NBA Roundup : Catledge Shuts Down Barkley as Bullets Win

Terry Catledge was just a throw-in in the trade in which Moses Malone of the Philadelphia 76ers went to the Washington Bullets for Jeff Ruland and Cliff Robinson prior to the 1986-87 season.

Since Wes Unseld took over as coach of the Bullets three weeks ago, the 6-8 third-year pro from South Alabama has become an integral part of the team, the key player on defense.

Catledge takes on the best offensive player among the oppositions’ big men and has been doing an outstanding job.

His chore Sunday at Landover, Md., was to guard Charles Barkley of the Philadelphia 76ers. And he did such a good job, the Bullets romped to a 131-99 victory, their third in a row and one of their easiest.

Catledge forced Barkley to take some poor shots, and the league’s No. 3 scorer had only 19 points and was guilty of 5 turnovers. Last Wednesday, also harassed by Catledge, Barkley had 19, too.

In between, Catledge stopped 7-4 Ralph Sampson, and the Bullets trounced Golden State.

When Unseld, only 6-6, played center for the Bullets, he guarded a bigger man every night.

“Terry’s just been outstanding, “ said Unseld, who, with no previous coaching experience, is 7-2, and 6-0 at home. “In spite of his lack of height, he was able to play Sampson. Then, he came right back to stop Barkley.

“He’s drawn all the tough assignments. He’s also done well against Charles Oakley (6-8). Because he’s been doing a good job, we’ll keep giving him the tough assignment.”

Friday night, Catledge outscored Sampson, 20-18, but in this game his offense was not needed as he scored only nine points.

Bernard King, who was returned to a starting role by Unseld, and the Malones, Moses and Jeff, took care of the attack.

King, the only Bullet to play more than 30 minutes in the romp, had 25 points. Moses had 17 and Jeff 20, both playing only 24 minutes.

After three quarters, the Bullets had a 95-69 lead over the slumping 76ers, and Unseld pulled his starters. They have to play the 76ers again tonight at Capital Centre in a makeup game. A snowstorm forced postponement of the game originally scheduled last Nov. 11.

Atlanta 118, New Jersey 111--Dominique Wilkins and his teammates made certain their Coach Mike Fratello will be coaching the Eastern All-Stars in the All-Star game in two weeks, by winning at Atlanta.

When the Hawks were humiliated at Boston Friday, it appeared that K.C. Jones of the Celtics would again be coaching the East. But Cleveland knocked off Boston Saturday night and the Hawks had a reprieve.

Wilkins scored 31 points as the Hawks kept the Nets winless on the road, despite a brilliant performance by Buck Williams. Williams had 24 points and 19 rebounds, 11 of them on the offensive boards. The Nets are 0-16 on the road this season and have lost 24 in a row away from home.

The coach of the team with the best record in each conference after games of Sunday wins the All-Star game honors. The Hawks are 29-11, the Celtics 28-11. Fratello will oppose Pat Riley of the Lakers in the game at Chicago Feb. 7.

“I want to thank the players,” Fratello said. “They go out there and make it happen. I’m just really happy to get this opportunity.”

Indiana 128, Phoenix 109--Johnny Long, the Pacers’ sharpshooting guard, is battling the flu, so he was glad to sit out the final quarter at Indianapolis.

But, in just 23 minutes, Long (8 of 13 from the field) had 24 points and helped the Pacers build a commanding, 92-76 lead.

It was the Suns’ fifth defeat in a row. They made it a contest for a half, trailing, 60-53, at intermission. Seven points by Long in a 9-4 spurt at the start of the third quarter put the Suns in a hole they never climbed out of.

“I wasn’t sorry we built that lead,” Long said, “because I don’t feel too good. I played defense, and my teammates rewarded me by getting the ball to me for easy shots.”

Portland 119, Detroit 111--Four Trail Blazers scored at least 20 points as Portland extended its home-court winning streak over the Pistons to 18 games.

Clyde Drexler led Portland with 27 points, Kevin Duckworth added a career-high 22, Terry Porter had 23 and Jerome Kersey 20.

The Pistons, who last won in Memorial Coliseum on Oct. 19, 1974, were led by Dennis Rodman, who scored a game-high 30. Vinnie Johnson added 20 and Isiah Thomas scored 19.

Detroit trailed by as many as 11 points in the final quarter but cut Portland’s lead to 107-103 on two free throws by Johnson with 3:29 left. But Kersey and Porter scored baskets to expand the Trail Blazers’ lead to eight points.