The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 29

NBA Toronto 9 Milwaukee 0 Atlanta 12 Cincinnati 1 Pacers 125 Detroit 107 California 9 Minnesota 4 Chicago 6 Pittsburgh 4 Boston 115 New York 102 Kansas City 5 New York 3 San Diego 5 Los Angeles 3 Minnesota 96 Philadelphia 88 Texas 15 Baltimore 3 Houston 7 San Francisco 2 Washington 101 Miami 96 Oakland 7, 6 ALLIANCE San Antonio 109 Phoenix 101 Chicago at Detroit, rain Denver 4 Indians 1 139 Orlando 11? NATIONAL LEAGUE AMERICAN LEAGUE St. Louis 11 Philadelphia 7 Cleveland 6 Boston 0 New York 7 Montreal 1 DIGGING IN Notre Dame officials deny knowledge of impending Phelps resignation Page 2 Sports The Indianapolis Star MONDAY, APRIL 15, 1991 Business 7, 8 Obituaries 8 a "if) Jl wbosmam caiofaFes Masters Unser Jr. cruises Welshman's putt on 18th seals win By PHIL RICHARDS STAR STAFF WRITER i i'lii Augusta, Ga. Three players went to the 18th tee with a share of the lead Sunday at Augusta National Coll" Club. Jose-Maria Olazabal drove Into the bunker.

Tom Watson hit Into the trees. Ian Woosnam split the difference and came out pretty as you please, The 55th Masters will be remembered as a tournament that produced birdies In unprecedented profusion but went to the man who made par. Woosnam concluded an even-par 72 with a standard 4 to win his first major championship. The 5-4, 161 -pound Welshman estimated the length of his winning putt at 8 feet, It appeared nearer 5. What mattered Isn't where It started but where It went: In the middle and to the bottom.

"It was a nice putt, right Hp," said Woosnam. "When It was 3 feet away. I knew It was In." Woosnam's 11-under-par total of 277 marked the fourth straight year an International player has won the Masters and the sixth time In the last nine years. Olazabal made It 1-2. The Span-lard finished a stroke back with a 70.

Woosnam earned $243,000 of the $1.35 million purse. Nick Faldo came to Augusta hoping to become the first man to win three consecutive Masters. He wound up fighting his short game and serving as a functionary at the awards ceremony. Faldo helped Woosnam Into his green jacket, size 40 short. Faldo shot 70 and finished five shots back at 6 under par.

"The first two days my short game was terrible," said Faldo. "Even right down to the end today I missed five or six putts Inside 12 feet. It Just wasn't to be." Watson shot 73 to share third with Steve Pate, Ben Crenshaw and Lanny Wadklns. Pate roared into contention with the day's best round, a 7-under 65. Crenshaw shot 68 and Wadklns 71.

"I played well enough to have a chance to win and I didn't do it." said Watson, a non-winner since 1987. "It Just wasn't good enough; the cup See MASTERS Page 3 to victory By MIKE HARRIS AP MOTORSPORTS WRITER Long Beach. Calif. Al Unser Jr. insisted winning his fourth straight Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach wasn't as easy as It looked.

"It was a long day," he said after dominating the rest of the Indy-car field and the downtown street circuit In Sunday's 95-lap, 158.65-mile race. Unser trailed pole-wlnncr Michael Andretti only on the first lap and after pitting for the first time on Lap 37. Otherwise, It CART STANDINGS 1. Bobby Rahal 32 2. Rick Mears 26 3.

Al Unser Jr 22 4. John Andretti 20 5. Eddie Cheever 14 Arie Luyendyk 14 Danny Sullivan 14 8. Scott Brayton 13 9. Jeff Andretti 10 10.

Scott Pruett 10 was almost no contest for Unser, who earned his 16th CART victory. The defending PPG Cup champion held leads of nearly 16 seconds over Andretti before the latter was knocked out of the race In a frightening and frustrating accident on pit road. Despite his obvious edge, Unser said, "Michael kept us honest. We Just had a great start and the car worked Just beautifully On Michael, that's not a long lead. I was trying real hard to turn It into 20 seconds and 30 seconds without taking any big chances, but If he had started closing In on me, there wouldn't have been anything I could do.

I was using everything 1 had." Unser made his second and final scheduled pit stop on Lap 70 after building a 15.28-second advantage over Andretti. The leader's stop was clean and quick and he was back on the track as Andretti completed his stop. Andretti, second In last year's point standings, headed toward the pit exit and suddenly found Emerson Flttlpaldl In his way. Andretti locked up his brakes but ran over the rear of Flttlpal-dl's car. flew Into the air and came down sideways, crushing Flttipaldl's sldepod.

"Emmo's crew let him out right In front of me 1 hit him full blast." Andretti said. "There See UNSER Page 3 ASSOCIATED PRESS Score one for the tiny Welshman: Ian Woosnam celebrates the putt he sank to clinch his title at the Masters. 18 is enough as Woosnam avoids Augusta playoff bug Phil Richards 1,4 AUGUSTA, GA. Augusta National Golf Club's fair 18th Is a wide green avenue the experts call "a great finishing hole." Except in three of the last four years It had finished nothing. We had become accustomed to this affair of spring we call the Masters being decided at No.

