NBA Roundup : Rockets Delay Nuggets’ Bid With Fourth Win in Row

Dick Motta had to pay a $5,000 fine, but the coach of the Dallas Mavericks has accomplished his purpose.

When Motta accused Bill Fitch of not trying to win with his Houston Rockets, he hoped to stir up the Rockets so they would not be in the same playoff bracket with his Mavericks. Motta wanted the Rockets in a position to battle the Lakers in the second round.

With guard Steve Harris coming off the bench to score 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter Saturday night at Houston, the Rockets held off Denver, 113-103, for their fourth victory in a row.

While the Rockets were further delaying Denver’s bid to clinch the final playoff berth in the West, they were almost assuring themselves of the fifth-best record in the West. A fifth-place finish would pit the Rockets against Utah in the first round with the winner probably meeting the Lakers.

The Nuggets, who were five games ahead of Phoenix in the battle for the final playoff spot on April 1, are just 1 1/2 games ahead now. However, the Nuggets play two of their last three games at home, while the Suns must play the Lakers at the Forum tonight and have three other games to play, two at home.

Rodney McCray sparkled on offense and defense for the Rockets. He scored 21 points and held Alex English to 19, almost 10 below his average. Fat Lever, with 34 points (16 for 22 from the field), had to carry the offensive load for the Nuggets.

Phoenix 136, San Antonio 116--Ever since the stories about the players being investigated for drugs began appearing, the Suns have been invincible.

Larry Nance scored 25 points and Walter Davis 20 at Phoenix, and the Suns routed the Spurs for their seventh consecutive victory and kept their playoff hopes alive.

The Spurs, who have lost nine in a row, did not use All-Star guard Alvin Robertson. Although they said nothing was wrong with Robertson, Coach Bob Weiss wanted to experiment with new combinations, he said.

The Suns came out firing. They shot 69% from the field in the first quarter and forced five turnovers to take a 38-22 lead. They built the lead to 52-26 in the second quarter, and the Spurs never threatened again.

For the Suns to win the eighth playoff spot, they need to win all four remaining games and have Denver lose two of their three games.

The winning streak is the longest for the Suns since 1980.

Golden State 124, Sacramento 118--Joe Barry Carroll scored six of his 31 points in overtime at Sacramento to lead the Warriors to victory. The Kings missed a chance to win when Reggie Theus’ jump shot fell short at the buzzer ending regulation.

Milwaukee 121, Cleveland 93--Getting ready for the playoffs, the Bucks are experimenting with Terry Cummings coming off the bench and Randy Breuer starting at center.

For this game at Milwaukee, it worked just fine. Breuer tied his career high with 19 points and had 12 rebounds in 37 minutes. Cummings played only 26 minutes, but he scored 21 points and helped make it an easy victory.