NBA Roundup : Knicks, Bullets Win, Advance to Playoffs

The New York Knicks and the Washington Bullets qualified for postseason play by scoring impressive victories Saturday night.

The Bullets, off to a fast start on the shooting of John Williams, outlasted Atlanta, 106-96, to gain the eighth playoff position, and Patrick Ewing led the Knicks to a 88-86 victory over Indiana at Indianapolis.

In one of the craziest finishes of the season, neither the Pacers nor the Knicks scored in the last 2:04. Both teams were guilty of several mistakes after Indiana’s Steve Stipanovich sank two free throws to cut the Knick lead to 88-86.

With one second remaining, Stipanovich drove for the basket and tossed up a short shot, but it bounced off the rim, and the Knicks qualified for the playoffs.

Ewing, mobbed by his teammates in a pileup under the basket after Stipanovich’s miss, had 19 points and 10 rebounds. His play in the stretch drive was the key to the Knicks’ success.

In the hectic fourth quarter, the Knicks, trailing, 72-70, scored 11 points in a row. But Indiana turned around and scored 9 straight to tie it at 81-81.

The Knicks, nervous at the start, missed their first eight shots.

New Yorks, by virtue of winning the season series from the Bullets, 3-2, will play Detroit in the opening series. Both teams finished with 38-44 records.

The Pacers, who seemed to have a playoff berth assured a month ago, also finished 38-44. They lost out because of the tiebreaking procedure. The Bullets got seventh place because they had a 7-5 record in games with the other two. The Knicks were 6-5 and finished eighth. The Pacers (4-7) were ninth and out.

The Knicks’ celebration may be short-lived. They face the Boston Celtics in the opening series.

Washington 106, Atlanta 96--John Williams scored 15 points in the first quarter as the Bullets built a 28-16 lead at Landover, Md., and then steady Moses Malone took over. Malone, a veteran of the playoffs, scored 24 points and had 7 rebounds to keep the Hawks at bay.

The Hawks, who needed the victory to be assured of the third-best record in the East, lost mainly because Dominique Wilkins made only 6 of 20 shots.

Cleveland 104, Philadelphia 99--Mark Price, who wasn’t expected to play because of an ankle injury, scored 20 points in the second half at Richfield, Ohio, and the Cavaliers eliminated the 76ers from the playoffs.

The 76ers had made the playoffs 12 years in a row.

Charles Barkley, who had 28 points and 10 rebounds in the loss, said he doubted the Cavaliers were good enough to get beyond the first round.

New Jersey 118, Milwaukee 105--Roy Hinson scored 25 points at East Rutherford, N.J., and the Nets ended a 15-game losing streak.

Utah 125, Houston 107--John Stockton set an NBA single-season record for assists, and Karl Malone scored 31 points at Salt Lake City as Utah closed out the regular season.

Stockton had 18 assists to finish with 1,128. The old record was 1,099 by Kevin Porter of Detroit in the 1978-79 season. Stockton also scored a career-high 27 points.

Portland 124, Sacramento 110--With this one-sided victory at home in their regular-season finale, the Trail Blazers kept alive their hopes of finishing with the third-best record in the West. But if Dallas beats San Antonio tonight, the Mavericks will displace them.