1 1 in a playoff. In 1987. Larry Mlze's miracle chip fell there and took Greg Norman with It. In 1989. Nick Faldo rolled a 25-foot birdie putt Into the gloaming to vanquish Scott Hoch.

In 1990, Raymond Floyd foundered triumphed at the 18th with a par because no one else could match it. This time, enough was enough. "All I was thinking about was, 'I wish this game would get over with. I want to know the Woosnam said. "It was such a long afternoon; It seemed like we were out there for 10 hours." In truth.

It was nearly half that long, plenty of time for plenty to happen. When Woosnam bogcyed the par-5 13th hole after driving Into Rae's Creek, hell's hounds were a pack at his feet. Woosnam slipped to 10 under par. Jose- Maria Olazabal. Ben Crenshaw and Steve Pate slipped within a stroke.

Tom Watson had Just double-bogeyed the hardest short hole In the world, No. 1 2, 155 yards of azalea-trimmed treachery. Watson snugged up his golf glove, hit 5-Iron to 1 5 feet at No. 13 and 8 feet at No. 1 5, and eagled both par-5 holes.

Playing In the twosome ahead, Olazabal had blrdled 13. 14 and 15. Woosnam needed a birdie at 15 Just to keep up. Suddenly It was a three-way tie Woosnam. Watson and Olazabal all at 1 1 See RICHARDS Page 3 there.

His approach shot landed In the pond alongside the green. Faldo won again. Sunday, the 55th Masters went the distance and no further. Ian Woosnam Pacers end losing sldd with victory over Pistons Thompson sets tone for turnaround 4 Perplexing Pacers show fans brighter side this time around ft Robin Miller V0i i a complete game and losing six of 10 In the process as well as two of the last three at home. The Pistons, likewise, were sliding.

Despite the return of All-Star guard Isiah Thomas five games ago, they had lost three of four and were without Mark Agulrre and James Edwards Sunday because of back spasms. Considering the Pacers had dropped two of three to the Pistons without Thomas, nothing was guaranteed. Until 11:04 remained In the first period. That was when Thompson dropped Dennis Rodman to the floor on a loose ball foul. "I tried to break that bleep In half every time he came near me," said Thompson.

But couldn't that be construed as dirty play? "So?" replied Thompson. "That's the way they play, You saw them club our guards every time they drove to the basket. I Just did the same thing to their big men." The tone was set. "First they knocked me around with a 220-pound guy and then they hit me again with a 270-pound guy," said Rodman. "I don't understand why this team feels that If they're able to keep me off the boards, they're going to win See PACERS Page 6 By DAVID BENNER STAR STAFF WRITER The Indiana Pacers had their game faces on Sunday afternoon, put In place by forward LaSalle Thompson.

They also brought their game as well, with good shooting, decent defense and no collapse In the second half. The result was the Pacers for a day, at least managed to break out of their recent doldrums with a 125-107 victory over the Detroit Pistons before a crowd of 14,192 In Market Square Arena. "The New York game (In which the Pacers blew a 20-polnt lead and lost Friday night) was on a lot of our minds," said Pacer guard Reggie Miller. "Then knowing New York had lost (at Boston Sunday afternoon) put more Importance on getting the victory." That's because the Pacers again have a two-game advantage on the Knicks for the No. 7 position in the Eastern Conference playoff race with three to play.

Expect that to be decided Friday night when the Knicks visit MSA in the next-to-last game of the season. Sunday's victory came with unusual circumstances for both teams. The Pacers had been struggling for the past two weeks, putting a half together here or tfree quarters togtflier there, but never THE TOUGHEST team In the NBA went up against the toughest team In the NBA to figure out Sunday afternoon at Market Square Arena. And when the last elbow had been thrown, those, "Bad Boys" from Motown were wearing a 125-107 shiner compliments of the Indiana Jekyll Hydes. After blowing a 20-polnt lead at New York Friday night, the perplexing Pacers rebounded (literally and figuratively) to level Detroit, much to the delight of most of the 14.192 paying customers.

The Pacers used a 74-polnt second half, a three-guard lineup and strong board work from LaSalle Thompson and Detlef Schrempf to continue their string of impressive MSA victories over quality opponents. During the past month, Indiana has hammered Boston, Chicago and Detroit on the home hardwood. Bob Hill's club showed It can be as potenhis It Is unpredictable as dceps It appears shallow as focused as It can be lackadaisical. The Pacers' 28th win at MSA this year (which tics their NBA record) was achieved with unselfish play, a pretty good fast break, decent defense and some actual Intensity. "The Pacers played a total game today," said Hill, who got 31 assists and double-figure scoring from seven players.

"In our previous games with Detroit we had outplayed them In a lot of areatv with the exception of rebounding. We had to do two things, keep them off the boards and continue to run back at 'cm. "They rebound so well that some nights their best offense Is STAR STAFF PHOTO KELLY WILKINSON Pacer guard Micheal Williams tries a lean-in move to get past the Pistons' jpennis Rodman. f. See MILLER Page 6.