Gerald Wilkins

The Houston Rockets, coming off their only loss this season, could not seem to do anything right Sunday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Hakeem Olajuwon wasn't worried. Vernon Maxwell made a three-point basket with 31 seconds left and the Rockets went on to win, 99-98, at Richfield, Ohio. "We raised the intensity toward the end," said Olajuwon, who scored 22 points. "I knew we'd have to make a run. I was still confident, with little doubt."

"Break up the Nets!" would be the perfect line. Too bad it happened a month ago. New Jersey pulled off its second consecutive stunning victory Sunday, dominating the boards, running out to an early double-digit lead and never letting the Knicks back into the game as they defeated New York, 89-74, at New York. The victory came less than 48 hours after the Nets defeated the Chicago Bulls by one point.

Patrick Ewing seemed to be doing everything possible to carry his team during the New York Knicks' six-game losing streak. The All-Star center was scoring and rebounding almost at will and dominating on defense. Tuesday night against the Washington Bullets, Ewing conquered the only weakness in his game--the three-point shot--and the Knicks came away victorious. Ewing made the first three-point shot of his career and scored 41 points as the Knicks won, 119-100, at New York.

The New York Knicks contained Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in the fourth quarter Thursday night, and that was the key to a 100-86 victory over the Chicago Bulls. Their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series is even at three games apiece. The decisive game will be Sunday at Chicago Stadium.

Alex English scored 36 points, and Darrell Walker came off the bench to add 24 as the Denver Nuggets beat the Utah Jazz, 135-121, Thursday night at Denver. Denver guard Fat Lever had a triple-double with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists. The Nuggets, playing without injured centers Wayne Cooper and Danny Schayes, often used a lineup with four guards against Utah's front line. Denver's 6-7 guard, Bill Hanzlik, played center on defense and added 22 points.

The Washington Bullets' leading scorer, guard Rex Chapman, will be sidelined for up to 10 weeks after he dislocated his right ankle in Monday's 100-87 loss to the San Antonio Spurs at Landover, Md. Chapman, who is averaging 18.4 points a game, suffered the injury when he landed on the foot of the Spurs' Lloyd Daniels while driving toward the basket in the first quarter. San Antonio's Dale Ellis scored 16 of his 20 points before halftime as the Spurs took control late in the first half.

Patrick Ewing kept the New York Knicks in the playoffs Wednesday night with 33 points and 19 rebounds in a 102-99 victory over the Boston Celtics. "Everyone has given us a lot of flak for the way we've played in this series, said we were quitting," Ewing said. "We're not quitters, and I think we showed that." Boston, which scored an NBA record 157 points on 67% shooting in Game 2, saw a much more intense defensive effort by the Knicks. The Celtics managed to outshoot New York 51.4% to 39.

The Indiana Pacers avoided being eliminated from the playoff race Monday night when Dale Davis had 23 points and 18 rebounds in a 110-107 overtime victory over the New York Knicks at Indianapolis. Patrick Ewing was ejected for picking up two technical fouls after being whistled for his sixth personal foul early in overtime, and the Knicks turned to Larry Johnson when they needed a basket in the final seconds.

What: NBA Top 50 (Cont'd) Like fast-food commercials starring multimillionaires in $140 shoes and the Toronto Raptors' uniforms, the NBA's 50th anniversary all-time team is an annoyance that just won't go away. In its February issue, Inside Sports magazine refused to let the dead horse lie by dredging up the NBA's so-called "50 Greatest Players" and, unlike the NBA, ranking them from one to 50, with appropriate capsule comments. No. 1? Wilt Chamberlain, Inside Sports decrees.

Steve Alford scored 29 points, including 11 in two overtime periods Sunday night, lifting Indiana to a 94-82 victory over Marquette at Bloomington, Ind., in a quarterfinal game of the National Invitation Tournament. Indiana (18-13) advances to the NIT semifinals against Tennessee at 4 p.m. (PST) Wednesday at Madison Square Garden in New York. UCLA plays Louisville, a 71-66 victor over Tennessee Chattanooga in the other game Sunday, in the other semifinal at 6:15 p.m. (PST).