NBA ROUNDUP : Jordan Takes Control as Bulls Win 4th in a Row

A combination of 23 turnovers by the Cleveland Cavaliers and 38 points scored by Michael Jordan gave the Chicago Bulls a 93-87 victory Wednesday night at Cleveland.

It was the Bulls’ fourth consecutive victory and 10th in their last 12 games.

Larry Nance scored seven consecutive points to give the Cavaliers an 82-78 lead with 5:08 remaining, but they couldn’t hold on and fell to their sixth loss in the last seven games.

The Cavaliers led, 51-47, at halftime, but then made only five of 17 shots to allow the Bulls to take a 69-64 advantage into the fourth quarter. With 3:04 remaining, the Cavaliers went ahead, 86-82, on a dunk by Chucky Brown, but a basket by Jordan sparked an 11-1 run by the Bulls for the final score.

Horace Grant scored 20 points for the Bulls. Jordan made 15 of 32 shots, had eight rebounds and eight assists.

The Cavaliers, who continue to play without injured centers Brad Daugherty and Tree Rollins, were led by Brown with 17 points.

Milwaukee 110, New Jersey 96--Ricky Pierce scored 20 of his 32 points in the second half, including 12 down the stretch, as the Bucks pulled away from the Nets in the last four minutes en route to victory at East Rutherford, N.J.

It was the Bucks’ sixth win in their last seven games and the 10th time in their last 11 games they have held an opponent to under 100 points.

The Nets rallied with a 30-12 run in the third quarter to tie the score, 68-68, but the Bucks took the lead for good on a layup by Alvin Robertson and a three-pointer by Paul Pressey.

Robertson scored 20 points for the Bucks, and Sam Bowie had 21 points and a season-high 18 rebounds for the Nets.

Boston 120, Washington 101--At Boston, Larry Bird scored 18 of his 20 points in the first half as the Celtics stretched their winning streak to four games.

The Celtics scored the first six points, never trailed in the game and led by at least five points for the final 44 minutes.

Kevin McHale scored 18 points and Reggie Lewis 16 for Boston, which had seven scorers in double figures. Ledell Eackles scored 22 points and Jeff Malone 19 to lead Washington.

San Antonio 103, Philadelphia 94--The Spurs overcame a 16-point deficit in the first quarter and went on to win their 12th consecutive home game.

The Spurs, whose 20 victories are one fewer than all of last season, were led by David Robinson and Terry Cummings, who each scored 22 points, and Willie Anderson, who scored 21 points.

Charles Barkley led the 76ers with 24 points and had 13 rebounds.

Houston 117, Indiana 103--The Rockets snapped a four-game losing streak as Akeem Olajuwon scored 28 points and had 16 rebounds at Houston.

For the Rockets, who won for only the third time in their last 11 games, Buck Johnson scored a career-high 27 points and Sleepy Floyd had 23 points and 12 assists.

Floyd and Olajuwon got the Rockets off to an impressive start, scoring 21 and 20 points, respectively, in the first half to spark the Rockets to a 65-41 halftime lead.

Vern Fleming led the Pacers with 26 points.

Utah 119, Seattle 108--In the fourth quarter, Karl Malone scored 14 of his 36 points and Thurl Bailey added another 13 of 22 points as the Jazz defeated the SuperSonics at Seattle.

Xavier McDaniel led the SuperSonics, who lost their second consecutive home game, with 25 points; Dale Ellis added 23.