NBA Roundup : Carroll and Maxwell Give the Rockets a Boost

As the regular National Basketball Assn. season winds down, much of the excitement is being provided by four losing teams in the Eastern Conference, which are trying for the last two playoff positions.

With the Indiana Pacers’ 102-100 loss to the Houston Rockets Thursday night at Indianapolis, it became five Eastern teams scrapping for three postseason berths.

The Pacers muffed a chance on their home court to take a firm grip on the sixth playoff spot. They were playing the wobbly Rockets, who were without their best player, Akeem Olajuwon.

The Rockets found an adequate replacement at center in Joe Barry Carroll, who scored 29 points, including the winning hook shot with just three seconds left. More important, they received a fine performance from Cedric Maxwell.

With New York winning on the road for only the fifth time in 35 games, the bid for berths has tightened considerably.

Indiana is currently sixth with a 33-36 record. Behind the Pacers are Cleveland (33-38), Philadelphia (32-38), New York (31-40) and Washington (30-39). The playoff teams may not be decided until the final game of the season April 18, when Indiana is at Cleveland.

Indiana led most of the way against the Rockets,, holding an 85-79 edge after three quarters. But Carroll and Maxwell, who came off the bench to get a surprising triple-double--23 points, 15 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists--led the late Rocket rally.

Robert Reid made one out of two free throws with 27 seconds left to give Houston a 100-98 lead. Maxwell fouled Steve Stipanovich on the rebound of the miss, and the Pacer center sank two clutch free throws to tie it.

While the Rockets were trying to set up a shot for the winning basket, the ball was knocked loose from Allen Leavell, and Stipanovich grabbed it.

In the melee, the Pacer star fell, losing the ball. Carroll picked it up and threw up a frantic hook that went in to win it.

Pacer Coach Jack Ramsay was upset because all three of his starters up front had four fouls in the first half.

New York 113, Milwaukee 103--With 7 of their last 12 games on the road, the Knicks were almost ready to give up on this season.

But Gerald Wilkins and Mark Jackson came through with key performances at Milwaukee, and the Knicks are back in the thick of the NBA’s hottest race.

Wilkins had 20 points, while Jackson scored 15 of his 19 in the second half to help the Knicks come from behind to win.

“We’ve lost 9 or 10 at the wire, so we knew how to play it,” Knick Coach Rick Pitino said. “This time we won, that’s the difference.”

The Bucks had won 10 in a row at home.

San Antonio 117, Seattle 115--The Spurs held off a spirited closing rally by the SuperSonics at Seattle to end a two-game losing streak.

The Spurs built a 112-101 lead, then almost blew it in the closing seconds.

The victory put the Spurs, who won for only the fourth time in the last 17 games, three games ahead of Phoenix in the battle for the last playoff spot in the West.

Denver 121, Sacramento 111--Fat Lever had his 10th triple-double of the season as the Nuggets stretched their winning streak to seven games in this game at Denver. Lever had 21 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds.

Utah 115, Golden State 92--John Stockton had 14 points and 19 assists at Salt Lake City to lead the Jazz to an easy win. He became the fifth NBA player to get 900 assists in a season.