NBA ROUNDUP : After Malone Loses Cool, Utah Just Loses

When Karl Malone lost his cool and was ejected in the first half Saturday night at Salt Lake City, he hurt his team and gave a big lift to the Houston Rockets.

The Rockets, with Mitchell Wiggins scoring all his 14 points in the fourth quarter, came back from a five-point deficit to beat Utah, 103-99, and strengthen their hopes for a playoff spot.

The loss by the Jazz cut their lead over San Antonio in the Midwest Division to 1 1/2 games.

Malone, who was only two for 12 from the field, was ejected with 4:53 remaining in the second quarter when he was hit with his second technical foul for throwing the ball at referee Earl Strom. Earlier Malone was given a technical for drop-kicking the ball after a call he didn’t like. Two technicals means automatic dismissal.

John Stockton had to carry the Jazz thereafter. He had 25 points and 11 assists and the Jazz stayed ahead until Wiggins went on his rampage.

Malone had only seven points before departing. Akeem Olajuwon had 27 points and 12 rebounds for the Rockets.

Houston, Seattle and Denver are in a battle for the last two playoff spots in the West. Houston is 39-38, Seattle is 39-39 and Denver is 40-38.

Milwaukee 109, Atlanta 93--After road victories over Philadelphia and Detroit, the Hawks couldn’t keep up the pace at Milwaukee.

Jay Humphries scored six of his 27 points in a 13-2 run in the fourth quarter that clinched a playoff berth for the Bucks for the 11th consecutive year.

The Hawks, however, fell one-half game behind Cleveland in the fight for the last playoff spot in the East. If the teams wind up tied, the Cavaliers will qualify for the playoffs.

The Hawks seem to have the better of the schedule. They play New Jersey and Miami at home, and New York on the road. The Cavaliers play at Milwaukee, New Jersey and Orlando, and finish at home with New York.

Washington 113, Chicago 103--The Bulls were rolling along with nine victories in a row with a chance to sneak past Detroit and win the Central Division.

The winning streak ended abruptly at Landover, Md., and so, probably, did the Bulls’ chances of moving ahead of the Pistons.

Bernard King scored 11 of his 30 points in the third quarter to put the Bullets in front and by holding Michael Jordan to 21 points, they ended the Bulls’ streak.

The loss was only Chicago’s fifth in 30 games since the All-Star break.

Detroit 111, Orlando 107--The Magic has a terrible road record, they are in a deep slump and didn’t figure to cause the Pistons much trouble.

But the Pistons are having their problems. It took a three-point basket by Bill Laimbeer with 70 seconds left and a blocked shot by Laimbeer a minute later to save this win at Auburn Hills, Mich.

With the Bullets knocking off Chicago, it appears the stumbling Pistons will hold on and win the Central Division. But almost every game is a struggle.

Laimbeer topped off his clutch performance by getting in a fight with Orlando’s Jerry Reynolds in the last second. Both were ejected.

The Pistons need only one more victory to clinch their third division title in a row.

It was the Magic’s 12th consecutive defeat. They are 5-34 on the road.

Denver 136, Portland 127--In a shocker at Portland, Blair Rasmussen’s tip-in with 25 seconds left clinched the victory for the Nuggets.

It was only the sixth home loss in 40 games for the Trail Blazers.

With the victory, the Nuggets held onto seventh place in the West.

Seattle 96, Phoenix 89--Dale Ellis sank eight shots in a row in the second half at Seattle and finished with 30 points to lead the SuperSonics to a big victory.

Tom Chambers, who scored 60 points against the SuperSonics at Phoenix, had only 14.

Philadelphia 109, Charlotte 102--Charles Barkley scored 32 points at Charlotte, N.C., but when he was thrown out of the game with 9:43 left, he almost cost the 76ers the victory.

Barkley was ejected on two technicals while protesting his fourth personal foul. At the time the 76ers led, 92-79.

Before the 76ers sealed the victory with five consecutive free throws, the Hornets cut the lead to 100-94 with four minutes left.

The 76ers, seeking their first Atlantic Division title in seven years, lead Boston by two games with three games left.

Indiana 124, New Jersey 113--It was a tough struggle at East Rutherford, N.J., but the Pacers, with Chuck Person scoring 28 points, inched closer to a playoff spot.

The Nets might have made it closer if center Chris Dudley, playing in place of injured Sam Bowie, could have hit some free throws. Dudley was only one for 18 from the line. In his NBA career, he is a 44% free throw shooter.

The Pacers have won four of their last five games and are in seventh place in the East. They lead ninth-place Atlanta by 2 1/2 games and have only four games remaining.

Cleveland 93, Miami 85--The Cavaliers slipped into the final playoff spot in this surprisingly tough battle with the Heat at Richfield, Ohio.

Chucky Brown’s dunk started a 6-0 run at the start of the fourth period and the Cavaliers, building their margin at the free throw line, moved ahead of Atlanta by one-half game.

The Cavaliers, who led by 14 in the third quarter, had a 28-9 margin in free throws.

San Antonio 105, Sacramento 94--For one of the few times David Robinson played like a rookie at San Antonio, but Terry Cummings came off the bench to fire up the Spurs.

Robinson played 33 minutes, but scored only five points. Cummings, nursing a bruised foot, played only 23 minutes, but he had 25 points.

The Spurs, who won 21 games last season, have 52 wins. If they win two of their last four they will set an NBA record for biggest improvement from one season to the next.