NBA Roundup : Pistons Finally Beat Cavaliers; Mahorn Is Fined $5,000

Joe Dumars scored all 10 of his points in the final 5:10 of the game to lead the Detroit Pistons over the Cleveland Cavaliers, 96-90, Friday night at Auburn Hills, Mich.

The victory was Detroit’s first in four meetings with Cleveland this season and it lifted the Pistons within four games of the first-place Cavaliers in the Central Division.

The win improved the Pistons to 23-4 at home, which includes seven straight wins.

“We are expected to win home games,” said center Bill Laimbeer, who led Detroit with 24 points.

Cleveland Coach Lenny Wilkens said the Cavaliers were unsettled by distractions earlier in the day, which included an anonymous death threat against him.

“Nothing like that has ever happened before,” Wilkens said. “It crossed my mind a couple of times during the game, but not that often. We had a lot of distractions, but we played over it and showed a lot of fortitude on our behalf.”

Cavalier guard Mark Price missed his second straight game with a mild concussion after being hit by a elbow from Detroit’s Rick Mahorn during Cleveland’s 115-99 victory Tuesday night. Mahorn was fined $5,000 for the incident by the league office Friday.

Chicago 102, Milwaukee 96--Michael Jordan scored 11 of his 28 points during a 19-9 run late in the fourth quarter at Chicago as the Bulls beat the Bucks for the fifth consecutive time.

The Bulls are 14-3 against Milwaukee over the last three years and have won 12 of the last 13 meetings.

Atlanta 133, Charlotte 109--Dominique Wilkins scored 35 points despite sitting out the final 16 minutes at Atlanta as the Hawks won for the eighth time in 10 games since the All-Star break.

The Hawks took a 13-point lead in the first six minutes and closed the first quarter with a 44-27 lead, the most points they have scored in the opening period this season.

Boston 107, Dallas 106--Dennis Johnson, who scored just four points in the first 46 minutes, hit a go-ahead three-point shot and had a driving layup in the last two minutes to lift the Celtics to victory at Boston.

Dallas’ Derek Harper, who hit a pair of three-point baskets in the fourth quarter, missed one with three seconds to play.

Utah 107, Miami 95--Karl Malone scored 15 of his 34 points in the third quarter as the Jazz won at Miami.

Seattle 118, Houston 108--Akeem Olajuwon and Eric (Sleepy) Floyd, two of Houston’s top three scorers, were ejected at Seattle as the Rockets lost their seventh consecutive game.

Olajuwon, who scored 12 points, half his average, was ejected with 8:30 to play after picking up his second technical foul in a scuffle with Seattle’s Michael Cage. The SuperSonics led at the time, 89-84.

Floyd was ejected with 1:32 left in the first half for arguing a foul call.

Portland 129, Philadelphia 121--The Trail Blazers won their fourth in a row as Jerome Kersey and Kevin Duckworth scored 23 points each at Portland, Ore.

Kersey also tied his career high with 20 rebounds.