NBA Roundup : McAdoo Scores 28 to Lead 76ers

Bob McAdoo, acquired by Philadelphia in January, scored a season-high 28 points Saturday at the Spectrum as the 76ers defeated the New Jersey Nets, 123-115, for their fourth straight victory.

Charles Barkley had 25 points, and Moses Malone added 20 for Philadelphia.

The 76ers set a club record for shooting percentage, making 48 of 70 shots for 68.6%. The old record of 67.9% was set in 1982 against the Golden State Warriors.

After the teams battled to a 55-55 tie, Philadelphia moved to a 91-82 lead at the end of the third period on a lay-up by McAdoo.

A Mike O’Koren jumper brought New Jersey to within 95-92 with 9:30 to play, but McAdoo scored five points in a 10-5 run to give the 76ers a 108-98 lead with 5:38 to go.

New Jersey rallied and, on two free throws by Otis Birdsong with 1:34 left, cut the Philadelphia lead to 115-112. The 76ers then scored seven straight points to secure the win.

Birdsong and Mike Gminski had 21 points apiece for the Nets, who lost their seventh game in nine starts.

McAdoo, a three-time league scoring champion, is a 34-year-old veteran who last year helped the Lakers win the NBA title but was not re-signed by the club.

Cleveland 123, Chicago 97--World B. Free scored 25 of his game-high 38 points in the second half and Roy Hinson added 28 points for the Cavaliers at Richfield, Ohio.

The victory snapped Cleveland’s six-game losing streak and extended its lead to 1 1/2 games over Indiana and 2 1/2 games over Chicago for the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.

George Gervin had 20 points for the Bulls, who lost their fifth straight game.

Houston 114, New York 99--Akeem Olajuwon had 33 points and 23 rebounds and Lewis Lloyd scored 28 points at New York as the Rockets broke a six-game road losing streak and increased their lead to one game over the Denver Nuggets in the Midwest Division.

After taking a 30-27 first quarter lead, the Rockets held the Knicks to 7-for-23 shooting in the second quarter to take a 58-46 halftime lead.

Ken Bannister had 18 points and Darrell Walker 17 to lead New York.

Washington 111, Indiana 110--Jeff Malone scored 26 points and new Coach Kevin Loughery got his first win in two games as the Bullets broke a six-game losing streak at Landover, Md.

Loughery was coaching his first game at the Capital Centre since taking over from Gene Shue onWednesday.

“I’m delighted to be back,” said Loughery, who played nine years for the Bullets in the 1960s and early 70s. “I do feel comfortable with the organization. But you must win basketball games to stay comfortable.”

Milwaukee 113, Atlanta 98--The Bucks increased their Central Division lead to 5 1/2 games over the Hawks, who were playing at Milwaukee without Dominique Wilkins, out with the flu, and injured guards Glenn Rivers and Spud Webb.

Alton Lister had 18 points for the Bucks, followed by Sidney Moncrief with 16 and Terry Cummings with 15.

Randy Wittman had 18 points for the Hawks.

Utah 119, Phoenix 109--Adrian Dantley scored 38 points, hitting 16 of 25 shots, and Thurl Bailey scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter for the Jazz at Salt Lake City.

Bailey took charge with 10:30 left in the game and Utah leading 85-84. He scored the next 12 Utah points as the Jazz outscored the Suns, 12-4.

The closest Phoenix got after that was 110-104 when Walter Davis hit a three-pointer with 1:25 left in the game. Davis, who finished with 26 points, scored the Suns’ last 18 points.