NBA Roundup : Cooper, Evans Help Nuggets Stay Hot, 124-111

Wayne Cooper and Mike Evans, not noted for their scoring ability, each scored eight points in the fourth quarter at Landover, Md., Wednesday night as the hot Denver Nuggets held off the Washington Bullets to gain a 124-111 victory.

It was the third win in a row for the Nuggets, and their 16th in the last 20 games, as they remained 3 1/2 games in front in the Midwest Division.

The Bullets, who have lost nine of their last 12 games, built a 10-point lead in the second quarter, but the Nuggets caught up and held the lead at halftime. Evans, a backup guard, sank a three-point bomb at the buzzer ending the third quarter to give the Nuggets a 90-87 lead, and the Bullets never caught up again.

Evans and Cooper helped push the lead to 100-93, and when the Bullets threatened again, Lafayette Lever scored four points to trigger a 12-0 Denver spurt.

The Nuggets score more points than any other team. Until recently, it was usually Alex English, Calvin Natt or, occasionally, veteran Dan Issel who made the key points down the stretch. Now, anyone is likely to come through. For instance, Evans had 18 points in 20 minutes Wednesday night.

The experts have been saying for two months that Doug Moe’s team would be caught by Houston in the standings, but there is no sign it will.

“It’s been a fun year,” said English, the league’s No. 4 scorer with a 27.7 average. “What’s different about this club is that we’re playing together. We don’t panic when the going gets tough--we just help out each other.

“We have an added advantage in that teams seem to be surprised that we can play good defense.”

The Nuggets, with back-to-back road victories, are 38-21. Last season the Nuggets won 38--and lost 44. The Nuggets seem a cinch to win 50 games for the first time in nearly a decade.

Milwaukee 119, Utah 100--The Bucks continue to be the surprise team of the season. This game at Salt Lake City wasn’t even a contest.

With Terry Cummings scoring 30 points, and Ricky Pierce coming off the bench to score 20, the Bucks, after a slow start, put the Jazz away late in the third period, building a 14-point lead. At one point in the fourth quarter, the Bucks (41-18) were 23 points ahead.

The Bucks, who have won seven of their last eight games, lead the Midwest Division by 7 1/2 games. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Don Nelson, but after 59 games, the Bucks have improved six games over last season.

Boston 111, San Antonio 102--When the Spurs have been healthy in recent years they have not been able to win in Boston. They didn’t have center Artis Gilmore at all and had scoring ace George Gervin for only 17 minutes, so they failed once again to end a six-year jinx.

Gilmore has a back injury, and Gervin left because he reinjured his right arm.

This left it all for Larry Bird, and the league’s outstanding player had another big night--35 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists. Even so, the Celtics had a tough time making it 12 in a row over the Spurs at Boston Garden.

The Celtics’ new guard, Ray Williams, played one minute in the second quarter but didn’t make another appearance. Boston starters each played at least 40 minutes and scored all but six of the team’s points.

Detroit 108, Chicago 99--Dan Roundfield scored his team’s first seven points in the fourth quarter at Pontiac, Mich., highlighting a comeback that enabled the Pistons to end a three-game losing streak.

New Jersey 114, Atlanta 91--Kelvin Ransey, starting in place of the injured Otis Birdsong, had 17 points and a career-high 17 assists at East Rutherford, N.J., as the Nets routed the slumping Hawks. The Hawks have lost three in a row.

Indiana 108, New York 106--Clark Kellogg scored 21 points at Indianapolis and “held” Bernard King to 28 in pacing the Pacers.

King, who is leading the league with a 32.5 average, was under 29 for the first time in nine games.