NBA Roundup : Nuggets Are Good as Gold

Jokes are made of his scruffy-looking attire, and it has been said that that his teams don’t know how to play defense.

But Doug Moe, a free spirit among coaches, must have something going for him. Almost every season, his Denver Nuggets perform better than expected.

This season is no exception. The Nuggets are heading for the stretch drive as the hottest team in the National Basketball Assn.

The Nuggets, overcoming a poor shooting night, came from behind in the second half Tuesday night at Houston to beat the Rockets, 110-97, for their 10th victory in a row. It put the Nuggets just four percentage points behind the Dallas Mavericks in the Midwest Division.

On a night in which Michael Adams and Alex English couldn’t find the range, 6-foot 3-inch Lafayette (Fat) Lever took charge of the rebounding and the scoring.

Lever scored 22 points and had a career-high 21 rebounds. English, who had only 2 points as the Nuggets trailed by 8 in the first half, scored 14 in the second half.

Some experts had predicted the Nuggets would be fighting for a playoff spot, not a division title. But Moe’s philosophy of run, run, run, then run some more is paying dividends.

“Everybody talks about our scoring,” Moe said, “but our forte is defense. When we play it together, we usually win.”

The amazing thing about the winning streak is that six of them have been on the road. Last season, the Nuggets won only 10 road games.

“We’ve had some great games on the road lately,” Moe said. “I don’t think any team in the league has beaten Boston, the Lakers and Detroit on the road like we have. Anytime you win on the road, it’s a big thrill.

“The reason it’s so tough to win on the road is you just have to be so competitive. This league is really tough.”

The Rockets started both big men, Akeem Olajuwon and Joe Barry Carroll. Olajuwon had 19 points and 16 rebounds, Carroll 25 points and 6 rebounds.

Indiana 106, Cleveland 105--Just when it appeared the Cavaliers were going to win an important game at Indianapolis, they lost because they couldn’t get the ball inbounds.

The Cavaliers led, 105-104, with five seconds left and had the ball. But in the alloted five seconds, Larry Nance couldn’t find anyone open.

The Pacers’ Steve Stipanovich was fouled three seconds later, made both free throws and the Pacers ended a four-game losing streak.

Instead of taking the lead among the five teams going for three playoff spots, the Cavaliers dropped back into the pack.

Indiana is 34-38, Cleveland is 34-39, followed by Washington (33-39), New York (33-40) and Philadelphia (32-40).

Washington 105, Chicago 94--The surging Bullets held Michael Jordan to 29 points at Chicago and gained their third victory in a row to enhance their playoff chances.

John Williams scored 23 points to lead the Bullets, and Bernard King came off the bench in the second and fourth quarters to ignite rallies.

New York 136, Philadelphia 119--The Knicks have learned to win on the road, and that spells trouble for playoff hopefuls in the East.

With Johnny Newman scoring 29 points, and Gerald Wilkins 27 at Philadelphia, the Knicks, who lost 30 of their first 34 on the road, took their second road win in a row.

In the five-team fight for three postseason berths, the 76ers are last, a half-game behind the Knicks.

Atlanta 121, Milwaukee 110--Dominique Wilkins scored 34 of his 39 points in the first half at Atlanta to lead the Hawks to their sixth victory in a row.

The Hawks’ lead was cut to five points with 78 seconds left. A three-pointer by Doc Rivers ended the Bucks’ rally.

Detroit 107, New Jersey 95--The Pistons ended a four-game losing streak at East Rutherford, N.J., and held onto their one-game lead over Atlanta in the Central Division.

The Pistons, playing the team with the worst record in the East, built an 88-67 lead in the fourth quarter and coasted to victory.

“This was a big game for us,” Coach Chuck Daly of the Pistons said. “I thought we came back to life tonight.”

San Antonio 117, Golden State 104--Maybe the Warriors should get Don Nelson to start coaching now, instead of next season. In this game at Oakland, the Warriors lost their sixth in a row. Frank Brickowski had 25 points for the Spurs.

Phoenix 111, Utah 106--The Suns kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a win at Phoenix. With 11 games remaining, the Suns trail San Antonio by 3 1/2 games in the battle for the last berth in the West.