NBA Roundup : Nuggets Win 20th Straight at Home, 129-117

Calvin Natt scored 34 points Saturday night, and Lafayette Lever contributed a fine all-around performance to give the Denver Nuggets their 20th straight home victory, 129-117, over the Portland Trail Blazers at Denver.

The first-place Nuggets (48-26) remained 4 1/2 games ahead of Houston in the Midwest Division by rallying late in the third quarter behind Dan Issel. The veteran center, hobbled by a sore knee, scored four baskets in a three-minute span as the Nuggets outscored the Trail Blazers, 16-4, to turn an 84-76 deficit into a 92-88 lead.

Lever finished with 18 points, 15 assists and 6 steals. In all, seven Nuggets scored in double figures, including Alex English, who had 21 points.

Mychal Thompson led the Blazers (37-38) with 23 points, and Clyde Drexler finished with 21. Former Nugget Kiki Vandeweghe added 19 for Portland, which lost for only the second time in its last nine games.

Denver has not lost at home since Jan. 5, when it was beaten by the Lakers.

Milwaukee 106, Atlanta 95--Kevin Grevey scored 18 points, Paul Mokeski added 17 and Paul Thompson and Ricky Pierce each had 16 at Milwaukee as the injury-riddled Bucks scored their sixth straight victory.

The Bucks (54-21), with just eight players in uniform, were playing without starters Sidney Moncrief and Terry Cummings. They broke a 78-78 tie early in the fourth quarter with eight straight points.

Dominique Wilkins led Atlanta (29-45) with 22 points.

Philadelphia 122, Chicago 117--Moses Malone scored 31 points and Charles Barkley and Andrew Toney each added 22 to lead the 76ers to victory at Chicago.

The Bulls’ Michael Jordan scored 14 of his game-high 38 points in the fourth quarter as Chicago, which trailed, 96-82, at the start of the period, pulled to 119-117 with 15 seconds left.

However, Bobby Jones hit a pair of free throws with eight seconds left to keep the 76ers (54-20) ahead, 121-117.

Quintin Dailey finished with 25 points for the Bulls (35-40), and Orlando Woolridge had 18.

Houston 106, Utah 96--Ralph Sampson scored 22 second-half points and finished with a game-high 36 to lead the Rockets to the win at home.

Houston (43-30) led by as many as 21 points in the first quarter, but Utah (37-39) battled back to lead, 54-48, at the half.

Behind Sampson’s 10 points, Houston regained the advantage, 77-72, after the third quarter. Sampson added 12 fourth-quarter points to secure the Houston win.

Lewis Lloyd had 20 for the Rockets. Thurl Bailey and Darrell Griffith led Utah with 20 and 17 points, respectively.

Kansas City 137, Golden State 121--Rookie Otis Thorpe scored 28 points and Reggie Theus added 26 as the Kings (30-45) rolled over the Warriors (20-55) at Kansas City.

The victory, the Kings’ eighth straight at home, snapped a two-game losing streak.

Purvis Short scored 27 points for the Warriors, who lost for the 34th time in 39 games on the road this year.

New Jersey 123, New York 114--Albert King hit 10 of 11 shots and scored 22 of his season-high 28 points in the second half to carry the Nets to the win at New York.

Mike Gminski had 23 points in a reserve role for New Jersey (37-38) after starting center Darryl Dawkins was plagued with fouls and was ejected from the game with seven minutes left after his second technical foul.

Cleveland 117, Indiana 94--World B. Free scored 27 points to pace six Cavalier players in double figures as Cleveland won its third straight game at Richfield, Ohio.

The win enabled the Cavaliers (31-43) to maintain their hold on the eighth and final playoff spot in the NBA Eastern Conference.