NBA Roundup : Dale Ellis Shoots Up Dallas Again

Dale Ellis came back to haunt his old mates once again Saturday night at Dallas, but if the Mavericks fail to make the playoffs, it will be because of injuries.

Ellis, who has been a scoring machine since the Mavericks gave up on him three years ago, had 34 points to lead the Seattle SuperSonics to a 114-90 rout of the crippled Mavericks.

The Mavericks, short-handed all season, have been missing Roy Tarpley and James Donaldson for a quite a while, and lost Herb Williams for this one. Williams suffered a thigh injury Friday night.

Against a team that had third-stringer Bill Wennington at center, the SuperSonics ended a nine-game road losing streak.

Wennington had 21 points to lead the Mavericks, but they fell 1 1/2 games behind Portland in the battle for the final playoff spot in the West.

The Sonics broke it open when they sank nine of their first 10 shots in the third quarter in a 19-5 run that ended the Mavericks’ hopes.

“We’re playing right now with a short stick,” beleaguered Coach John MacLeod of the Mavericks said. “That’s no alibi. We just need to get some people healthy and back on the court.”

When the Mavericks made only five of 25 field-goal attempts in the third quarter, they fell behind, 89-60. At halftime they trailed, 60-43.

Milwaukee 113, Philadelphia 103--There have been several times lately when Sidney Moncrief has resembled the player who was the scourge of the NBA before he started having knee problems.

This game at Milwaukee was one of the occasions. He scored 10 points in an 18-3 run that broke the game open in the fourth quarter.

A basket by Charles Barkley put the 76ers in front, 91-90, but they never led again after Moncrief sank three free throws to trigger the winning rally.

Barkley had 24 points and 14 rebounds for the 76ers and he also took Terry Cummings of the Bucks out of the game when he accidentally poked a finger in his eye late in the second quarter. Cummings returned, but was ineffective.

Denver 110, Utah 106--The night after playing tough games with the Lakers, teams usually lose.

Utah was no exception. The well-rested Nuggets built an early lead, and the Jazz wore themselves out catching up.

Alex English scored 26 points to become the first player in NBA history to score 2,000 points in eight consecutive seasons.

The Nuggets led by nine with 2:19 left and the Jazz got within one before Fat Lever sank two free throws with seven seconds left to end Jazz hopes.

Miami 107, Houston 104--The Rockets are going to reach the playoffs, but they don’t act much like a team that expects to go far in postseason play.

Akeem Olajuwon scored a season-high 43 points and had 13 rebounds, but he seemed the only Rocket interested in this game at Miami.

Sylvester Gray’s baskets with 26 seconds left in overtime enabled the Heat to win their 14th game this season.

Kevin Edwards had a chance to win the game for the Heat with eight seconds left in regulation when he missed one of two free throws. Olajuwon, who was 15 of 29 from the field, missed a 15-footer with two seconds left. He scored Houston’s last 11 points in regulation.

Olajuwon, who played 47 minutes, also missed a short jumper after Gray’s basket put Miami ahead.

Indiana 128, San Antonio 126--Chuck Person’s 16-foot jumper with three seconds remaining in overtime at San Antonio gave the Pacers just their sixth victory in 36 road games.

Person, who had 32 points, also scored with three seconds left in regulation to give Indiana a 116-114 lead. But former Laker Frank Brickowski scored on a dunk with one second left to force the overtime.