NBA Roundup : Wilkins and Malone Lead Romp Over Bulls

When the Atlanta Hawks acquired Moses Malone and Reggie Theus to go with an already talented group headed by Dominique Wilkins, they figured they would rise to the top of the National Basketball Assn.

It hasn’t worked out that way.

Most of the Hawks’ troubles have been on the road, but they lost back-to-back home games to the Detroit Pistons and the Denver Nuggets over the weekend.

Wilkins and Malone finally got together Tuesday night at Chicago. They took it out on Michael Jordan and his teammates.

Wilkins had 30 points, and Malone had 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Hawks, in their best performance of the season, routed the Bulls, 106-88, “holding” Jordan to 28 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists.

Malone and Wilkins led a late spurt in the second quarter to give the Hawks a 53-45 lead. After Jordan scored the first basket of the third quarter, Wilkins and Glenn Rivers sparked a 16-6 run that broke it open.

“There was no support tonight,” Jordan said. “Our guys didn’t show up. Atlanta crushed us. There was no effort there. Our guys laid down and let them take it from us.”

New York 121, New Jersey 100--At New York, the Knicks, off to their best start in 16 seasons, improved their record to 14-6 with their fourth straight victory.

With Knick Coach Rick Pitino using the easy victory to give Patrick Ewing and Mark Jackson some rest, Charles Oakley led New York with 18 points. Reserve Sidney Green had 17 rebounds in just 23 minutes.

Washington 115, Boston 105--After they overwhelmed the Philadelphia 76ers last week, the Celtics scoffed at those who said that, without Larry Bird, they weren’t even contenders.

They didn’t look the part of a contender in this game at Landover, Md.

With Bernard King scoring 10 of his 30 points in the last 10 minutes to thwart Celtic hopes, the Bullets ended a 7-game losing streak with just their fifth win in 19 games. King made 5 of his last 7 shots.

Playing in the weakest division--the Atlantic--the Celtics (9-11) fell 5 games behind the Knicks.

Milwaukee 109, Philadelphia 91--Jack Sikma, off to a slow start this season, hit peak form in this game at Philadelphia.

The Buck center, averaging just 10 points per game, scored a season-high 26 points in what Coach Del Harris described as their best game in 2 seasons.

Charles Barkley had 21 points and 14 rebounds for the 76ers but was ejected on 2 technicals late in the game.

Denver 126, Houston 101--The Nuggets put on a dazzling defensive display in the last 18 minutes of the first half and romped to their seventh win in a row at home.

After falling behind, 17-10, the Nuggets, forcing 15 turnovers and, with Alex English making 6 shots in a row, outscored the Rockets, 48-24, to turn the game into a rout.

Calvin Natt, injured most of the last 2 seasons, made his first appearance, playing 9 minutes, getting 2 points and 3 rebounds for Denver.

Dallas 117, Golden State 111--It was a tight battle at Dallas until Derek Harper sank back-to-back 3-pointers for the Mavericks late in the game.

The Mavericks led only 99-98 when Harper sank the first one with 4 minutes to play. Forty-four seconds later, he connected again and it was 105-98.

Mark Aguirre led the Mavericks with 32 points, 1 more than Warrior rookie Mitch Richmond.

Seattle 126, Phoenix 116--Dale Ellis scored 33 points, but it was 6 points by Sedale Threatt in a key fourth-quarter spurt at Seattle that clinched the SuperSonics’ victory.

Phoenix, in Tom Chambers’ first game at Seattle since leaving the Sonics, led, 106-105, with 6:27 to play. But Threatt made 2 free throws and a jumper to start a 10-2 rally.

Chambers and Eddie Johnson each had 27 points to lead the Suns.

Indiana 115, Charlotte 104--Vern Fleming had a triple-double and John Long came off the bench to score 23 points for the Pacers at Indianapolis.

Fleming had a career-high 13 rebounds, 12 assists and 10 points.

Sacramento 108, San Antonio 89--Harold Pressley scored a season-high 26 points as the Kings handed the Spurs their fourth straight loss.

The Spurs scored only 2 points in the last 3 1/2 minutes.