NBA ROUNDUP : Hot Bulls Have No Trouble Winning at Atlanta

For a group apparently beset by dissension, the Chicago Bulls have become quite a basketball team.

Scottie Pippen has asked to be traded because of a contract squabble, and Michael Jordan is upset because the club didn’t make a move before the trading deadline.

With all this, they are playing better than any other NBA team and look good enough to win a championship.

In a game whose outcome was determined in the early moments of the third quarter, the Bulls smashed the Hawks, 122-87, Sunday at Atlanta for their 14th victory in 15 games.

Pippen and Jordan combined for 31 points as the Bulls built a 62-47 halftime lead. A 17-4 run--seven of the points by Jordan--made it a rout at the start of the second half.

Before a loss to Phoenix Thursday night, the Hawks had won 22 games in a row at home. They have a chance to finish second in the tough Central Division.

Jordan, who played only 30 minutes, had 25 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

Jordan is averaging three fewer minutes a game than he did a year ago.

Coach Bob Weiss couldn’t understand the play of the Hawks. “If we should ever have been up for a game, this was the one,” he said. “We were playing Chicago on national television. We were ugly.”

The Hawks were hampered because Dominique Wilkins has a sore right wrist. He was six for 17 and had eight rebounds.

Boston 111, Portland 109--Robert Parish made the key basket with 32 seconds left in overtime as the Celtics handed the Trail Blazers their fourth home defeat in 32 games.

The Trail Blazers have lost five of their past six games and lead the Lakers by only two games and Phoenix by just 3 1/2. They missed a chance to win when Clyde Drexler’s three-point attempt fell short at the buzzer.

The Celtics led by 13 in the first half, but in the last six minutes of regulation neither team led by more than three points.

Phoenix 123, Minnesota 109--Kevin Johnson and Jeff Hornacek sparked a 12-0 run late in the first quarter at Minneapolis, and the Suns went on to win a club-record sixth consecutive road game.

Johnson made eight of nine shots and had 12 assists to direct the hot-shooting Suns to their ninth victory in 10 games.

Golden State 97, Sacramento 87--Chris Mullin made his first nine shots and the Warriors handed the Kings their 27th consecutive defeat on the road. The Kings can tie the NBA record by losing at Dallas March 18. New Jersey lost 28 in 1989-90.

The Warriors kept the Kings from winning a season-high third consecutive game. Golden State won a game when scoring less than 100 points for the first time this season.

Miami 101, New Jersey 88--Sherman Douglas outscored the Nets, 14-13, in the third quarter at Miami to lead the Heat. He had 28 points and 13 assists.

Denver 124, Dallas 110--Orlando Woolridge and Michael Adams each had 31 points at Denver and the Nuggets ended a three-game losing streak.