NBA ROUNDUP : Hawks Keep Balance and Knicks Fall, 109-94

Defense and balanced scoring--not exactly trademarks of the Atlanta Hawks--are carrying them through a five-game winning streak.

Dominique Wilkins scored 24 points and five other Hawks had 13 or more as they handed the New York Knicks their third home loss of the season, 109-94, Tuesday night.

“This was our steadiest game of the season,” Coach Bob Weiss said. “We played good defense, helped each other through the picks and moved the ball around.”

The Hawks held the Knicks to 42.4% shooting and have limited the opposition to an average of 97.8 points the last four games. For the season, Atlanta is allowing an average of 106.5 points.

“We’ve been inconsistent because our defense has been inconsistent this season,” Wilkins said. “Good defense gives us opportunities on offense, so I don’t have to create shots so much.”

Wilkins was followed in the scoring column by Stacey Augmon with 17 points, Kevin Willis with 16 and Paul Graham with 15. Blair Rasmussen scored a season-high 14 and Duane Ferrell scored 13.

Patrick Ewing had 23 points and Xavier McDaniel 22 for the Knicks, 13-3 at Madison Square Garden after an 11-0 start at home.

Atlanta, leading by 14 at the half, led 58-42 with 10:41 left in the third quarter before John Starks’ three-pointer started a 17-6 burst that closed New York to 64-59.

Wilkins and Graham then scored eight points apiece during a 22-12 spurt that gave the Hawks an 86-71 advantage with 10:54 remaining in the game, and the Knicks got no closer than 12 the rest of the way.

Knick Coach Pat Riley wrote off the game as one of the poor performances even the best of teams get during the season.

“Players are human beings and sometimes a team will collectively go south,” Riley said. “This is the last place you want to have this kind of performance. You want to play this kind of game on the road, with no Madison Square Garden Network watching.”

Cleveland 113, Minnesota 98--Brad Daugherty scored 27 points and Mark Price became Cleveland’s career assist leader as the Cavaliers recorded their ninth consecutive victory.

Daugherty made nine of 11 shots for Cleveland, which shot 67% in the second half and 58% overall in its fifth successive road victory. Price added 16 points on eight-for-11 shooting and his six assists gave him 2,317, six more than John Bagley.

The Cavaliers, whose 22-9 record is the third-best in the NBA, have outscored opponents by an average of 114-100 during their longest winning streak since 1989.

Pooh Richardson scored 18 points for Minnesota, which fell to 5-25, the worst record in the NBA. The Timberwolves are 2-16 since Thanksgiving, 3-19 against teams with winning records and 1-16 when opponents shoot better than 45%.

Portland 104, Orlando 89--The Magic lost its 17th consecutive game as the Trail Blazers got 23 points and 11 assists from Terry Porter at Portland.

Nick Anderson scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half and Terry Catledge finished with 20 for the Magic, which last won on Nov. 30 and is three defeats away from tying the NBA single-season record set by Philadelphia in 1973.

Chicago 102, Washington 89--Michael Jordan scored 21 points, 19 in the first half, and Scottie Pippen added 17 at Chicago as the Bulls won for the 11th time in 13 games.

Washington closed to 76-67 early in the fourth quarter on a drive by Ledell Eackles, but the Bulls then pulled away for their 14th victory in 16 home games.

Harvey Grant scored 19 points for Washington, which lost for the first time in five road games and only the third time in nine games overall.

Seattle 106, Denver 99--Ricky Pierce scored 28 points and Derrick McKey added 26 as the SuperSonics went on a 13-2 run in the final 2:55 at Denver.

The Nuggets trailed, 63-49, in the third quarter before rallying for a 79-78 edge entering the fourth quarter. The Nuggets expanded the margin to 91-84 with 7:35 remaining, before Seattle began its comeback.

Dikembe Mutombo had 27 points and 12 rebounds for Denver.