NBA ROUNDUP : Without Robinson, Spurs Just Another Loser

There isn’t much mystery about what’s wrong with the San Antonio Spurs. Without David Robinson, they are in trouble.

Since the 7-foot-1 center went out with a thumb injury that will sideline him at least until the playoffs, the Spurs are just another team.

With little help from ailing Dennis Rodman, the Detroit Pistons used two big plays from Darrell Walker in a 107-103 victory over the Spurs. It was San Antonio’s fourth loss in a row, and it ended the Pistons’ four-game losing streak.

The score was tied, 98-98, with a little more than a minute to play Sunday at Auburn Hills, Mich., when Walker, a reserve guard, scored on a driving layup to put Detroit ahead for good. A few seconds later, he leaped above the big men to grab a key rebound and helped Joe Dumars turn it into a decisive three-point play.

There was mystery concerning Rodman’s problem. Leading the NBA with a 19-rebound average, he played only 12 minutes and had only three rebounds.

Reportedly, Rodman became ill on the way to the game. He arrived just before the game and did not start. Rodman wouldn’t talk about the problem, Coach Chuck Daly said.

Terry Cummings had a big game for the Spurs, getting 26 points and 16 rebounds before fouling out in the final seconds.

“We can’t use David as a copout,” he said. “We played well enough to win, but we did some things to hurt ourselves.”

New York 107, Portland 96--The Knicks stretched their winning streak to seven games and completed a three-game sweep of their trip West.

Patrick Ewing had 33 points at Portland, taking charge in the fourth quarter, and the Knicks handed the Trail Blazers their seventh home defeat in 36 games.

The Knicks lead the Atlantic Division by 4 1/2 games with 11 games to play.

Boston 117, Atlanta 93--The Celtics aren’t going to win the Atlantic Division, but they are intent on winning the home-court edge for the first round of the playoffs.

Larry Bird scored 11 of his 20 points in the first period at Boston to help the Celtics run up a 19-point lead en route to their sixth victory in a row.

The Celtics have 10 games remaining and are tied with Detroit (42-30) for fourth place in the East.

Atlanta had won the three previous meetings between the teams, but the Hawks never were in this game.

With the loss, their lead over Indiana was cut to half a game, and the sixth-place team in the East is only one game ahead of Miami.

“Did the Globetrotters win any easier?” Hawk Coach Bob Weiss asked.

The Globetrotters played an afternoon game at Boston Garden.

Sacramento 112, Minnesota 86--With Wayman Tisdale scoring 22 points, the Kings handed the Timberwolves their worst home beating.

Sacramento is 24-48. The Timberwolves fell to 11-60.

Dallas 105, Denver 98--Donald Hodge scored eight points in a 13-0 fourth-quarter run at Dallas that enabled the Mavericks to end a record-tying 15-game losing streak.

The victory was the 100th as an NBA coach for Richie Adubato.

The Nuggets, playing without Dikembe Mutombo, who has an injured left thumb, led, 92-86, with 7:10 left. Then Hodge and his mates went on the winning roll.