NBA Roundup : 7-7 Bol Won’t Pull the Trigger, So Knicks Shoot Down Bullets

Manute Bol, the amazing 7-foot-7 rookie, is doing the job defensively for the Washington Bullets, but the slender giant seems lost on offense and the Bullets seem to be paying the price for that.

After building a 68-53 halftime lead over the New York Knicks Sunday at Landover, Md., the Bullets went flat, tying a modern-day NBA record by scoring only 25 points in the second half and lost, 100-93.

Not since the league adopted the 24-second clock has a team scored fewer than 25 points in the second half.

With Jeff Ruland, who leads the Bullets in scoring, rebounding and is their second-best assist man, out because of a broken ankle, Bol is the starting center. He played 25 minutes against the Knicks and didn’t take a shot or score a point. But he had four rebounds and blocked six shots.

The Knicks, in winning for only the second time in 12 road games, trailed, 73-59, when Patrick Ewing went out with his fourth foul early in the third quarter. But Pat Cummings scored nine points in a 16-0 burst that put the Knicks on top to stay. It was the Knicks’ second win in a row. In both games, they have made the decisive rally with Ewing on the bench.

The Bullets shot 64% in the first half, but were 5-for-24 in the third quarter.

Cleveland 119, Dallas 105--World B. Free scored 32 points in 37 minutes at Richfield, Ohio, to hand the Mavericks their second loss in a row. The Mavericks played both games without leading scorer Mark Aguirre, who was suspended after a run-in with Coach Dick Motta.

Portland 121, Denver 114--Clyde Drexler made seven shots in a row in the second half at Portland to help the Trail Blazers win their second game in two nights. The second loss in a row for the Nuggets dropped them into a tie with Houston for first place in the Central Division.