NBA ROUNDUP : Nobody’s Perfect: Spurs End Knick Streak

David Robinson and the San Antonio Spurs snapped out of a prolonged slump just in time to thwart the New York Knicks.

Robinson had 31 points, 11 rebounds and blocked eight shots Thursday night to lead the Spurs to a surprisingly easy 118-89 victory, ending the last home unbeaten streak in the NBA.

The Knicks were 11-0 at home and could have tied a club record for most consecutive victories at home to start a season.

The Spurs had won only four of their last 12 games and fallen into third place in the Midwest Division. Their only victory in the last 10 days had been against Sacramento.

But with Robinson shaking his slump, the Spurs took control in the second quarter. A 20-4 run gave San Antonio a 55-39 lead at the half.

“They seemed to be a little frustrated, and this was probably our best game of the year,” Robinson said after making 12 of 18 shots.

“From the opening tip to the end, we played aggressive defense, we made them take shots they didn’t want to and we rebounded well.

“I feel I’ve been playing well for the past few months.”

Chicago 122, Atlanta 111--From the start of the 1986 season, Michael Jordan has been the top scorer in the NBA. He has won five consecutive scoring titles and has been the leader every season almost from the opening tipoff.

Suddenly, Jordan is No. 2, but he seems to welcome the challenge.

Dominique Wilkins outscored Jordan, 39-34, at Atlanta to take over the scoring leadership with a 29.0 average to 28.8 for Jordan.

More important to the Bulls, though, is another convincing victory that gave them four in a row and 21 in their last 23. They have a 22-4 record, easily the best in the league.

On the other hand, though Wilkins is having a big season, the Hawks fell to 12-15 and are in fifth place, 10 1/2 games behind the Bulls in the Central Division.

“Dominique has aroused my competitive juices,” Jordan said. “These are fun times.”

Horace Grant had another big game for the Bulls, getting 25 points and 18 rebounds.

Phoenix 132, Miami 104--The Suns were off to a 5-8 start when they put fourth-year forward Tim Perry into the starting lineup. They have been on a winning streak ever since.

The 6-9 former Temple star scored 21 points at Phoenix to lead the Suns to an easy victory, their 10th in a row over the Heat.

The Suns, moving toward the top in the Pacific Division, are 12-2 since Perry moved into the starting lineup.

Golden State 110, Denver 100--After trailing for more than three quarters at Denver, the Warriors forged ahead in the first minute of the fourth quarter and increased their lead in the Pacific Division to one game over the Lakers, Trail Blazers and Suns.

Chris Mullin had 31 points and Tim Hardaway 27 and the Warriors shot 56.8% to improve their record to 17-8 and their road record to 8-4.

Rookie Dikembe Mutombo had a career-high 22 rebounds and 15 points to keep the Nuggets close.

Portland 113, Dallas 88--The Trail Blazers, who will spend most of January on the road, scored another easy victory at home.

With Clyde Drexler getting 20 points and 11 assists, the Trail Blazers improved to 12-5 at Portland. They are 5-5 on the road.

The loss ended the Mavericks’ two-game winning streak.

New Jersey 99, Houston 93--Sam Bowie scored 34 points and keyed a decisive 21-6 second-half spurt at East Rutherford, N.J., that enabled the Nets to knock the Rockets out of first place in the Midwest Division.

Bowie outplayed Hakeem Olajuwon at both ends of the court and had eight points in the run that broke it open. Bowie, who missed Monday’s upset of Atlanta because of a bruised leg, had 15 rebounds. Olajuwon had 17 points and seven rebounds.

The 21-6 rally enabled the Nets (9-18) to take an 87-74 lead.

Detroit 112, Orlando 100--Isiah Thomas had 22 points in his first game since needing 40 stitches and teammate Joe Dumars scored 31 in a romp at Orlando.

Karl Malone of Utah, who administered the blow that caused the injury to Thomas on Dec. 14, was suspended for one game. Thomas missed three games, but the Pistons won all three of them.

“Isiah looked like he had never been away,” Detroit Coach Chuck Daly said. “We’re playing with more confidence.

“We’re at .500 (14-14), but our objective isn’t to be a .500 team. The point is to get better and better.”

Cleveland 111, Milwaukee 94--John Williams came off the bench to score 16 points and grab 15 rebounds at Milwaukee to lead the Cavaliers to their fourth victory in a row.

Philadelphia 113, Indiana 110--Ron Anderson scored 12 of his 18 points in the last quarter at Indianapolis to help the 76ers hold off the Pacers.

Seattle 115, Sacramento 106--The Kings made a valiant effort to give interim coach Rex Hughes a victory in his debut at Sacramento. With Mitch Richmond scoring 31 points, the Kings rallied from a nine-point deficit in the last seven minutes of regulation to tie.

But Ricky Pierce hit the key shots as the SuperSonics outscored the Kings, 17-8, in overtime.