NBA Roundup : Cavaliers Unable to Stop Jordan, but They End Bulls’ Streak, 109-100

The Cleveland Cavaliers couldn’t contain the Bulls’ new point guard Friday night at Chicago, but they managed to end the Bulls’ six-game winning streak.

Michael Jordan, who assumed the quarterback role 12 games ago, had 37 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists--his third consecutive triple-double--but the Cavaliers prevailed, 109-100. The Bulls are 9-3 with Jordan in charge.

The Cavaliers, who had the best record in the National Basketball Assn. going into March, have apparently recovered from their slump. Although Jordan scored 25 points in the second half, the Cavaliers managed to stay ahead.

Their stellar guards, Mark Price and Ron Harper, led the way. Between them, they had nine points in a 16-7 spurt late in the game that ended the Bulls’ hopes.

“It’s been a long, hard month,” Price said after scoring 25 points to lead the Cavaliers to their second win in a row. “It’s hard to judge anything in a month like this. I still think we can win the division.”

With a 51-20 record, the Cavaliers trail the Detroit Pistons, the team with the best record, by two games.

Boston 126, Houston 109--The Celtics seem to have a player going out with an injury or coming back from one nearly every game.

In this game at Boston, it was Kevin McHale returning after resting his sore feet for three games.

McHale, coming off the bench to play 30 minutes, scored 30 points and had seven rebounds to lead the Celtics to another victory.

The Celtics, who are four games above .500 for the first time this season, have won 12 in a row at home and are 12-4 since Ed Pinckney and Joe Kleine arrived to give them bench strength.

With Robert Parish out because of a bruised knee, Pinckney and Kleine have moved into the starting lineup. Pinckney ignited a 12-5 surge early in the fourth quarter that broke the game open, and Kleine had season highs with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Now, things would be beautiful for the Celtics if the next guy coming back was Larry Bird.

Detroit 111, Seattle 108--There just seems to be no stopping the Pistons. Wednesday night at Utah, they outfought the SuperSonics to win in double overtime.

In this game, the SuperSonics built a 24-point lead, but the Pistons, who improved their record to 52-17 with their seventh victory in a row, wouldn’t concede.

Joe Dumars led the Pistons’ rally that handed the SuperSonics their eighth loss in 35 home games. He wound up with 27 points.

Dallas 105, Indiana 102--The struggling Mavericks, it seems, only have to win occasionally to remain in contention for a playoff spot in the West.

With Derek Harper scoring 29 points at Indianapolis, the Mavericks ended a 12-game losing streak and moved to within a half-game of eighth-place Portland. Eight teams qualify for postseason play in each conference.

LaSalle Thompson had 23 points and 12 rebounds. His free throw put Indiana ahead, 98-97, with 90 seconds to play. Four consecutive free throws gave the Mavericks a push that saved the victory.

Golden State 134, New York 114--The Knicks pride themselves on their quickness and their pressing defense. They have used those ingredients for victories against every team in the NBA, except the Warriors.

In this game at New York, Don Nelson’s team showed too much speed and quickness for the Knicks and beat them to win the season’s series, 2-0.

Mitch Richmond led the Warriors, who blew the Knicks off the court in the fourth quarter, with 37 points. The Warriors, leading, 96-94, after three quarters, had a 38-20 margin in the last 12 minutes.

Phoenix 122, Milwaukee 104--The Suns, embarrassed by lowly Sacramento Thursday night, came out smoking at Phoenix, building a 67-48 halftime lead and breezed to the victory.

Tom Chambers had 34 points for the Suns, 32-5 at home, but it was a club-record six three-point shots by Eddie Johnson that broke the back of the Bucks’ attempted rally.

Washington 107, Portland 105--It was time for Bernard King to celebrate. Just before the game at Landover, Md., the one-time scoring champion signed a two-year contract.

Then, he went out and scored 30 points to lead the Bullets to their 12th straight home-court win. The Bullets, still with a slight chance to gain the final playoff spot in the East, trail Boston by four games.

Philadelphia 114, Miami 93--It was such an easy victory for the 76ers at Philadelphia that Charles Barkley sat out the final period.

While he was on the court, though, he was in charge. Barkley, in just 31 minutes, had 24 points and 15 rebounds.

Atlanta 116, New Jersey 99--This game at Atlanta also was lopsided. Both Dominique Wilkins and Moses Malone sat out the fourth quarter as the Hawks avenged Tuesday night’s loss.

Wilkins had 31 points in 26 minutes, while Malone had 27 points in 29 minutes.