A Roundup Of The Week Feb. 19-25

PRO BASKETBALL—The Suns, who had a 4-0 record after the All-Star break, continued their torrid winning ways with three victories—120-99 over the Celtics, 104-98 over the Kings and 126-99 over the 76ers—but gained only half a game on the Pacific Division-leading Lakers. Phoenix coach Cotton Fitzsimmons evened his 17-year NBA coaching mark at 678-678 with the defeat of Philadelphia, which extended the Suns' home victory streak to 15, one short of the franchise record. The Lakers went 3-1, but it was a struggle. They needed a three-pointer by Byron Scott at the buzzer to beat the Spurs 115-114 in overtime, and narrowly prevailed against the Nuggets (113-111) and 76ers (122-116) before taking on the Jazz, the top team in the Midwest Division. In that game Utah forward Karl Malone's 27-foot jumper with less than a second remaining gave the Jazz a 104-103 victory. The Central Division-leading Pistons saw their NBA season-high 13-game winning streak end as the Hawks, spurred by center Moses Malone's 20 points and 10 rebounds, knocked off Detroit 112-103. Atlanta, which had lost 11 of 13 games, was coming off its worst defeat of the year, 123-96 to Indiana. The Pistons rebounded with a 98-87 victory over the Knicks, who led second-place Philadelphia in the Atlantic Division (page 18).

BOWLING—ROBERT LAWRENCE beat Bob Learn Jr. 274-199 in the title game to win a PBA event and $24,000 in Merritt Island, Fla.

GOLF—FRED COUPLES shot a two-under-par 69 in the final round to win the Los Angeles Open by three strokes over Gil Morgan. He finished with an 18-under-par 266 and collected $180,000.

Beth Daniel won the Hawaiian Ladies Open by shooting a six-under-par 210 to beat Patty Sheehan and Amy Benz by three strokes, in Honolulu. Daniel earned $52,500.

HOCKEY—Thanks to a controversial call disallowing a Devils goal in overtime, the Rangers got a reprieve—and, a minute later, a 4-3 win over New Jersey. That gave New York a share of the Patrick Division lead, and the Rangers didn't look back. They tied the Red Wings 4-4 and defeated the Capitals 6-3. In that victory New York goalie Mike Richter had 30 saves and the first two assists of his NHL career. In the Adams Division the Whalers' 7-3 loss to the Sabres prevented them from clinching the division's final playoff berth (the Bruins, Canadiens and Sabres had already qualified for the postseason). The Nordiques' 6-1 loss to the Blues then let Hartford back into that playoff slot. In confrontations between divisional leaders, Boston of the Adams faced off against the Flames (Smythe) and the Blackhawks (Norris) and came away with two victories, 5-3 over Calgary and 6-3 over Chicago. The Bruins also defeated, by a 3-2 score, the North Stars, who suffered through a bad week; they lost twice (dropping their record to 2-9-0 since Jan. 31) and had their demand for $15 million in renovations to the Met Center rejected by the stadium operating commission. That action fueled rumors of a West Coast move for the franchise. In the Smythe Division the Oilers and the Flames flip-flopped atop the standings until their showdown in Calgary, which the Flames won 10-4 to take a one-point lead (page 22).

HORSE RACING—PRIMAL ($5), Earlie Fires up, beat Ole Atocha by a neck in the Donn Handicap, at Gulfstream Park. The 5-year-old horse covered the 1? miles in 1:50 and won $120,000.

Cheval Volant ($10), with Alex Solis in the saddle, held off Nasers Pride to win the Las Virgenes Stakes by three quarters of a length, at Santa Anita. The 3-year-old filly ran the mile in 1:38 and earned $78,150 for her third straight victory.

INDOOR SOCCER—In his first All-Star appearance, San Diego defender George Fernandez had one goal and one assist to lead the West to a 5-4 victory over the East and win the MVP award. When regular-season play resumed, Eastern Division leader Baltimore blew out San Diego 8-1 and then lost 7-4 to Western cellar dweller Tacoma. In the Western Division, Dallas remained atop the standings, by four games, with a come-from-behind 4-3 defeat of Cleveland.

SKIING—In the men's competition at the U.S. Alpine Championships, in Crested Butte, Colo., SKIP MERRICK won the downhill; A.J. KITT, the super G; TOMMY MOE, the giant slalom; FELIX McGRATH, the slalom; and KYLE WIECHE, the combined title. In the women's events LUCIE LAROCHE won the downhill; KRISTA SCHMIDINGER, the super G; KRISTI TERZIAN, the giant slalom; MONIQUE PELLETIER, the slalom; and JULIE PARISIEN, the combined title.

SPEED SKATING—At the world sprint championships in Troms�, Norway, ANGELA HAUCK of East Germany won the women's overall title—by .305 of a point over Bonnie Blair of the U.S.—with victories in both 500-meter races and second- and third-place finishes in the 1,000-meter events. BAE KI TAE of South Korea took the men's championship without winning a race.