NBA ROUNDUP : Nothing New as Eddie Johnson Sparks Seattle

Now that the East Coast has discovered firsthand that the Portland Trail Blazers are an outstanding team, they are learning there is another pretty good team in the Pacific Northwest.

Eddie Johnson came off the bench to score 18 of his 22 points in the first half Thursday night at Landover, Md., to help the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Washington Bullets, 125-120.

Only 2,413 braved a snowstorm to see the SuperSonics win their sixth in a row. About the only thing they had to cheer about were Bernard King’s 29 points.

When the SuperSonics obtained Johnson in the trade that sent Xavier McDaniel to the Phoenix Suns, they were 5-11. The main reason Seattle made the deal was to find a place in the lineup for inexperienced Shawn Kemp. The 6-foot-10 forward, who never played in college, averaged 15 minutes as a rookie last season.

Kemp became a regular about the time sharpshooting guard Dale Ellis recovered from injury. With Johnson coming off the bench to provide instant offense, the SuperSonics (12-13) have been on a roll. Kemp, who turned 21 last month, had 20 points and 12 rebounds. He was instrumental in helping the SuperSonics build a 71-55 halftime lead.

Johnson scored his 22 points in 19 minutes.

“I’m accustomed to the role,” Johnson said.

Portland 105, Charlotte 96--Clyde Drexler had 25 points as the Trail Blazers improved the NBA’s best record to 26-3.

Jerome Kersey had 21 points and 10 rebounds at Charlotte as the Trail Blazers handed the Hornets their 11th consecutive defeat. Portland is 11-2 on the road.

Rex Chapman had six points in a 9-0 run that cut Portland’s lead to 59-57 in the third quarter and the Hornets led, 72-71, in the fourth, but Portland’s experience prevailed in the stretch.

The Hornets were without playmaker Muggsy Bogues, who has a sprained ankle.

“There’s a lot of hard work that has led to this great start,” Drexler said. “We were not at our best and we still won. That’s a compliment to this team.”

Chicago 128, Golden State 113--Michael Jordan made certain that the Bulls didn’t suffer a let down after finally beating the Pistons Tuesday.

He scored a season-high 42 points at Chicago to lead the Bulls to their seventh victory in six games.

Jordan and Scottie Pippen, who finished with 34 points, broke the game open in the third quarter.

The Bulls led, 64-50, at halftime. In the third quarter, Jordan was eight for 11 and had 18 points; Pippen was five for seven and had 14. A 41-point fourth quarter stretched the lead to 105-65 and sent the Warriors to their fourth road loss in a row.

Jordan also had 14 rebounds and seven assists.

Utah 110, Dallas 102--Karl Malone, who was married Tuesday, celebrated with 35 points at Salt Lake City and the Jazz needed most of them.

Although the Mavericks lost for the 10th time in their last 13 games, they battled all the way. Derek Harper led the Mavericks with 32 points and 11 assists.

The Jazz have won 10 of their last 13 and are two games out of first in the Midwest Division.

Miami 124, Denver 114--Sherman Douglas had a career-high 42 points and the Heat won for the first time at Denver.

The Nuggets led, 92-89, early in the fourth quarter, but Douglas led a 12-2 spurt that put the Heat, 2-10 on the road, ahead to stay.

Michael Adams led the Nuggets with 23 points and 11 assists.