NBA Roundup : Hawks Apply Pressure, Beat Cavaliers, 101-97

When Dominique Wilkins joined them a half-dozen seasons ago, the Atlanta Hawks quickly developed a reputation as a wide-open, high-flying basketball team.

Wilkins was called the Human Highlight Film because of his flair for dramatic and exciting maneuvers. He became known for his dunks on the fast break.

The reputation hasn’t really changed, but the Hawks have. They have soared to the top of the Central Division, generally considered the toughest in the National Basketball Assn., on defense, surprisingly.

When they compiled a 57-25 record last season, the best since moving to Atlanta 20 years ago, they did it with the best defense in the NBA. That good defense is becoming even better.

Another strong defensive effort enabled the Hawks to outlast the stubborn Cleveland Cavaliers, 101-97, Friday night at Atlanta to stretch their lead to 2 1/2 games over Detroit.

The Hawks have been a solid defensive team all season, but in the last four games they have played sensationally on defense, holding the opponents to an average of 85.5 points and only 38.4% shooting from the field.

Actually, the Cavaliers did better on offense than most teams have been doing lately. In the three previous games, the Hawks gave up 84, 71 and 90 points.

The Cavaliers almost pulled out a victory after falling behind, 89-80, with eight minutes to play. With 30 seconds remaining, the Cavaliers, behind only 99-97, had the ball. But the tight Atlanta defense did not permit a shot, and the 24-second clock killed the Cavaliers’ chance to tie. Doc Rivers sank two free throws with five seconds remaining to close out the scoring.

“I thought it was a gut-check by our team,” Coach Mike Fratello told the Associated Press. “We made big plays when we needed them, especially at the end.

“We’re in a good stretch defensively. Maybe our guys recognize we’re missing some key ingredients offensively with Dominique (Wilkins) below par and Kevin (Willis) not being in there. Maybe they are concentrating on defense because of that.”

Wilkins, who missed Wednesday’s loss to Detroit because of a bruised knee, returned to spark the offense. He scored 34 points, had 7 rebounds and 8 assists.

Phil Hubbard came off the bench to lead the late Cavaliers’ rally and wound up as their top scorer with 17 points in 26 minutes.

Brad Daugherty, Cleveland’s talented center, had trouble on offense because the Hawks ran in a relay team to defend against him. Tree Rollins took him for a while, then Jon Koncak and even Willis came along to pressure him. As a result, Daugherty had only 15 points.

Rollins blocked five Cleveland shots, and was applying extreme pressure in the closing seconds when the 24-second clock ran out on the Cavaliers.

The Hawks, the only NBA team holding their opponents under a 100-point average, have won seven of their last eight. Their 23-8 record is second only to the Lakers.

Mark Price blamed the crowd noise for Cleveland’s inability to get off a shot in the closing seconds. “I knew the clock was running out,” he said, “but they couldn’t hear me.”

Boston 125, Washington 109--Wes Unseld did not enjoy his second game as a coach nearly as well as he did the first.

Larry Bird and Kevin McHale were responsible at Boston for Unseld’s record dropping to .500.

Bird had 35 points and McHale, the other Boston forward, had 31. They led the rally as the Celtics overcame a 10-point deficit to pull away in the closing minutes.

The Bullets led, 98-95, three minutes into the final period. But Danny Ainge, held to two points in the first three quarters, tied it with a three-point bomb that extended to 14 the number of consecutive games in which he has made a three-pointer. Ainge followed with a 14-footer, and the Celtics had the lead for good.

The Malones led the Bullets’ determined bid. Moses had 24 points and 13 rebounds, while Jeff had 31 points and 5 assists.

The newest Celtic, 7-0 Artis Gilmore, suited up but did not play. The Boston bench contributed 14 points in 43 minutes.

New Jersey 118, New York 111--John Bagley scored 12 of his season-high 31 points in the last 5:39 at East Rutherford, N.J., as the Nets came from behind to end a four-game losing streak.

The Nets trailed, 93-89, when Bagley and Mike Gminski scored seven points in a row to put them in front to stay.

Patrick Ewing scored 31 points for the Knicks, including a jumper for the only Knicks’ points in a four-minute spell in which the Nets scored 18.

Utah 111, Milwaukee 107--The Jazz keep getting terrific games out of Kelly Tripucka, even though they have been trying to get rid of him and his $ 1 million salary.

Tripucka had 25 points, including two free throws with just five seconds left that clinched only the fourth road win in 17 games for the Jazz.

John Lucas sank a three-point basket with six seconds left to cut the lead to 109-107, but Tripucka was fouled immediately and wiped out the Bucks’ last hope.

Karl Malone had 29 points and 11 rebounds to also play an important role for the Jazz.

Portland 98, Sacramento 91--Clyde Drexler scored 8 of his 35 points in a 12-0 flurry early in the game at Portland that assured the Trail Blazers their 14th win in 16 home games.

The spurt gave the Blazers a 19-4 lead. At halftime Portland led, 47-31. They had little trouble holding off a late rally by the Kings.

Mike McGee had 27 for the Kings.