NBA Playoffs : Willis Gives Hawks a Flying Start and They Soar Past Celtics, 110-92

After scoring just nine points in the first quarter in Game 2 of their playoff series with the Boston Celtics, the Atlanta Hawks needed their star forward to lead them to a fast start.

Dominique Wilkins didn’t do it Sunday at Atlanta, but the other forward, Kevin Willis, did.

Willis made his first four shots, took control of the backboards and, with the Celtics shooting poorly, the Hawks romped to a 110-92 victory. The Hawks, after getting their first win in the best-of-seven series, have a chance to even it tonight, again on their home court.

Wilkins, tentative at the start, and John Battle, off the bench, also made big contributions. But this game belonged to Willis. The 7-footer scored 23 points to match his total for the first two games. He also did a fine job of harassing Kevin McHale and had 13 rebounds.

It could have been an easier win for the Hawks, because Larry Bird and his teammates, except for Robert Parish, were having a terrible time trying to put the ball in the basket. In the first 19 minutes of the second half the Celtics made only four baskets. They went almost 12 minutes without making any.

However, the Hawks didn’t turn it into a blowout. The main reason was that one of the referees, Mike Mathis, felt the Hawk defensive play was too rough. He sent the Celtics to the foul line with considerable frequency. They shot 47 free throws.

The Celtics finished 27 for 70 (38.6%), after shooting 57% in the two victories. Chief offenders were Larry Bird (9 of 22) and Dennis Johnson (2 of 11). Even McHale, the most efficient shooter in the NBA, missed shots he ordinarily makes.

“We had problems putting the ball in the basket,” Bird said. “I had three wide-open three-pointers and I missed them all. We’ll play better tomorrow because we can’t play worse.”

The Hawks are counting on their young legs to get them even. “We finally put the pieces together,” Willis said. “We knew we had to come out strong and we did. We have to do it again. There may be some fatigue but that should work in our favor.”

Only four teams in NBA playoff history have come back from a 2-0 deficit to win a seven-game series, and it’s never happened against the Celtics. The only way it could happen is for the Celtics to shoot poorly three more times.

Detroit 96, Chicago 77--The Pistons, with Adrian Dantley keying the offense and three guys surrounding Michael Jordan, moved to a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven series by winning for the second day in a row at Chicago.

Dantley, who made 7 of 10 shots from the field and 10 of 11 free throws, enabled the Pistons to build a 71-55 lead after three quarters. But, when John Paxson hit two three-pointers and the Bulls climbed to within 5, 81-76 with five minutes left, it was Isiah Thomas who took charge and led a 19-1 run to the wire.

Once again the Pistons harassed Jordan and virtually ignored most of his teammates. They held him to a playoff low of 23 points.

“The Pistons do a great job on me--they won’t let me penetrate and I kept giving up the ball,” Jordan said. “It seemed like they had three men on me all the time.”

Jordan came into the game averaging 39.4 points in 8 playoff games. He was 11 for 22, but when he threw the ball to open teammates, they didn’t score. Jordan’s teammates were 22 for 55 (40%).

Thomas, one of those guarding Jordan, was dazed when Jordan’s elbow caught him in the head during the third quarter. But he returned and took charge in the stretch.

“When they cut the lead to five, I said to myself, ‘We’ve done everything to win,’ ” Thomas said. “Dantley had carried us all day. I said it was my turn.”

Thomas scored 9 of his 19 points in the Pistons’ closing rally.

Dallas 124, Denver 103--When last seen Saturday as his team was losing the third game off the series to Denver, Mark Aguirre was sulking behind a towel. The high-scoring forward was miffed because Coach John MacLeod had removed him with the outcome of the game undecided.

It was with renewed enthusiasm that Aguirre faced the injury-riddled Nuggets in Game 4 at Dallas. He came out of his shooting slump, scoring 34 points as the Mavericks tied the series, 2-2. Game 5 in the best-of-seven series will be played Tuesday night at Denver.

Fat Lever, who had a triple-double in the Nuggets’ thrilling win Saturday, sat this one out because of a strained right knee. And reserve forward Jay Vincent didn’t play because of a strained calf muscle. The two combined for an average of 32 points in the first three games.

Aguirre was ready at the outset. He made his first two shots and had 13 in the first quarter to help Dallas grab a 29-24 lead. By halftime Dallas led, 63-48, and the Mavericks maintained the edge most of the rest of the way.

Roy Tarpley came off the bench to produce 24 points and 13 rebounds.

In the first three games, Aguirre was 17 for 43 shooting from the field. In this one he was 14 for 20.

Lever injured his knee in the third game of the opening round series with Seattle, missed the fourth game and came back to play well in the final game.

He is expected to play Tuesday night.