NBA ROUNDUP : Carroll Just Barely There for Nets in Loss

When he played for the Golden State Warriors, Joe Barry Carroll, or J.B. as he was known then, was referred to by a sportswriter as Just Barely Carroll for his nonproductive play.

Carroll has switched cities twice since then, but he can’t seem to shake his critics.

Now even his coach is joining in.

New Jersey Net Coach Bill Fitch yanked Carroll after the first six minutes of play Tuesday night when Carroll failed to produce a rebound, but the Nets still lost on the road to the Washington Bullets, 110-96.

“As far as I know, he’s not hurt,” Fitch said of Carroll. “I didn’t see any need to see any more of him out there after the first quarter.”

The Bullets also made a change at center, giving Mel Turpin his first start in four years, replacing Mark Alarie. Turpin responded with 14 points to augment the efforts of Jeff Malone (23 points) and Bernard King (20) as Washington broke a five-game losing streak.

“It felt real good,” said Turpin, whose last NBA start came in his rookie season in Cleveland. “They told me this morning. I was surprised, but when they call your name, you have to answer the call. If you don’t think you can play, you shouldn’t be in the league.”

Purvis Short scored 18 points, and Sam Bowie and Charles Shackleford added 14 each for New Jersey, now a loser of three in a row and six of its last seven.

Phoenix 113, New York 99--The Knicks’ nine-game winning streak, matching the Lakers’ high for the season, ended as the Suns became the first team to beat New York at home this season.

Phoenix guard Kevin Johnson scored 11 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to help the Suns pull away.

Eddie Johnson scored 22 points and Jeff Hornacek 20 for the Suns, who have won three of four road games after losing their first seven away from home.

Gerald Wilkins had a season-high 30 points and Patrick Ewing 21 for the Knicks, 12-1 at Madison Square Garden.

Atlanta 113, Milwaukee 107--People have been saying Moses Malone was slowing down since Philadelphia got rid of him nearly four years ago. But here he is, in the 1990s, still winning games.

He was a key for the Hawks Tuesday, scoring 31 points--including hitting all 17 of his free throws--along with 14 rebounds.

His four free throws in the last minute assured the Hawks of a victory at home, ending the Bucks’ five-game winning streak.

Teammate Antoine Carr had a season-high 21 points for Atlanta.

For Milwaukee, Rickey Pierce came off the bench to score 25 points, 19 in the second half. Jack Sikma added 19 points and Alvin Robertson scored 18.

Detroit 115, Orlando 113--After playing surprising .500 ball through the first month of the season, the expansion team in Orlando is losing some of its magic and justifying shaky expectations.

The Magic, playing at home, lost for the sixth consecutive time and 14th in the last 16 games when the Pistons won at the free-throw line. Detroit scored 15 of its last 17 points on free throws.

The Pistons’ Bill Laimbeer had 26 points and Detroit’s only field goal in the last six minutes--a 15-footer that gave the NBA champions a 111-104 lead with three minutes left.

James Edwards had 21 points and Joe Dumars added 19 for Detroit, a winner for the sixth time in seven games.

Otis Smith scored 28 points and Reggie Theus and Terry Catledge had 26 and 22, respectively, for the Magic.

Orlando put together a 13-7 run to make it close at the end. Smith’s layup trimmed the Pistons’ lead to 112-110, but the Magic couldn’t get any closer in the final minute.

The game was marred by eight technical fouls. Orlando’s Sidney Green was ejected after picking up his second.

Dallas 110, Indiana 106--Indiana’s five-game winning streak ended in Dallas when Rolando Blackman scored nine first-quarter points and went on to total 29.

In winning for the fifth time in six games, Dallas was up by as many as 18 points before Indiana made it close.

Sam Perkins had 24 points and Derek Harper added 23 for Dallas.

Reggie Miller scored 36 points and Detlef Schrempf contributed 23 for Indiana.

Golden State 133, Utah 120--Terry Teagle scored 36 points in the first half and wound up with a career-high 44 on his home court.

Teagle made 14 of 16 shots from the field in the first half, lifting the Warriors to a 70-50 lead. At one stretch, Teagle made 12 field goals without a miss.

The Jazz got 29 points from Karl Malone.

Portland 119, Miami 95--Clyde Drexler scored 25 points, including 15 in the third quarter, as the Trail Blazers handed the Heat its seventh loss in a row.

Kevin Duckworth added 24 points to equal his season high for Portland. Glen Rice led Miami with 16 points, and Rony Seikaly and Scott Haffner had 14 each.