A roundup of the sports information of the week
BASKETBALL—NBA: Boston defeated Cleveland, the worst team in the NBA, 121-110, then gave everyone—including Cleveland—a Boston Tea Party. The Celtics fell to the Cavaliers 117-116, Milwaukee 132-129, and New York 118-111. Lew Alcindor, the player who has made Milwaukee even more famous, equaled his career high of 53 against the charitable Celtics. The Bucks also downed Atlanta 142-120 and Philadelphia 142-118 but lost to the Knicks 107-98 for their third loss in four games (page 14). Georgians who had claimed that L.A. was the abbreviation for Lovely Atlanta rather than Los Angeles had their fervor dampened as the Hawks were winged in three of their four encounters. Detroit lost to New York 117-105 and San Francisco 129-112 before the Pistons ran up their second-highest season total against San Diego 131-104, the Rockets' 12th defeat in their last 13 games. The Philadelphia front office blew one by erroneously announcing earlier in the week that Hal Greer needed 18 rather than 20 points to enter the exclusive 20,000-point club. The goof notwithstanding, Greer became the sixth member to be initiated in the 25-year history of the NBA by scoring 21 points in a losing effort against Milwaukee. The next night Greer's only field goal of the second half edged New York 106-105. The win Left the 76ers 4½ games behind the Knicks. Willis Reed also set a record during the week. He became the leading scorer in New York's history when he reached 10,500 points. In the Central Division Baltimore split a pair with Cincinnati and defeated San Francisco to hold a 9½-game margin over the Royals. Pacific Division leader Los Angeles won three of five but lost to second-place San Francisco 87-85.
ABA: Aided and abetted by Memphis and three victories of its own, Utah pulled even with Indiana in the West Division's mad scramble. The Pacers had trouble keeping up with the Joneses as Steve finished with 28 and Jimmy had 26 in the 108-102 victory. Indiana also lost to East Division leader Virginia 130-128 but punished New York 116-100 and Denver 127-123. In the Denver game Mel Daniels scored with two seconds remaining on the clock—in the wrong goal. Utah, meanwhile, was very impressive, defeating Texas 128-123, Pittsburgh 145-127 and Denver 111-105 after losing in overtime to New York 108-107.
BOWLING—DAVE SOUTAR, who won more professional bowling tournaments last year than anyone else, posted his first victory of 1971 by winning the $50,000 Greater Los Angeles Open. The Gilroy, Calif. resident defeated Dick Ritger of Hartford, Wis. 235-210 in the final game.
FIGURE SKATING—JANET LYNN, skating harder after taking an early spill, won her third consecutive national senior women's title in the U.S. Figure Skating championships at Buffalo, while JOHN MISHA PETKEVICH of Great Falls, Mont. won the senior men's crown after two consecutive runner-up years. JO JO STARBUCK and KENNETH SHELLEY of Downey, Calif. captured their second consecutive senior pairs, getting six of seven first-place votes of the judges to beat the brother-and-sister team of Melissa and Mark Militano of Dix Hills, N.Y.
GOLF—GEORGE ARCHER, with a seven-under-par 65 final, won the $150,000 Andy Williams-San Diego Open. The 1969 Masters champion had a 72-hole total of 272, 16 under par. Dave Eichelberger was second at 275.
HOCKEY—The NHL's top offensive team, Boston, met the league's top defensive team. New York, and the result of the immovable object meeting the irresistible force was predictable—a tie. The deadlock extended New York's unbeaten home-ice streak to 23 for the sea on but by week's end the Bruins had increased their East Division lead from three to five points. At home Bobby Orr scored his 20th goal of the season and helped set up two more as Boston thumped Montreal 4-2. After scoring only two power-play goals in nine games the Bruins' austerity skid ended during a 6-2 defeat of Philly. West Division leader Chicago spanked Pittsburgh 4-1 on three third-period goals but the Penguins retaliated two days later, defeating the Black Hawks 3-1—the first Pittsburgh victory over Chicago in 10 games. The win moved Pittsburgh into a fourth-place tie with Minnesota. Chicago picked on lowly California for a 5-3 victory but became entangled in one of the week's five tie games as Bobby Hull connected on a 60-foot slap shot to deadlock Vancouver 3-3. In the Sorry Bowl, rookie Gil Perreault scored the first hat tick of his career as Buffalo dumped California 4-2 in a matchup of two last-place teams.
HORSE RACING—Kentucky-bred WILLOWICK ($26.60) ran the 1‚⅛-mile feature in 1:48[4/5] for an upset victory in the $67,600 San Fernando Stakes for 4-year-olds at Santa Anita, Calif. Second-place Hanalei Bay was a length behind and odds-on favorite Loud finished fourth in a field of eight.
In the first division of the Palm Bench Handicap at Hialeah DRUMTOP ($4.20), the only mare in the field, closed strongly to nip Kling Kling by three-quarters of a length, clocking 1:41[2/5] over a mile and a sixteenth. MONGO'S PRIDE ($9), timed in 1:42, rallied from last place to win the second division by a nose over Roman Scout. More the Merrier ran third and favored Tepee Rings could do no better than fourth.
MOTOR SPORTS—Sweden's OVE ANDERSSON and DAVID STONE of Britain won the toughest Monte Carlo Rally in recent years, leading throughout the 3,400-mile event and heading a winning entourage of three French Alpine Renaults. Only 22 of the 224 starters survived the seven-day event.
Mexican PEDRO RODRIGUEZ zipped past a Ferrari in the final 45 minutes to win the 24-hour Daytona race in his blue Porsche. Rodriguez and co-driver JACKIE OLIVER of England averaged almost 110 mph (page 20).
TENNIS—ROD LAVER beat Arthur Ashe 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in a winner-take-all much of the $210,000 Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden, thus eliminating Ashe from the competition. The Australian southpaw is now undefeated in seven matches and has earned $5,000 per hour for his work.
TRACK & FIELD—MARTY LIQUORI of Villanova won the Wanamaker Mile in 4:00.6 at the Milrose Games in Madison Square Garden, finishing some 10 yards ahead of Tom Von Ruden. Liquori was joined in meet-record performances by KERRY PEARCE, who ran the two-mile in 8:36.4; Atoms Track Club's CHERYL TOUSSAINT. who captured the half mile in 2:10.0; and BYRON DYCE, with his 2:07.7 victory in the Devaney 1,000.
Margaret Beacham of Watford, Hertfordshire established a world record in the 1,500-meter run by clocking 4:20.5 at the British indoor track and field championships at Cosford. The mark erased American Doris Brown's old standard by three-fifths of a second.
MILEPOSTS—NAMED: GEORGE WEISS, RUBE MARQUARD, HARRY HOOPER, JOE KELLEY, JAKE BECKLEY, CHICK HAFEY and DAVE BANCROFT to Baseball's Hall of Fame in the annual ballot of an oldtimers' committee. Only Kelley and Beckley are not living.
TRADED: Pittsburgh Pirate Outfielder MATTY ALOU and Relief Pitcher GEORGE BRUNET to the St. Louis Cardinals for Pitcher NELSON BRILLS and Outfielder VIC DAVALILLO.
RETIRED: BILL VEECK, as president of debt-ridden Suffolk Downs at Boston, after two stormy years of trying to apply hi baseball operating techniques to the foundering track.
DIED: CHARLES S. GARLAND, 72, former U.S. junior singles champion, nonplaying captain of the 1927 Davis Cup team and member of the first U.S. doubles team to win the Davis Cup; in Baltimore.
