NBA Roundup : Wilkins Helps Hawks Wrap Up Victory and Division Title Early

Dominique Wilkins scored 17 points in the first half at East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday and, by halftime, the Atlanta Hawks had all but wrapped up their first division title since 1980.

With Moses Malone and the Washington Bullets knocking off the Detroit Pistons, the Hawks earned the Central Division title with a 115-88 victory over the New Jersey Nets.

The Hawks ended the reign of the Milwaukee Bucks, who won the division all seven seasons they played in it.

While Wilkins was leading the offense, it was the defense that destroyed the Nets. The lead was 48-33 at halftime with the Nets getting only 10 points in the second quarter. Wilkins played only eight minutes in the second half, scoring two more points.

“This is a first step,” Coach Mike Fratello said. “We’ve never won anything like this before. But it’s only our first step.”

Wilkins said the victory put the Hawks on the right road to start the playoffs.

“You have to give credit to everyone,” he said. “My dream is to go to the NBA final round and we’ve made the first move.”

With four games remaining, the Hawks have won 54 games. If they win their last four they have a chance to finish with the best overall record in the East. Their final game is at Boston. The Celtics are 56-23, the Hawks 54-24.

Washington 103, Detroit 98--All in all, it was a satisfying day for Moses Malone at Landover, Md.

The veteran center scored 27 points to become the 12th player to score 20,000 points in the NBA and had 10 rebounds to put the finishing touches on Detroit’s hopes of winning a division title.

The Bullets’ victory also just about assured them of facing the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs.

“I’m happy I got 20,000,” Malone said after his spinning fallaway shot with 5:15 left did it. “The standing ovation made me feel good, and it was nice to show the Pistons we can beat them.

“If I’d known that shot was for 20,000 I’d probably missed it.”

Boston 119, New York 107--The Celtics needed the return of Robert Parish and a tremendous performance from Larry Bird at Boston to put an end to their three-game losing streak.

Parish, who missed two games with a sore elbow, had 23 points and 17 rebounds, while Bird scored a season-high 47 points.

They helped the Celtics build a 28-point lead in the third quarter, but the lowly Knicks went on a 15-0 spurt and three times in the closing minutes pulled within four points. Each time Bird scored to thwart the threat.

“Larry came out breathing fire,” teammate Jerry Sichting said. “He’s fed up with the way we’ve been playing.”

Bernard King, playing his second game since returning from a two-year absence because he needed to have a knee reconstructed, scored 20 points in 28 minutes for the Knicks (24-54).

Chicago 116, Indiana 95--The Pacers double- and triple-teamed Michael Jordan at Chicago, but not with much success.

Jordan, getting 13 points in a row in a blistering fourth quarter, finished with 53 points, the sixth time he has scored 50 or more in a game this season.

The victory enabled the Bulls to move within half a game of the Pacers in the scrap for the seventh playoff spot in the East. The eighth-place finisher will probably meet the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.

“The Pacers paid the price in the fourth quarter,” said Jordan, who was 19 for 27 from the field. “If a team wants to do that (triple-team him), then they’re asking for trouble.”

The Bulls led, 97-90, with 4:22 left. Jordan scored the next 13 points and, it was 110-90 with 2:11 left.

“When you play the Bulls, you first have to stop Jordan,” Indiana Coach Jack Ramsay said. “Second you have to penetrate. We did neither.”

Utah 109, Golden State 107--Karl Malone scored 25 points and Rickey Green 23 at Oakland as the Jazz clinched a tie for fourth place in the Western Conference by winning its third straight game.

The Jazz needs one victory or a Houston loss in the last three games to clinch the homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Joe Barry Carroll scored 24 points and Purvis Short came off the bench to score 18 for Golden State.