NBA ROUNDUP : Drexler Sparks Trail Blazers Despite Toe Injury

Clyde Drexler has a sprained big toe on his left foot. It hurt so much he couldn’t play Sunday night and the Clippers upset the Trail Blazers at Portland.

After watching the Trail Blazers fall behind Phoenix Tuesday night, Drexler couldn’t stand it anymore. Bad toe or no, he went out to play.

Although he limped out onto the court, once he warmed up, he looked in form, scoring 16 of his 28 points in the third quarter to lead the Trail Blazers to 129-116 victory at home.

On defense, it was another matter. Drexler couldn’t contain Phoenix guard Kevin Johnson. Johnson had 40 points, making 17 of 24 shots and adding eight assists. He was only four points short of his career high.

The Suns cut their deficit to eight points in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, but Drexler came back to lead a 15-4 spurt. Drexler played 33 minutes and had eight rebounds and five assists.

The Suns, again without forward Xavier McDaniel because of a hamstring injury, were at a loss up front. While the Trail Blazers front-liners scored 60 points, the Suns had only 39. Also missing from the Suns’ lineup was Tom Chambers, who has sat out seven games, two of which were losses to Portland.

The Suns, who led, 32-28, after one quarter, trailed, 54-41, at halftime. The Suns trail Portland by four games in the Pacific Division.

Detroit 117, Orlando 95--Dennis Rodman sent a message to those who say he is strictly a one-dimensional player.

Rodman, the NBA’s leading rebounder, scored 18 points, on eight-for-10 shooting, including two three-pointers, in the victory over the Magic at Auburn Hills, Mich. Rodman, who has been averaging 40 minutes a game, played only 29 minutes, but he also had 27 rebounds and five assists.

Orlando Woolridge scored 21 points despite suffering a cut over his eye in the first quarter that required a couple of stitches.

“I haven’t run that much in a long time and I was sucking wind,” Rodman said. “I was doing everything. I was going one on five at times.”

The Pistons are 10-0 against the Magic.

Milwaukee 128, Cleveland 116--The night after a stirring victory over the Bulls and Michael Jordan, the Cavaliers couldn’t handle veteran Moses Malone at Milwaukee.

Malone scored 30 points to help the Bucks win their sixth home game in a row.

Milwaukee broke away in the third quarter when they shot 73% (16 for 22) from the floor.

“We felt like we had them at a disadvantage. They were coming off an emotional high from beating Chicago,” said Dale Ellis, who started in place of Fred Roberts, out with a kidney infection. Ellis finished with 26 points.

Milwaukee had a 48-35 advantage on the boards led by 10 from Frank Brickowski. Cleveland was hurt when Larry Nance picked up four fouls in the first half.

“I thought we just ran out of gas. We didn’t have the legs,” Cleveland Coach Lenny Wilkens said. “When you are physically tired, you can’t rebound. And when you are mentally and physically tired, you make mistakes and we did.”

New York 110, Sacramento 97--Although they were playing without Lionel Simmons, the Kings played the Knicks close at New York for three quarters.

With 7:37 left to play, the Knicks had only a 89-86 lead. But Patrick Ewing, who had 34 points and 11 rebounds, and John Starks sparked a 7-0 run that ended the Kings’ hopes.

As the Knicks stretched their lead in the Atlantic Division to four games over Boston, Mark Jackson also had a big game. He barely missed a triple-double, getting 20 points, 15 assists and nine rebounds.

Jackson, who slumped the past two years after a promising start as a pro, gave the credit to Pat Riley. “Now, I have a great coach who believes in me and is willing to let me make mistakes,” Jackson said. “I’m playing with a great group of guys who finish the plays and make me look good.”

Philadelphia 94, Dallas 90--Johnny Dawkins turned a driving layup into a three-point play for the decisive points at Dallas.

Dawkins’ three-point play broke an 87-87 tie. The 76ers fought back from an 18-point deficit.

Charles Barkley led the rally, getting 28 points and 15 rebounds.