European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 10, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 26 the stars and stripes wednesday april 10,1991-As-Ever spurs ride rally past Golden St. Ily the associated press san Antonio Texas a the san Antonio spurs Are peaking. Just ask the Man at their Summit David Robinson. A we Are starting to play with a lot More Confidence a Robinson said after the spurs fourth consecutive Victory and ninth in to games 115-105 Over Golden state on monday night. A we Are As Good right now As we have Ever that a Good enough for a Lvi game Lead in the Midwest division Over hous ton. It also was too Good for the warriors who Are the spurs Likely first round playoff opponent. San Antonio used a 21-4 fourth Quarter rally. The spurs got 26 Points from Sean Elliott 24 from Robinson and 20 from Terry Cummings. Golden state led 83-79 with 10 32 to play when san Antonio erupted. The spurs limited the warriors to just two Field goals Over the next six minutes pulling out to a 1.00-87 Lead. A that was playoff basketball a. Warriors coach Don Nelson said. A i thought we played very Well. In be always said if we play hard and intense and lose i done to have a problem with Chris Mullin left the warriors with 20. one More than Tim Hardaway Mitch Richmond added 16. A the difference was they tightened up the defense when they had to and made the big plays it crunch time a Mullin said a a a a a. A a v they also had a huge Edge at the foul line making 37 of 41 to Golden states 13 of 18. Elliott was 14 of15 and Robinson h of 12 for the spurs. San Antonio set a franchise attendance record monday attracting its 37th capacity crowd in 38 games to reach 604,241, 633 More than last years total. In an oddity Golden state Center Paul Mokski played six minutes without Reg Aba is Cring a single statistic. In other games monday super sorties 118, nuggets 112 Seattle a . Jones became the 14th coach in Aba history to win 500 games As the supersonics won for the fifth time in six games. Jones in his first season with the sonics previously coached the Washington bullets and Boston celtics. The sonics swept the season series from the nuggets 4-0 and need Only one More win to Clinch the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western conference. Shawn Kemp scored five Points in a 19-2 run As the sonics erased a 101-97 Denver Lead Early in the fourth Quarter. Rickey Pierce Eddie Johnson and Benoit Benjamin led the sonics with 19 Points apiece. Orlando Woolridge led the nuggets with 27 Points. Hawks 105, bullets 94 Atlanta a the Hawks handed the bullets their fifth straight Road loss and 1.3th in 14 games. Duane Ferrell had a career High 20 Points for the hosts who were led by Atlanta a Dominique Wilkins with 29 Points. Pervis Ellison a 26 Points paced the Bui jazz 111, magic 95 Salt Lake City Karl Malone scored 15 of his 34 Points in the fourth Quarter and Jeff. Malone added 20 Points for Utah which is two games behind san Antonio. The jazz led 78-73 heading into the fourth Quarter then the malones combined for 23 Points in the period. Dennis Scott led the magic with 26 Points. Otis Smith had 21 Points and Scott Skiles had 20. Utah guard John Stockton had five steals. Y David Robinson right Sean Elliott and David Wingate Sag on Mitch Richmond map finally gets around to Jordan i by Jan Hubbard new Day in order to justify not voting for Michael Jordan As the most valuable player in recent years it was popular to Point out that the bulls did not win enough. This season the bulls Are battling Portland for the Best record in the league and Jordan As usual has been great. But something weird is happening. In some publications and in press room conversations voters Are inventing reasons not to vote for Jordan. That is ridiculous. If Ever there was a season Trtat featured a one sided race for map this is it. A As always Jordan a statistics Are great a first in scoring about 31 Point third in steals almost three a game six rebounds five assists 54 percent shooting. A typical Jordan season. A. But Jordan should be the runaway map because of the bulls record Jordan a contributions to his teammates. The other criticism of Jordan was that unlike magic Johnson and Larry Bird he did not make his teammates better. But he has.-, a. Quot Quot he has taken it upon himself to help Scottie pippin become a More Complete player a said bulls coach Phil Jackson a instead of Michael doing a lot of the Ball delivery up the floor we re letting Scottie do the Ball delivery so he can expand his game. We know Michael can do it better than Scottie but its better if Scottie does it so we can get the Ball in More Peoples hands. Michael has been Able to step out of the spotlight a Little bit and let everybody else Jordan is the Best individual player in the game. His team is among the Best in the league. He makes the other players better. So How could anyone else be considered for map Johnson his scoring average has dropped slightly to less than 20 a Gaspic. Magic the map in three of the past four years Jordan won it in 1987-88still is great and the lakers Are winning big. But Michael has had a better year. David Robinson he leads the league in rebounding and has improved since last season. But when Rod Strickland was out recently the spurs were 9-notes 10. Robinson did not lift the team. He has had lapses in concentration but this is Only his second season. Again Michael has had a better year. Charles Barkley the 76ers have not won enough games. And As Jordan can Tell you the. Reasons do not matter. If your team does no twin big you done to get the map. It is pointless to list any other candidates because they simply do not measure up to Michael. Jordan is slightly perplexed by suggestions that he still is less deserving of the map award than other a it a a stacked deck a Jordan said. A i done to know Why. I guess i have too Many accolades i make too much perhaps the Best explanation of the interest in other Candi duties is that Jordan is so Good lie is Takeh for granted. It is almost As if Heos criticized for being too Good. A the is phenomenal a said teammate Horace Grant. Quot he can take Over games. But that be held against Well said a in a unique sort of Way. There Are a lot of great players in the Aba but this season none has been More valuable than Michael Jordan. And it is so obvious its absurd to even discuss it. A add Barkley it seems rather obvious that any player who would like to be considered for map should not be spitting on anyone and certainly not on 8-year-old girls. But team record and the spitting incident Are Only part of the reason Barkley has yet to measure up to map standards. Barkley continues to Lead the league in a technical. Every time there is a technical foul the other teams Best free throw shooter goes to the Fine. Maps do not give other teams free Points. And every time Barkley is ejected from a game the 76ers Are deprived of their Best player. Because of Barkley a spitting incident he could not play against Charlotte and the 76ers, who Are battling Milwaukee for Home court advantage in the playoffs lost. Barkley probably is the Best Forward in the he is cooperative and delightful with the Media. He is an map. Talent. But at this Point in his Quot career he has argued and spit himself out of Contention. A team composed priv Marily of Aba players will play in the world championships which Are held in the even non olympic years the next one is in 1994. In the Odd years beginning in 1993, the Mcdonald a open will take on a new form with the Aba Champion joining As Many As five other teams to compete for a club world championship. There will be no Mcdonald a open in olympic and world championship years. A a a a a a a the cars Brad Daugherty is clearly the fourth Best Young Center in the league. Since the All Star break he has averaged 22,5 Points and 11.9 rebounds which compares with Patrick Ewing 25.6 and 12.2 and David Robinson 24.1 and 12.6. Hakeem Olajuwon was injured for much of that period. Of course Robert Parish is the Best old Center
