Magic’s Bowie Shows Class--or Lack of It

What’s this with Orlando and numbers?

Dennis Scott admitted a few games ago that he was counting his three-point baskets, and in the first quarter Tuesday night he went over the top, setting an NBA season record with his 218th.

That was all right with Detroit Coach Doug Collins.

And the Magic won their 40th consecutive home game, 113-91, over the Pistons.

Collins wasn’t in love with that, but he could deal with it.

But Anthony Bowie? That was intolerable.

With 2.7 seconds to play in the blowout, Bowie realized he needed only one assist to get the first triple-double of his career. Time out, he said.

And Collins saw red.

He waved his players to the side of the court, allowing Bowie to take a length-of-the-court pass from Joe Wolf and pass to David Vaughn for a dunk and the assist he needed.

Collins then led the Pistons to the dressing room, with Bowie, who had made his second start of the season in place of injured Nick Anderson, in pursuit.

Bowie finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and caught up to the coach, but Collins pulled his arm away.

“If that’s the way they feel, I’m sorry,” Bowie said. “You only get so many opportunities like that, and that’s why I did it.”

He didn’t make any friends among the Magic either.

“I’d like to formally apologize to Doug Collins, his staff, the fans and entire Detroit Pistons organization for the timeout,” an upset Coach Brian Hill said. “I thought it was totally uncalled for. I regret it . . . and thought it really took away from what was a great win.”

OTHER GAMES

The Bulls, with only 20 points from Michael Jordan, held Sacramento to three points in the final 10 1/2 minutes and won, 89-67, at Chicago. . . . Shawn Bradley scored 17 points before being ejected for fighting with 5:21 to play, leading New Jersey to an 82-77 victory over Vancouver at East Rutherford, N.J. . . . The Trail Blazers rode Rod Strickland’s 20 points to a 106-78 victory over Minnesota at Portland. . . . Danny Ferry scored 24 points to lead Cleveland to an 81-72 victory at Dallas. . . . Larry Johnson had 14 assists for the Hornets in a 102-94 victory over Indiana at Charlotte. . . . Joe Smith scored the first overtime basket for Golden State, which stayed ahead in a 105-102 victory at Houston.

NBA Notes

Hakeem Olajuwon, suffering from tendinitis in both knees, sat out the Houston Rockets’ game against the Golden State Warriors. . . . The Chicago Bulls placed center James Edwards on the injured list and activated forward Dickey Simpkins.