NBA Roundup : Bullets Beat Kings, Gain on Celtics

The Washington Bullets are playing so well these days, they are in danger of missing out on a chance at what they need most--a big, strong rebounder.

Until their recent spurt, the Bullets were in line for the National Basketball Assn. lottery pick. They would have had a shot at 6-foot 9-inch center Danny Ferry of Duke, whose father, Bob, is general manager of the Bullets.

Suddenly, even without a strong rebounder, they are a hot team and challenging for the final playoff spot in the East. A team that reaches the playoffs doesn’t get a chance at the lottery.

Seven players scored in double figures Friday night at Landover, Md., and the Bullets beat Sacramento, 114-97, to pull within two games of Boston in a late drive to win a playoff spot. The Bullets, who struggled for more than half the season, have won eight in a row at home and six of their last seven overall.

The Bullets broke the game open in the second quarter when John Williams came off the bench to score 11 points, and the Bullets outscored the Kings, 31-17.

“We’re thinking about making the playoffs,” said the 6-9 Williams, who had six rebounds in 29 minutes. “Sure, we need a big man, but we think we can catch the Celtics, and that’s more important.”

But the rebounding problems haven’t gone away, 6-4 guard Darrell Walker led the Bullets with nine, and 6-3 Steve Colter had eight.

Indiana 121, Phoenix 116--The Suns’ problems on the road are allowing the Lakers to pull away in the Pacific Division.

Reggie Miller had 24 points and 13 assists in Indianapolis before hurting his ankle with seven minutes remaining.

The Suns, who have lost two in a row on this trip and are 10-18 away from home, closed within four points on Jeff Hornacek’s three-point shot with 36 seconds left. But Vern Fleming then made five free throws to preserve the victory.

The second-place Suns fell 4 1/2 games behind the Lakers in the divisional race despite 30 points in 36 minutes by reserve Tyrone Corbin.

Utah 126, Golden State 112--Just when it appeared that the Warriors might get consecutive victories over division leaders, John Stockton took charge at Salt Lake City.

The Warriors, who stunned Cleveland Thursday night, rallied from a 13-point deficit late in the third period to pull within two points with 5:20 to play.

But Stockton quickly sank a three-point basket, made a driving layup, passed off to Karl Malone for a dunk, stole the ball and hit a jumper. Suddenly, the Jazz had a nine-point lead, which the Warriors did not challenge.

Miami 131, Denver 130--Victories come hard for expansion teams. The Heat had to overcome a 51-point performance by Alex English at Miami and battle through two overtimes just to get their ninth victory in 59 games.

Rory Sparrow had 28 points, including two free throws with 22 seconds left in the second overtime, to enable Miami to end a six-game losing streak.

Miami rookie Grant Long, who also had 28 points, made a tip-in just before the buzzer to send the game into a second overtime.

Houston 96, Dallas 86--It was a double loss for the Mavericks. Akeem Olajuwon had 29 points and 22 rebounds at Houston to lead the Rockets to victory. And the Mavericks lost their center, James Donaldson, in the opening minutes of the game when he fell and suffered a dislocated kneecap. He may be out the rest of the season.

In the previous six games, Donaldson, had averaged 17.3 points and 18.5 rebounds.

Milwaukee 102, Seattle 90--When the SuperSonics arrived in Milwaukee Thursday, Coach Bernie Bickerstaff was stricken and rushed to a hospital. He is suffering from exhaustion and dehydration.

The SuperSonics couldn’t cope with the Bucks as Ricky Pierce and Fred Roberts came off the bench to score 20 and 16 points, respectively, putting life into the Bucks’ struggling offense.

It was the third victory in a row for Milwaukee, and the loss dropped Seattle 5 1/2 games behind the Lakers in the Pacific Division.