NBA ROUNDUP : Surprising Bullets Defeat Trail Blazers

The Washington Bullets are living proof that a team can win in the NBA without a big or dominating center.

The Bullets’ starting man in the middle is 6-foot-8 Charles Jones, who has averaged 8.7 points and 5.5 rebounds in a four-year career, much of which was spent on the bench.

The backup is either 6-9 starting forward John Williams or 6-8 forward Mark Alarie. It is by no means a dominating group.

But Jeff Malone scored 37 points at Portland Sunday night and the Bullets surprised the Trail Blazers, 104-95. The Bullets, unexpected leaders in the Atlantic Division, won their fourth in a row and improved to 5-1.

The Bullets are 3-0 on the road. A year ago when they failed to make the playoffs, they were 10-31 away from home.

The Bullets led almost all the way in defeating the Trail Blazers, expected to battle the Lakers for the Pacific Division title in the Western Conference. They held on despite another big performance by powerful 6-8 forward Buck Williams. Williams had 21 points and 12 rebounds.

“This was a wonderful way to start a six-game trip,” said Coach Wes Unseld, who knows all about small centers, having played the position at 6-6. “The players couldn’t help but think of a disastrous trip West last December when we lost five in a row.

“Several teams have shown that you can be a winner in this league without a dominating center. It seems to be a trend. However, I would prefer to have a big man.”

Jones has started each game and played anywhere from nine to 33 minutes. They don’t have to worry about him shooting too much. In 116 minutes he has taken only 11 shots and made five. He has 32 rebounds and 11 points.

Seattle 108, Minnesota 97--The Timberwolves continue to play everybody tough. In this game at Minneapolis they stayed in the battle until Dale Ellis and Derrick McKey turned the game around in the fourth quarter.

The SuperSonics fell behind, 83-80, early in the last quarter. But Ellis’ three-point bomb ignited a 19-4 spurt and the Wolves could not catch up. McKey scored 10 of his 32 points in the winning rally.

Former Laker Tony Campbell, who scored six points in a 14-4 spurt that put Minnesota ahead in the fourth quarter, finished with 30 points.