European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 7, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 34 the stars and stripes sports saturday May 7.1994 Atlanta s Stacey Augmon gets Loose for a Dunk in front of Miami s Rony Shikaly by the associated press the More the Aba playoffs Clear up the muddied they become. This much is Clear both of the no. 3 seeds swept both of the no. 2 seeds Are ahead 2-1 going into Friday nights games both of the no. 5 seeds Are in the second round and both of the no. 1 seeds Are tied 2-2 with the no. 8s. This much is Muddy although four teams have advanced to the second round none of them know who their opponent will be. The surprisingly close matchup Between the no. Is and no. 8s moved to fifth games after thursday night. Atlanta first in the Eastern conference Defeated Miami 103-89, while Denver eighth in the West outlasted Seattle 94-85 in overtime. A a it meanwhile Utah joined Indiana in upsetting a fourth seed As the jazz beat san Antonio 95-90 behind Karl Malone a 34 Points. V. / v Seattle 0-4. At Denver this season and winners of 14 consecutive games at Home will play Host to the nuggets on saturday while Atlanta plays at Home sunday against the heat. J a no. 8 seed has never beaten a no. 1 seed in a playoff series. Along with Utah and Indiana Chicago and Phoenix also Are assured of second round berths new York and Houston took 2-1 leads into Road games Friday night at new Jersey and  94, supersonics 85, of Bryant Stith and Laphonso Ellis each scored six Points in overtime accounting for All of Denver a scoring in the extra , Vav a a Ellis had 27 Points and 17 rebounds Stith finished with 15 Points and i Kemble Mutombo added 10 Points 16 rebounds and eight blocked shots for the nuggets who outscored the supersonics 12-3 in overtime. A a in be told our Guys since the first game that if we can get to a fifth game anything can happen Quot nuggets coach Dah Issel said. A i m sure Seattle will be glad to get Back to their Home court but we re not conceding anything to  the sonics were led by detlef Schrempf and Gary Payton with 20 Points Aba playoffs each while Shawn Kemp had 16 Points and 13 rebounds. Jazz 95, spurs 90 Karl Malone scored 34 Points including a 20-footer with 42 seconds to play and Utah held off a late san Antonio rally. \. A. A a a the spurs trailed 91-84 before Dale Ellis scored and missed a free throw that Dennis Rodman tipped in making the score 91-88. Malone then hit his key jumper to rebuild the jazz Lead. David Robinson came Back with a spinning jumper pulling the spurs to 9390, and they got the Ball Back with 12-seconds remaining but David Benoit grabbed a Loose Ball and dunked just before time ran out. ,. Utah beat san Antonio in Salt Lake City for the 21st time in 22 games and for the seventh time in eight games this season. A a. A a a. A a Robinson had 27 Points and 12 rebounds for san Antonio and Ellis scored 24. Rodman pulled Down 20 rebounds. John Stockton had 18 assists to go with 13 Points. All seven of his teammates who played had one assist each. Benoit finished with 15 Points hitting seven of nine shots. O Hawks 103, heat 89 Miami bidding for its first playoff series Victory As Well As the first win by an eighth seed  win at Home against Atlanta which got a season High 29 Points from cookie Blaylock. Blaylock 9-for-41 from the Field in the first three games of the series made six of 10 3-pointers and All nine of his free throws for Atlanta which held the heat to 37 percent shooting sunday s Winner advances to the Eastern conference semifinals against Tondi Ana if Miami wins it will pair two teams that never before advanced to the second round of the playoffs. Danny Manning finished with 26 Points for the Hawks while Reserve guard Bimbo Coles led the heat with 18 Points Miami rallied from a 59-46 deficit in the third Quarter by holding Atlanta scoreless for 5 15, closing the margin to 59-57. But the heat got no closer. Clinton miss. Apr Jerod Ward says he fell no pressure to stay in the state of Mississippi but the Naismith National High school basketball player of the year also did no to want the Burden of being the building Block for a program. Ward said thursday his 18th birthday that he will attend Michigan. He made the decision after a restless night choosing the wolverines Over Mississippi and California. A once 1 woke up this morning after about 30 minutes of sleep and a lot of prayer the lord had Laid on my heart the place i needed to be was Michigan Quot said the 6-foot-9 Ward a Mcdonald a Parade Magazine and Usa today All american. Ward said that during the recruiting process he had gotten close to two year Ole miss coach Rob Evans who is trying to build at a program that has been to just one Mcaa tournament m its history 1981 and is coming off its first winning season 14-13 in seven years. His final visit was an unofficial one to Ole miss last weekend. He is the kind of player that Evans would like to build his program around. A it would have been a big Load i would have had to carry. 1 would have had to go Down there with a lot of pressure put on me Quot Ward said. �?o1 done to really want to be pressured. I just want to go out have fun and play hard a my heart was kind of the re Ole miss but i done to think that was the Best place for me a he said. Ward who averaged 29 Points 10.3 rebounds and three blocked shots per game As a senior at Clinton High school said he went to bed Early thursday going to California but woke up with Michigan a perennial Mcaa tournament participant on his mind. At Michigan Ward said he feels hell have a an excellent Chance of playing for a National championship and every Guy dreams of being in the final four and being Able to play for a nationally ranked  the departures of Juwan Howard and Jalen Rose who left Michigan for Early Entrance into the Aba draft had no effect on his decision Ward said. Ward had also considered Arkansas Kentucky Ohio state Oklahoma and Urcla but announced two weeks ago that those schools were no longer on his list. Clinton was a state class 5a semifinalist last season. During wards Junior year he averaged 29.5 Points 12 rebounds and three blocks a game As the arrows won the 5a state title. Charlie Ward will give Hooters a shot Jacksonville Fla. A Heisman trophy Winner Charlie Ward has signed his first professional contract. It Isnit in the nil or the . A a. Ward said thursday he will sign a four game contract with the Jacksonville Hooters of the Ubl. He is to Start play May 16, Ward wont stay in the Ubl for Long however. He will join an All Star team on a european a tour on May 25th, then come Back to the . For the Aba draft in june _ a it was a Good Opportunity to play basketball Quot Ward said from his parents Home in Thom Asville a. A to have fun and just improve my game. T jeirnt0f the contract were not made Public. Friday p a announce signing late the Ubl said s6 players have gone on to play m the Aba following a summer stint with the league. You get on a pro team and helps you get the skills together Quot Ward said