helps the Hawks to 5th Win in Row, 111-83

Dominique Wilkins sounded the warning a couple of weeks ago that the Atlanta Hawks had ended a midseason slump and were ready for a stretch drive.

The high-scoring forward is proving to be something of a prophet. And his own performances have much to do with it.

Wilkins scored 10 of his 17 points in the first quarter Friday night at East Rutherford, N.J., to get the Hawks off and running to an easy 111-83 victory over the New Jersey Nets.

Former Laker Mike McGee came off the bench in the second quarter to score seven points in a 17-9 spurt that broke the game open and enabled the Hawks to win their fifth in a row.

When the Hawks broke fast to win 20 of their first 26 games, it was thought they could be a strong challenge to the champion Boston Celtics in the East. But, injuries to Randy Wittman and later to Tree Rollins contributed to a 13-15 record in the next 28 games.

“What we had to do,” Wilkins said, “is to adjust to the loss of Rollins, who has been our big man for almost a decade. About two weeks ago we started coming together again.”

The surge began with a victory over the Celtics Feb. 27. The last two have been on the road. Wilkins has led the scoring in each of them, averaging almost 28 points per game. Except for a one-point win at Indianapolis over Indiana when they almost blew a big lead in the closing minutes, the Hawks have won handily in each.

“The win streak is important,” Coach Mike Fratello said. “We have to win each one so we can stay close to Detroit and keep Milwaukee from catching us. We are showing more consistency.”

Detroit 125, Dallas 115--Isiah Thomas scored 12 of his 24 points in a third-quarter rally at Pontiac, Mich., that enabled the Pistons to wipe out a 15-point deficit and end a three-game losing streak. The win kept the Pistons one-half game in front of Atlanta in the tight Central Division race.

Vinnie Johnson came off the bench to make 13 of 21 shots and lead all scorers with 28 points. Mark Aguirre had 25 for Dallas, but 19 of them came in the last quarter after the Mavericks took command.

Pistons Coach Chuck Daly credited Johnson, who was 10 for 15 in the first half, with keeping the Pistons from being buried early. Despite his sharpshooting, the Pistons trailed by 11 points.

Philadelphia 123, Washington 113--Cliff Robinson returned to action with 26 points and 7 rebounds at Philadelphia to lead the 76ers to victory.

An eye infection forced the former USC star to miss 13 of the 14 previous games. He came off the bench to play 30 minutes and led the 76ers to their first win over the Bullets in four tries.

Moses Malone scored 22 points for the Bullets, but was ejected with 6:31 remaining for his second unsportsmanlike (elbowing) foul of the game.

It was the first time Moses had lost to his old team, and he wasn’t around for the finish. When he left, the Bullets trailed by 12.

New York 110, Chicago 109--It’s too late to get them into the playoffs but, suddenly, the Knicks have become a tough team to beat.

Patrick Ewing sank a 12-foot jumper with 10 seconds left at Chicago and, when Jawann Oldham blocked Michael Jordan’s shot with three seconds left, the Knicks had a three-game winning streak.

Jordan was shut out in the third quarter, had 10 in the fourth and was held to just 27 points for the game. He did contribute eight steals.

The Knicks, who won only 4 of their first 30 road games this season, have won 2 in a row.

Ewing had 31 points, and Gerald Wilkins had 33 for the Knicks.

Utah 124, Milwaukee 123--After three quarters at Milwaukee, the Bucks were breezing, 99-84.

But Karl Malone led a fantastic 40-point rally by the Jazz and, when John Stockton sank a turnaround jumper with nine seconds remaining, Utah won it.

Malone had 34 points and 11 rebounds.

San Antonio 130, Sacramento 119--Eddie Johnson scored 38 points for the Kings at San Antonio, but it wasn’t even enough to make it close. Alvin Robertson and Mike Mitchell each had 27 for the Spurs.