NBA Roundup : Aguirre-Motta Feud Forgotten in 107-91 Win

Mark Aguirre has spent most of his five National Basketball Assn. seasons either fighting or making up with Coach Dick Motta of the Dallas Mavericks.

In his latest outburst, the bulky forward hinted that he failed to win a spot on the West All-Star team because of his difficulties with Motta.

So, Thursday was a day for Aguirre to meet with the coach and apologize. Almost always, Aguirre plays well in the next game.

Aguirre had 19 rebounds and 14 points in just 29 minutes Friday night at Dallas while leading the Mavericks to an easy 107-91 victory over Cleveland. It was the fourth win in a row for the Mavericks.

The Cavaliers were without two of their big men, Mel Turpin and Mark West, and they lost their sixth game in a row.

Aguirre, with help from James Donaldson, gave the Mavericks complete control of the boards. They led, 65-39, at halftime and then coasted.

“Dick and I are not in a war,” Aguirre said. “If we were having a feud, I would tell you, just as I have told you in the past. There will be no more wars.

“He’s trying to lift me out of my depression. My depression got turned into Mark Aguirre against Dick Motta. I was just disappointed about not making the All-Star team.”

The Mavericks held the Cavaliers to only four points in the first eight minutes and led, 31-13, after one quarter.

With Donaldson scoring 17 points and pulling down 11 rebounds, the Mavericks kept pouring it on until the lead reached 33 in the third quarter.

Boston 97, Washington 88--Maybe the Celtics have a better bench than they are given credit for. Maybe, they just don’t use it until they are forced to.

Take Scott Wedman. With Kansas City and Cleveland, he was a deadly sharpshooter. Most of his four seasons with the Celtics have been spent on the bench. This season, playing about 13 minutes a game, he has been averaging less than 7 points.

But when Kevin McHale’s Achilles’ tendon flared up last week, the 6-7 forward stepped into the starting lineup, and the Celtics didn’t miss a beat.

In this game at Landover, Md., Wedman made his first five shots to get the Celtics off to a fast start on their way to their 10th victory in a row. Wedman, who has started the last four, scored a season-high 24 points. In the four games, he has averaged nearly 20 points.

Wedman was 11 for 17. The rest of the Celtics were just 32 for 80. Without Wedman, they didn’t shoot as well as the Bullets, who were a dismal 35 for 86.

Atlanta 116, Detroit 103--Jon Koncak, a 7-0 rookie center, scored seven of his 20 points in a 17-2 fourth-quarter spurt that broke open a tight battle at Atlanta. The win put Atlanta four games ahead of Detroit in the battle for second place in the Central Division.

The Hawks led, 86-85, when Dominique Wilkins, who had 36 points, hit a jumper to start the streak that gave the Hawks a 103-87 lead with 7 1/2 minutes left in the game.

New York 117, Phoenix 112--In a game at Phoenix that was tied on 22 occasions, Patrick Ewing made a three-point play with 3:36 left to give the Knicks the lead for good, 107-104.

James Bailey scored 25 points for the Knicks, and Gerald Wilkins added 24.

Utah 113, Sacramento 101--Adrian Dantley, the NBA’s leading scorer, made 12 of 19 shots from the field and scored 33 points at Salt Lake City to lead the Jazz to an easy victory.

Reggie Theus had 37 points and Mike Woodson 24, but the other three King starters had only 26.

Indiana 101, Seattle 94--Herb Williams scored 19 of his 27 points in the first half at Indianapolis to help the Pacers build a 57-46 halftime lead. It was only the 14th win in 46 games for the Pacers.