NBA ROUNDUP : This Victory by 76ers Is Worth Watching

Seven days after losing to the Sacramento Kings by 56 points, the Philadelphia 76ers won their third consecutive game, 104-91, over the defending champion Chicago Bulls on Saturday night at Philadelphia.

“For the first part of the season, we weren’t worth the price of watching us,” Coach Doug Moe said after the 76ers improved their record to 11-18. “At least now we know we’re worth watching. I’m not sure how good we are, but we can’t play any better than this.”

Rookie Clarence Weatherspoon scored 23 points, Hersey Hawkins 22 and Armon Gilliam 20 for the 76ers, who have defeated Chicago in both of their meetings this season although the Bulls (23-10) still have more than twice as many victories.

“This kind of win could turn the season around for us,” Hawkins said. “Hopefully, we can build on this.”

Gilliam has scored 70 points in three games since returning to the starting lineup after Moe benched him for lackluster play.

Michael Jordan, who scored his 20,000th NBA point Friday night, led the Bulls with 30 points, but he missed 14 of 18 shots in the second half. Scottie Pippen finished with 26.

“I missed every easy shot possible,” Jordan said. “But I can’t take anything away from the Sixers. They are making believers out of us. We never were able to match their intensity or stop their runs.”

Utah 126, Dallas 102--Jeff Malone scored 27 points at Dallas as the Jazz handed the Mavericks their 11th consecutive loss.

Karl Malone added 24 points and 13 rebounds and John Stockton contributed 21 points and 10 assists as the Jazz won for the seventh time in their last eight starts.

Mike Iuzzolino scored 18 points and Derek Harper and Randy White added 17 apiece for the Mavericks (2-26).

“This is the kind of game that can scare you,” said Karl Malone, who led the Jazz to a 59-39 rebounding edge. “We came out from the jump ready to play. You can easily be the goat in this league. A team like that, they’re going to scratch and claw if you give them an opening.”

San Antonio 109, Portland 93-- David Robinson scored 32 points and Sean Elliott added 18 as the Spurs defeated the Trail Blazers at San Antonio.

Dale Ellis added 17 points and Avery Johnson had 12 points and nine assists for the Spurs, who are 7-2 since John Lucas took over as coach.

“Just like Dennis Rodman’s job is to rebound, my job is to get assists,” Johnson said. “I was pleased I was able to stay under control. John wanted us to push the ball and I think we did.”

Portland, which shot 38% (33 of 87) from the field, was led by former Spur Rod Strickland, who had 20 points.

New Jersey 124, Washington 79--The Nets posted their biggest victory ever by making 25 of their first 35 shots at East Rutherford, N.J.

The 45-point margin of victory was three better than the old mark that the Nets posted twice, once in a 128-86 American Basketball Assn. victory over Denver on Nov. 23, 1973, and other coming in a 121-79 victory over Washington on March 10, 1987.

Reserve Rafael Addison led New Jersey with 19 points. Rumeal Robinson had 18 and Kenny Anderson had 15 points and 14 assists. Chris Dudley added 12 and a season-high 17 rebounds.

Pervis Ellison had 13 to lead Washington, which shot 33% from the field (29 of 88). The 79 points were the fewest New Jersey had given up this season.

Indiana 104, Orlando 88--Reggie Miller scored 16 points as the Pacers defeated the Magic to end a seven-game road losing streak despite 30 points, 20 rebounds and eight blocked shots from rookie Shaquille O’Neal.

The Magic never got closer than 12 points in the second half.

Dale Davis had 15 points and 19 rebounds for the Pacers.

Cleveland 116, Minnesota 93-- Larry Nance scored 21 points as the Cavaliers defeated the Timberwolves at Richfield, Ohio.

The victory was Cleveland’s 12th in 14 games, and Minnesota has lost four in a row and 16 of its last 18.

Mark Price and Brad Daugherty each had 18 for Cleveland. Daugherty also grabbed 12 rebounds.

Christian Laettner and Doug West each scored 20 for the Timberwolves, who have won only twice since November, both times against Dallas.

Golden State 108, Detroit 104-- Chris Mullin scored nine of his 32 points during a key fourth-quarter burst as the Warriors opened a five-game trip with a victory.

Joe Dumars, scoring 20 of his 32 points in the third quarter, had helped the Pistons forge an 82-82 tie. But the nine by Mullin helped Golden State open a 97-89 lead in the first 4:35 of the final quarter.

Dumars’ three-pointer with eight seconds remaining closed the gap to 106-104. Tim Hardaway, who had 30 points and 10 assists for the Warriors, made a pair of free throws two seconds later.

Terry Mills scored a career-high 26 points for Detroit. Dennis Rodman had 26 rebounds for the second consecutive game.

Detroit missed its first nine field goal attempts and made only six of 27 in the first quarter. And it never got much better as the Pistons shot only 36% (36 of 101).

“I think we had something to do with Detroit’s poor shooting early in the game,” Hardaway said. “We made them battle uphill. When you battle uphill all night, you’re tired when you get to the fourth quarter, which they were.”

The Pistons retired Bob Lanier’s jersey at halftime. Lanier’s No. 16 and Dave Bing’s No. 21 are the only two numbers hanging from the rafters at The Palace.

Seattle 107, Denver 95--Sean Kemp had 25 points and 16 rebounds at Denver as the SuperSonics handed the Nuggets their 14th loss in 15 games.

The Nuggets played without leading scorer Chris Jackson, who sprained his right foot Friday night as Denver ended a franchise-record 14-game losing streak.

Reggie Williams and Robert Pack had 19 points each for the Nuggets. Eddie Johnson came off the bench to score 16 and help the SuperSonics win their fifth in a row.

Sacramento 108, Miami 94--Mitch Richmond scored 32 points at Sacramento to help the Kings post their seventh victory in eight games.

Lionel Simmons added 24 points for the Kings.

Rony Seikaly scored 18 points as the Heat dropped to 0-2 on their five-game trip. Miami has lost its last six road games to fall to 2-13 away from home, with a game at the Forum against the Lakers tonight.