A roundup of the week Oct. 18-24

November 01, 1976

PRO BASKETBALL—There was plenty of action in the newly aligned NBA, much of it conducted in back rooms and bank vaults as some of the best-known names in the game were traded and sold. The biggest sale involved Julius Erving (page 24), who went from the New York Nets to the Philadelphia 76ers for a reported $3 million. Erving scored 17 points against San Antonio in his 76er debut, but the Spurs won 121-118. In a 108-105 loss to Buffalo, Dr. J scored 13 points. Boston, after trading Paul Silas to Denver in a three-way deal that sent Denver Guard Ralph Simpson to Detroit and Piston Forward Curtis Rowe to the Celtics, won a pair. The Celtics defeated the Indiana Pacers 129-122 in overtime, then got 29 points from Jo Jo White—10 in overtime—for a 111-107 defeat of Milwaukee. Buffalo, which picked up Moses Malone from Portland, then sent him to Houston for draft choices and cash, also knocked off the Bucks, 133-112, then beat Philadelphia. The New York Knicks beat Los Angeles 102-97. In a 117-98 defeat of San Antonio, New York scored 19 unanswered points in the first period. The Nets, in their first game without Erving, defeated Golden State 104-103. The Midwest Division got battered around, losing nine of its first 13 games. Denver opened with wins over Indiana (123-110) and Kansas City (120-99), but Milwaukee and Kansas City both dropped two, and Indiana lost three games. The Chicago Bulls' Artis Gil-more hit 10 of 11 shots from the field and finished with 25 points in a 102-97 victory over the Pacers. Pete Maravich and Gail Goodrich teamed up for 53 points in the New Orleans Jazz' 111-98 win over Phoenix. The Houston Rockets also beat Phoenix 129-126 and Atlanta 120-104. The Washington Bullets had to overcome an eight-point deficit in the fourth period against Detroit, and that was just what they did as Nick Weatherspoon hit all six of his shots down the stretch of the Bullets' 98-97 win.