NBA ROUNDUP : Cavaliers Streak Right Past Wilkens’ Bid

Craig Ehlo would have loved to have seen Lenny Wilkens reach the greatest milestone of his coaching career back in Cleveland.

But Wilkens’ old team, the Cavaliers, refused to cooperate Friday night, beating the Atlanta Hawks, 87-85, and postponing Wilkens’ bid to become the NBA’s leader in career coaching victories.

Mark Price scored 30 points for Cleveland, which matched a team record with its 11th straight victory.

“A great scenario was set up,” said Ehlo, who led the Hawks with 20 points. “He was here seven years, and people here really appreciate him.”

Instead, Atlanta’s Steve Smith, who was zero for eight, missed a wide-open 13-foot shot at the buzzer, leaving Wilkens tied with Red Auerbach at 938.

Houston 111, Utah 103--Hakeem Olajuwon had 37 points and 12 rebounds as the Rockets won their fourth straight while ending the Jazz’s eight-game winning streak with a victory at Salt Lake City.

Karl Malone led Utah with 25 points and 12 rebounds, but was held to four points in the fourth quarter.

Dallas 110, Golden State 94--Roy Tarpley came off the bench to score 16 of his 22 points in the first half, and the Mavericks went on to match last season’s total with their 13th victory.

The Mavericks did not get their 13th last season until April 24 in their final game of the season.

Jason Kidd (11 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists) barely missed his first triple-double, helping to offset a big night by Golden State center Rony Seikaly, whose season-high 38 points were two off his career high.

Chicago 133, Miami 88--B.J. Armstrong scored 26 points--including five of five shots from three-point range as Chicago made a team-record 15--and the Bulls shot 62% in Chicago in their most decisive victory of the season.

It was the biggest losing margin of the year for Miami--just one night after its most lopsided victory, 126-83, over the Clippers.

Miami’s top scorer, Glen Rice, had six points on two-of-eight shooting.

New York 90, Minnesota 81--Patrick Ewing matched his season high with 30 points, and New York offset its sluggish start with a smothering defense to defeat the Timberwolves at Minneapolis in Pat Riley’s 1,000th game as an NBA coach.

The Knicks won their third in a row after a five-game losing streak, their longest slump since 1990 and the worst for Riley.

Minnesota got 21 points from Isaiah Rider, who returned from a one-game suspension for skipping practice.

San Antonio 115, Washington 101--Chuck Person, making his first start of the season, hit a franchise-record eight three-point shots while scoring 27 points as the Spurs won for the eighth time in nine games by beating the Bullets at Landover, Md.

David Robinson had a game-high 30 points and nine rebounds for the Spurs.

Washington, which has lost eight of nine games and four straight at home, got 18 points and 15 rebounds from Juwan Howard.

Indiana 96, New Jersey 79--Derrick McKey scored a season-high 21 points as the Pacers extended their home winning streak to nine against the undermanned Nets at Indianapolis.

New Jersey played without Derrick Coleman, who missed his sixth consecutive game because of a cut left hand, and Kenny Anderson, who made the trip but didn’t dress because of a bruised right shoulder.

Boston 124, Detroit 107--Dominique Wilkins scored 32 points and Rick Fox got 12 of his 14 in the fourth quarter to lead the Celtics past the Pistons at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Boston outrebounded the Pistons, 41-21. The NBA record for fewest rebounds by a team in a game is 20.

Denver 118, Portland 114--Reserve guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf scored 26 points to lead the Nuggets to victory at Denver.

Charlotte 101, Milwaukee 94--Scott Burrell and Larry Johnson scored 25 points apiece as the Hornets overcame a slow start to beat the Bucks at Milwaukee.

The Hornets again played without leading scorer Alonzo Mourning, who has a strained tendon in his right foot.

Sacramento 85, Philadelphia 82--Mitch Richmond, who scored 21 points, made two free throws with 4.5 seconds left, and the Kings held the 76ers to 11 points in the second quarter en route to victory at Sacramento.

NBA Notes

Detroit center Oliver Miller had surgery for a broken right hand and is expected to be out four to five weeks, the Pistons said. Doctors also put a cast on guard Mark Macon’s sprained right ankle. Macon is expected to miss two weeks. . . . Shawn Bradley of Philadelphia was fined $4,000 by the league for flagrantly hitting Seattle guard Kendall Gill with an elbow during Wednesday’s game. . . . New Jersey has petitioned the league to change its nickname from Nets to Fire Dragons next season. The Board of Governors will consider the request.