NBA ROUNDUP : Bucks Don’t Stop Anywhere as They Improve to 5-1

Before almost every season there is a tendency to rate the Milwaukee Bucks among the also-rans. Invariably, the Bucks finish near the top.

When Don Nelson was the coach, he was given all the credit for making something out of nothing.

Maybe it is about time to accord some of the same treatment to Del Harris, now in his fourth season at the helm.

Most experts figured the Bucks for fifth or worse in the tough Central Division. Once again they are acting as if they are better than that.

Jack Sikma scored 21 points Tuesday night at Milwaukee and the 5-1 Bucks dominated from start to finish. After taking a 15-2 lead, they sprinted to a 119-91 victory.

Before Harris emptied his bench, the Bucks built an 84-50 lead.

Larry Bird played one of the worst games of a brilliant career. He played 28 minutes, scored only five points and had only five rebounds. He was two for seven from the field. The Celtics shot only 40.7% from the field.

Golden State 128, San Antonio 124--David Robinson had 32 points and 18 rebounds, but the Spurs couldn’t handle the Warriors at Oakland.

Mitch Richmond had 31 points and Tim Hardaway and Chris Mullin each added 24 as the Warriors improved to 5-2.

The Warriors pulled away to an 11-point lead midway through the last quarter and held off a Spur rally.

Portland 155, Denver 129--It was the winless Nuggets’ seventh consecutive defeat, but they got a moral victory at Portland.

The unbeaten Trail Blazers (6-0) failed to get a club record for points by one point. They had four shots after pulling to within one point of the record and missed them all.

New York 116, Seattle 110--After rookie Gary Payton made a layup to send the game into overtime at Seattle, the SuperSonics fell apart.

Trent Tucker sank a three-point basket with slightly less than a minute left in overtime to give New York a 112-110 lead. Patrick Ewing, who had 28 points, sank two free throws and Gerald Wilkins made a layup to complete the scoring.

The Knicks, who have won four in a row, are 3-0 in the West and finish the tour at Portland Thursday night.

Orlando 109, Dallas 103--Apparently, the Mavericks were still in shock from learning that Roy Tarpley was out for the season, because they weren’t ready to face the Magic at Orlando.

Terry Catledge scored 30 points and the Magic won for the first time after opening the season with six defeats. They also ended a 16-game home losing streak.

Tarpley underwent knee surgery and might return in time for the playoffs. Fat Lever, due back in five weeks, also is recovering from knee surgery.

Chicago 84, Utah 82--The real Michael Jordan showed up at Salt Lake City. Jordan sank a jumper as the game ended to give the Bulls their fourth consecutive victory.

With the score tied, the Jazz’s Karl Malone missed two shots. With 16 seconds to play, the Bulls called time out.

John Paxson dribbled the ball until there were two seconds left. He passed to Jordan, who despite the close guarding of Jeff Malone got off a 15-footer as the buzzer sounded.

Malone had 28 points and 19 rebounds.

Charlotte 120, Washington 105--Armon Gilliam outscored NBA scoring leader Bernard King and also had 12 rebounds at Charlotte to lead the Hornets.

King, playing the way he did before the injury that almost ended his career five years ago, had 34 points. Gilliam had 39, just one short of the club record held by Kelly Tripucka. Gilliam was 16 of 24 from the field.

Detroit 118, Miami 93--The Pistons, who struggled on their trip West, returned home and put the Heat away in a hurry.

Isiah Thomas, who discarded the goggles he was wearing to protect his eyes after missing his first three shots, had 23 points. He had six of them during a 19-1 spurt in the first quarter that gave the Pistons a 31-10 lead.

Cleveland 121, Atlanta 104--Last week, Cavalier Coach Len Wilkens shook up his lineup, inserting veteran forward Larry Nance and rookie guard Gerald Paddio.

The results have been amazing. With Nance and Paddio leading the way the Cavaliers won at Atlanta, where they had lost 11 in a row.

Nance had 21 points and 14 rebounds, while Paddio had 22 points.

Philadelphia 108, Indiana 100--Charles Barkley scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half at Indianapolis to lead the 76ers.

With Barkley having missed all four of his shots, the 76ers trailed, 46-44, at halftime. They didn’t take command until the middle of the fourth quarter.

Houston 90, Minnesota 88--It was a tough struggle for the Rockets at Houston, but there was a good reason. They were without their star, Akeem Olajuwon.

Olajuwon missed his first start in 184 games after suffering a sprained ankle during Sunday’s game at Utah.

With 24 seconds to play, David Wood tipped a pass from Otis Thorpe into the basket to give the Rockets an 89-88 lead. After Minnesota’s Tod Murphy missed an 18-footer, Vernon Maxwell made one of two free throws for the Rockets.

Thorpe, playing center in place of Olajuwon, had 20 points and 13 rebounds.