Philadelphia Daily News from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 68

THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS; WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY- 22, 1 995 f0OQSe)GaS EDSqITI PAGE 68 I 1 YvMy bv Phil Jasner iHSSt ASSOCIATED PRESS Gheorge Muresan flattens Jason Kidd, who was injured on play For Spurs, inside job sinEts dockets "But, as I've said all along, I don't want to make a deal just to say I made one. And I don't want to give up draft choices; I want to acquire some." In a strange twist, the Lakers are believed to be close to signing former Sixers guard-forward Lloyd Daniels to a 10-day contract as a replacement for Eddie Jones, the rookie from Temple who is out with a sprained right shoulder. Daniels, who impressed through training camp and the preseason with the Sixers, was waived Nov. 12, after the sixth game of the season, and ended up at Fort Wayne, of the Continental Basketball Association. He left Fort Wayne last night on a flight bound for Los Angeles, having averaged 27.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 7.4 assists in 33 games with the Fury.

For the moment, Lucas can only look forward to activating rookie guard B.J. Tyler, who has been out since Feb. 3 with a strained abdominal muscle. Lucas said Tyler, eligible to come off the injured list tomorrow, could be added to the 12-man roster in time for Sunday night's game in New York. That would coincide with Friday's conclusion of guard Kevin Pritchard's 10-day contract.

Pritchard, who has played well in the top pro leagues in Spain and Italy, has seen very iimited time since handing out six assists in his Feb. 15 debut against Minnesota. Beyond Tyler, who Lucas insists "is built for what we're doing now," forward Clarence Weather-spoon is scheduled to be examined today by Dr. Stephen Lom-bardo in Inglewood. Weatherspoon sprained his right ankle Feb.

15 and has had his foot in a cast. Shooting guard Jeff Malone, who has played in one game since Dec. 9 because of a bruised right heel, is scheduled to have his cast removed Friday. Malone, who got no relief from two injections and other therapies, has had his foot in a cast since Feb. 3.

But until Lucas gets more definitive information on Weatherspoon and Malone, he will have to extract more from the players on hand. He addressed part of that yesterday by putting center Shawn Bradley through an excruciating series of conditioning drills. Lucas was furious at Bradley's poor performance in Monday night's 98-85 loss to Golden State. Bradley had four points, four personal fouls, two turnovers, a tech- nical foul and one rebound in 13 minutes off the bench. "Shawn has to come through as our defensive focus, allowing our subs to run," Lucas said.

"He didn't do that against the Daily News Sports Writer INGLEWOOD, Calif. The 76ers, who have dropped 11 of their last 14 games and 21 of their last 25, need reinforcements. But who? Coach and general manager John Lucas is beginning to sound less optimistic about adding a player of significance before tomorrow night's NBA trading deadline. "I'm interested in someone athletic, for the faster style we're playing now," Lucas said, looking abead to tonight's game against the Los Angeles Lakers. vs.

Los Angeles Lakers 10:30, at the Great Western Forum, Inglewood, Calif. TV: SportsChannel. Radio: WIP (610-AM). Records: Lakers 32-17, Sixers 15-37. History: The Sixers beat the Lakers, 117-113, in overtime Jan.

21 at the Spectrum, when Dana Barros scared 18 points in the fourth quarter and the Lakers shot 0-for-6 from the floor in the five-minute extra period. The Lakers have swept the last 10 meetings in Inglewood and 13 of the last 17 games overall. Sixers update: Rookie shooting guard Jerome Harmon, playing on a 10-day contract, has contributed 32 points and 12 rebounds in three games, shooting 14-for-29 from the floor Point guard Kevin Pritchard has yet to score in 28 minutes of four appearances, but has handed out nine assists against two turnovers Coach John Lucas hoped to reduce the burden on starting point guard Dana Barros, but Barros went 44 ijfewjtes in Monday night's 98-85 loss to Golden State. Barros has been on the floor 40 minutes or more in 15 of the last 18 games. Lakers update: The Lakers are 1 1-5 against Seattle, Houston, UtahSan Antonio, Sacramento, Phoenix and Portland, the seven other teams that currently would qualify for the Western Conference playoffs Temple's Eddie Jones, the No.

