Advertisement

NBA Roundup : 76ers Hand Knicks Another Home Loss, 124-113

Share

Less than three weeks ago, the New York Knicks, despite the absence of playmaker Mark Johnson, were challenging for the best overall record in the National Basketball Assn. and the Philadelphia 76ers were struggling to stay above .500.

Johnson is back, but the Knicks are fading and the 76ers are rolling.

Charles Barkley and Ron Anderson led the 76ers to a 124-113 victory over the Knicks Tuesday night at New York. It was the Knicks’ eighth loss in the last 13 games and they have lost all thought of finishing with the best record. At one time the Knicks were 29-1 at home, now they are 32-5.

The 76ers have won four in a row and six of their last seven. Although they don’t have much chance of catching New York, the 76ers have strengthened their grip on second place in the Atlantic Division. If they finish ahead of Boston, the 76ers will play New York in the first round of the playoffs.

Advertisement

Anderson scored 15 of his 36 points in six minutes in the second quarter, and Barkley contributed 32 points and 15 rebounds.

Coack Rick Pitino took the blame for the Knicks’ slump. “I’ve been too conservative,” he said. “We got where we were by being aggressive. I have to get them jumping around the court again.”

Washington 104, New Jersey 96--Bernard King is leading the Bullets’ determined bid to make the playoffs. In this game at Landover, Md., King made eight out of nine shots in the first half to help the Bullets build a big lead. The one-time NBA scoring champion finished with 43 points, the most he has scored since suffering a knee injury that almost ended his career in 1985.

“When I had surgery four years ago, my doctor said that if I ever scored 40 points in a game again, I had to send him the game ball,” King said. “Well, here it is.

“It is really something special. I’m not about to say it’s not. Not in my wildest imagination did I think I’d get back this far.”

Chicago 121, Charlotte 101--Don’t sell the Bulls short in the playoffs. With Michael Jordan getting better and better at point guard, there is a different look in Chicago.

Advertisement

Jordan had his sixth consecutive triple-double, added six steals and turned the game into a rout. Since shifting from shooting guard, Jordan has led the Bulls to an 11-3 record.

With 5-foot-3 Tyrone (Muggsy) Bogues trying to guard the 6-foot-6 Jordan, it was no contest.

“I’m getting to like this job more and more,” Jordan said. “It helps my rebounding, too, because I have a better picture of what’s going on and I don’t wear myself out on the drive.

Cleveland 105, Atlanta 91--Craig Elho made two of the four steals that triggered an 11-0 run for the Cavaliers in the middle of the fourth quarter at Richfield, Ohio.

When the spurt began, it was tied, 82-82. When it ended, the Hawks were dead and the Cavaliers had won four in a row.

Ehlo also did a good defensively on Dominique Wilkins, who was only 6 for 15 from the field and had just 13 points.

Advertisement

Houston 90, Indiana 88--Akeem Olajuwon scored 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds at Indianapolis as the Rockets withstood a late Indiana rally to end a two-game losing streak at Indianapolis.

Indiana, which has lost eight in a row to the Rockets, missed a chance to tie when LaSalle Thompson’s shot was blocked at the buzzer.

Reggie Miller led the Pacers with 28 points.

Portland 118, Detroit 100--The second half of the fourth game in a row on the road finally did the Pistons in. In search of their ninth consecutive victory, the Pistons built 57-47 halftime lead.

Then, Clyde Drexler started whizzing past the tiring Pistons and carried the Trail Blazers to the victory.

Drexler scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half. He completed his triple-double with 13 rebounds and 10 assists.

The Trail Blazers, with 10 games remaining, increased their lead over Dallas in the battle for the last playoff spot to 1 1/2 games.

Advertisement

Milwaukee 124, Golden State 118--The Bucks managed to salvage one victory in their three-game trip West. Terry Cummings scored 32 points, including a jumper with nine seconds left that finished the Warriors at Oakland.

It was the 12th consecutive time the Bucks have beaten the Warriors and the second time since their former coach, Don Nelson, has been at the helm of the Warriors.

It was only the ninth loss in 35 home games for the Warriors, who went into the fourth quarter leading by four points.

San Antonio 109, Miami 87--The Spurs, who keep hearing that they are no better than an expansion team, indicated it isn’t necessarily so.

Willie Anderson scored 22 points at San Antonio to help hand the expansion Heat its 33rd loss in 35 road games.

The Spurs (20-52) shot 60% from the field as the Heat (13-59) was shooting just 44.2%.

Utah 95, Dallas 80--At home, the Jazz beat up on the weak clubs. The Mavericks, crippled by the loss of James Donaldson and Roy Tarpley, are now a weak club.

Advertisement

Karl Malone had 22 points and nine rebounds, and John Stockton had 18 assists, three of them and a basket in a 10-0 spurt to open the fourth quarter.

The Jazz remained five games in front in the Midwest Division with 10 games left.

Dallas, which beat Miami by two and Indiana by three in its two previous games, fell further behind Portland in the battle for the last playoff spot in the West.

Denver 128, Sacramento 124--The Nuggets had to overcome Michael Adams’ horrible attempts at three-pointers to squeeze out a four-point win at home.

Adams was 1 for 10 from long range, so the Kings stayed close for most of the game.

Advertisement