NBA ROUNDUP : Air Who? Pippen’s 43 Points Fuel the Bulls

As the Chicago Bulls have taken control of the Central Division, Michael Jordan doesn’t quite lead them in everything.

Scottie Pippen, making 16 of 17 shots, scored 43 points Saturday night at Chicago to lead a 129-108 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

The ninth victory in a row enabled the Bulls to pull three games ahead of the two-time NBA champion Detroit Pistons. Pippen’s personal best was one more than Jordan’s highest total this season.

It was the 18th victory in a row at home for the Bulls, who are 23-3 at home, and gave them a 39-14 record, a game better than the Pistons were a year ago on their way to another title.

With Pippen making all eight of his shots, the Bulls took a 41-25 lead. The Hornets settled down to make it close for a half, but the Bulls scored the first 10 points in the third quarter. It became a rout before the period ended.

Jordan, who had 29 points, and Horace Grant, who had 20 on seven-for-eight shooting, gave Pippen what little help he needed. The Bulls shot 61.2% from the field.

The Hornets were without starting guard Rex Chapman, who suffered a sprained ankle in Friday night’s victory over the Pistons.

Atlanta 122, Dallas 107--Dominique Wilkins and the Hawks opened a 30-19 lead in the first quarter and easily rolled to their 19th consecutive home-court victory.

Wilkins, playing only 36 minutes, had 31 points and 14 rebounds. The Hawks, who are 9-18 on the road, are 21-6 at home.

“It was possible the Hawks wouldn’t be real sharp,” Maverick guard Rolando Blackman said. “That was not the case. They are playing really well and have confidence in themselves. They just came out and played a wide-open basketball game.”

Said Atlanta Coach Bob Weiss: “This team is amazing. It used to be this group would rather pass kidney stones than the basketball. Now we really move it around.”

Phoenix 120, Seattle 110--The Suns, coming back after a weak performance Friday night at Portland, spoiled Benoit Benjamin’s debut at Seattle.

Tom Chambers, who made only two of 10 shots in the loss to the Trail Blazers, had 35 points.

Benjamin, the 7-footer traded to the SuperSonics by the Clippers, had nine points and eight rebounds in 23 minutes in relief of Michael Cage, also a former Clipper.

Philadelphia 103, New Jersey 90--The 76ers won their fourth in a row after the Nets took an 11-point halftime lead at East Rutherford, N.J.

Charles Barkley, who finished with 30 points and 12 rebounds, triggered a 16-0 run in the middle of the third quarter by the 76ers. Barkley had five points, Armon Gilliam six and Hersey Hawkins five during the run.

Barkley had nine points during a 20-6 spurt that broke it open in the last quarter.

New York 104, Washington 101--Trent Tucker made a three-point basket with .2 seconds to play at Landover, Md., for the Knicks.

Early in the third quarter of the battle between two contenders for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East, the Knicks trailed, 69-48.

But they scored 53 points in the next 21 minutes, pulling even, 101-101, when Patrick Ewing made one of two free throws. A. J. English missed a shot, the Knicks rebounded and called a timeout with two seconds left. A quick pass set up Tucker’s shot.

Bernard King had 39 points for the Bullets, including the last seven, but the Bullets dropped 1 1/2 games behind the Knicks, the No. 8 team in the East.

Charles Oakley had 22 points and 20 rebounds for New York.

Denver 150, Golden State 145--With Michael Adams ready to run again, the Nuggets are reverting to their wide-open game.

Adams had 41 points and Orlando Woolridge had 34 as the Nuggets ended a seven-game losing streak after trailing, 134-129, with 4:48 to play.

Helped by two technicals against Tim Hardaway for arguing calls, the Nuggets rallied to score seven points in a row to take the lead for good.

Milwaukee 118, Cleveland 103--Danny Schayes had a season-high 31 points at Milwaukee and the Bucks scored the first 10 points of the last quarter.

Lester Conner, playing in place of injured Jay Humphries, had 18 assists and Schayes had 12 rebounds.

Dale Ellis, the newest Buck, had 20 points in 30 minutes.