NBA Roundup : Rested Suns End Warrior Win Streak, 139-121

When his team fell 20 points behind the Utah Jazz in the third quarter Monday night at Salt Lake City, Phoenix Coach Cotton Fitzsimmons took his regulars out of the game.

He wanted to have them rested for the game Tuesday night at Phoenix against the surprising Golden State Warriors.

“They were sitting there in Phoenix just waiting for us,” Fitzsimmons said. “When I saw we had no chance to beat the Jazz I took the regulars out.”

It worked. The Suns were the fresh team in the fourth quarter and pulled away in what had been a tight battle to gain a 139-121 victory and end the Warriors’ three-game winning streak.

The Suns’ leading scorer, Tom Chambers, bothered by 7-foot-7 intimidator Manute Bol early, turned it on in the fourth quarter to score 19 of his 37 points.

The Warriors scored the first eight points in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 105-101, but Chambers, going right at Bol, took charge of the offense.

Chambers made only one of his first nine shots, but finished 12 for 23. Jeff Hornacek took over the scoring duties when Chambers had a cold hand and picked up three fouls. Hornacek had 20 of his 32 points in the first half to help build a 70-60 lead.

The Suns, who are 19-0 at home against Western Conference opponents, are just two games behind the Lakers in the Pacific Division.

Terry Teagle, with a career-high 36 points, and Mitch Richmond, with 26, kept the Warriors in the game.

The Suns’ Eddie Johnson did not play because of a calf injury.

New York 120, Houston 115--Akeem Olajuwon won most of the skirmishes in the battle of the big stars at New York, but Patrick Ewing won the game.

The meeting of the two best centers featured 29 points and 25 rebounds from Olajuwon, and 20 points and only three rebounds from Ewing.

But, after a sensational rally led by Olajuwon wiped out an 11-point deficit to get the Rockets even, 115-115, it was Ewing who made the big play with 42 seconds left.

Ewing, faking a pass to a teammate that sent Olajuwon scurrying to protect on defense, drove the middle, was fouled by Otis Thorpe, but powered the ball into the hoop. He converted the free throw and it was all over.

Houston Coach Don Chaney said it reminded him of the Bill Russell-Wilt Chamberlain days.

“The top centers today, Olajuwon and Ewing, are more like power forwards. They can do so much,” Chaney said.

Seattle 96, Boston 91--All those seasons in which they played all those minutes seems to have taken its toll on the Celtics.

Even without injured star Larry Bird, who has missed most of the season because of surgery on both Achilles tendons, they usually play well early. Then, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, who have been playing 40 or more minutes per game for nearly a decade, begin to tire. It is especially true on the road.

It happened again at Seattle. The Celtics and SuperSonics were tied, 72-72, after three quarters. But the young legs of the Sonics took control of the boards in the last 12 minutes and Derrick McKey scored 12 of his 19 points and the Sonics hung on to win.

It was the fifth consecutive loss on this trip for the Celtics.

Milwaukee 116, Indiana 90--The revamped lineup, which included LaSalle Thompson at power forward and Randy Wittman coming off the bench, didn’t prevent the Pacers from losing for the 24th time in 26 road games.

Paul Pressey scored 19 points and sparked runs of 12-2 and 11-0 in the second half to turn the game into a rout for the Bucks.

Thompson and Wittman were obtained in a trade this week with Sacramento.