NBA Roundup : Cavaliers Bounce Back to Beat Nuggets

Maybe the young, talented Cleveland Cavaliers are in awe of the National Basketball Assn. champion Lakers.

But they don’t fear other teams, they dominate them.

Less than 24 hours after losing to the Lakers at the Forum, the Cavaliers defeated the Nuggets, 116-104, Saturday night at Denver to improve their NBA-best record to 26-7.

The Cavaliers jumped in front midway through the first quarter, eventually built their lead to 13 points, then had to turn back a stirring Nugget rally to get the victory.

Fat Lever, who finished with 33 points, led the Denver comeback. His jumper with 5:31 remaining cut the lead to 99-96. But Mike Sanders, Ron Harper and Craig Ehlo scored the next 6 points as Cleveland moved out of danger.

Harper, who has sparked Cleveland most of the season, had only 10 points against the Lakers, but he took charge early in this one and wound up with 30 points.

The Cavaliers, who have played 4 road games in the last 6 nights, are 11-5 on the road this season, the best record in the league.

Golden State 131, Utah 105--In less than half a season, Coach Don Nelson has turned the Warriors into a respectable team.

Rod Higgins came off the bench to score 17 points in the second quarter and finished with 30 points at Oakland to lift the Warriors to their fifth consecutive victory. The Warriors (16-16) are playing without injured centers Ralph Sampson and Manute Bol.

Without his two centers, Nelson is forced to use 6-foot 8-inch Larry Smith in the middle. The rugged forward responded with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Nelson won 7 consecutive division titles at Milwaukee before finishing third in the Central Division in his final season, 1986-87.

New York 132, Atlanta 122--The Knicks are breezing to the title in the Atlantic Division because they are almost invincible at home.

Trent Tucker came off the bench to make 4 consecutive 3-pointers, giving the Knicks a big second-quarter lead, and they coasted to their 13th win in a row at Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks’ only loss in 17 home games is to the Lakers, the league’s only unbeaten team at home.

The Hawks, losers of 4 straight on the road, fell 6 games behind Cleveland in the Central Division.

Houston 110, Dallas 98--The Rockets, playing well at home, have slipped into first place in the Midwest Division.

Akeem Olajuwon scored 10 of his 29 points during a 17-6 burst in the fourth quarter at Houston that broke open a tight game and sent the Mavericks to their sixth defeat in a row. The Mavericks have not won since forward Roy Tarpley re-entered drug treatment.

The teams made 61 of 70 free throws.

Portland 103, San Antonio 99--The Trail Blazers made only 41% of their shots and were out-rebounded, 41-35, but they still prevailed at San Antonio.

It took 2 free throws apiece by Terry Porter and Caldwell Jones in the last 23 seconds to assure the Blazers of the victory.

“This was really a terrific win for us,” Coach Mike Schuler said. “We just hung tough and got great play from a lot of people.”

New Jersey 106, Indiana 97--The Pacers came back to earth with a thud. After winning 4 in a row, including victories over Detroit and Boston, the Pacers went home to play one of the league’s weakest teams.

Roy Hinson came off the bench to score 23 points and grab 10 rebounds to spark the Nets. The Nets trailed, 59-51, at halftime but pulled within 2 points after 3 quarters. Hinson had 10 points in the last 12 minutes as the Nets rolled to victory.

Seattle 102, Sacramento 93--Dale Ellis scored 11 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter at Sacramento to help hold off the Kings’ late rally.

The SuperSonics had only a 71-68 lead with 10 minutes left, but Ellis and Xavier McDaniel took charge, and the Sonics won easily.