10 pick in the first round of last June's draft, is out for four to six weeks with a sprained right shoulder, suffered in Sunday's victory over the Trail Blazers All-Star forward Cedric Ceballos was placed on the injured list Feb. 13 after undergoing surgery torn ligament in his right thumb. The Lakers are 8-1 in games without Ceballos, who is averaging a team-high 22 points and shooting 51.3 percent from the floor Guard Nick Van Exel knocked down seven three-pointers in Monday's 108-105 victory over the SuperSonics, establishing a new team single-season record with a total of 130. Phil jasner Lloyd Daniels: LA-bound 10-day contract hit a 15-foot jump shot with 1:16 remaining in the third quarter. And don't put any stock in even fleeting rumors about the Sixers' being interested in Houston bad-boy Vernon Maxwell, reconnecting Maxwell with Lucas, who has helped with Maxwell's off-the-court problems.

For one thing, Maxwell qualifies as a base-year compensation player. So, though his contract calls for about $2 million this season, Maxwell could be traded only for a player earning about $395,000. The Sixers have no one in that category. Also, Rockets vice president of player personnel Bob Weinhauer has said: "We understand that Vernon has to calm down, but we're not trying to move him. If there were something out there for us to do that made sense, we'd listen." And even though the Rockets might be willing to trade former Sixers point guard Scott Brooks, they would probably want a draft choice in return.

Weinhauer said rumors of the Rockets' packaging Brooks and another ex-Sixer, guard Mario Elie, were inaccurate, because Elie is in the first year of a new contract and by league rules could not be included in a two-for-one deal to accommodate salary cap restrictions. SIX SHOTS Dana Barros sought out pro golf star Fred Couples for an autograph after yesterday's practice at the Forum. "When my father and I are on the courses in the summer, I always say I'm Fred Couples and he says he's Davis Love," Barros said When the Sixers get to Denver tomorrow night, they'll face a Nuggets team making just its second appearance under Bernie Bickerstaf who replaced interim coach Gene Littles Monday. Bickerstaff is also the team president and general manager. "That's the man who signs the checks," Nuggets shooting guard Bryant Stith said.

"If you can't play for him, who are you going to play for? Bernie is just a commander, a man you've looked up to so much as an authority figure. It's amazing what a move of this magnitude can ill 44 points helped Dallas overcome a 21-point second-half deficit. Jason Kidd, the Mays' rookie point guard, sprained his left ankle during the game. BULLS 105, HAWKS 88 At Atlanta, Toni Kukoc hit his first seven shots and scored 21 points to spark Chicago. CELTICS 129, SUNS 121 At Phoenix, Dee Brown scored a career-high 41 points to lead Boston in his second start after eight games coming off the bench.

BLAZERS 99, TIMBERWOLVES 86 At Portland, Clifford Robinson scored 29 points and Rod Strickland added 23 as Portland coasted to victory. In other news: CELTICS: To retire No. 35 The Boston Celtics will retire No. 35 on March 22 in memory of Reggie Lewis, who died of a heart problem in 1993 after six seasons with the club. His will be the 20th number retired.

NETS: Coleman to return Derrick Coleman will probably return to the New Jersey Nets' lineup tonight against Indiana after missing six games with a chip (f racture of his pelvic bone. Daily News Wire Services Think the Houston Rockets are missing Otis Thorpe right now? San Antonio's Dennis Rodman took advantage of Thorpe's departure, in a trade to Portland last week, to pull down 30 rebounds and David Robinson scored the decisive points off a dunk with 2.2 seconds left as the visiting Spurs beat Houston, 98-97, ruining a Rockets' comeback that took them from 23 points back to one point up with 5.4 seconds left. "He's awesome, 30 rebounds is unreal," Robinson said of Rodman. "He just exploited the size advantage we had on them inside." "This is nothing new for him," Houston coach Rudy Tomjano-vich said. "He's been doing this all year.

You just have to overcome it." In other games: NUGGETS 118, CLIPPERS 80 At Denver, Robert Pack came off the bench to get 20 points and 10 assists as the Nuggets gave new head coach Bernie Bickerstaff a victory in his debut. CAVALIERS 99, KNICKS 91 At New York, Cleveland overcame a dreadful fourth quarter and held off a furious Knicks rally behind John Williams's -19 points. MAVERICKS 102, BULLETS 97 At Landover, Md. Jim Jackson's The Sixers reserves did not score at all in the first half, and didn't get on the board until rookie Jerome Harmon playing on a.