76ers Don’t Give Bird the Last Shot

The 76ers found a way to make sure that Larry Bird didn’t perform another miracle Wednesday night at Philadelphia. They made sure the 122-104 victory was settled long before the final buzzer.

On Sunday, Bird sank a desperate shot from the corner at the buzzer to beat Portland by a point and Tuesday night he made a short jumper at the buzzer to beat Detroit by a point.

With Moses Malone scoring 38 points and grabbing 24 rebounds, the 76ers were in command most of the game as they evened the season’s series, 2-2, and cut the defending champions’ lead in the Atlantic Division to one-half game.

When seldom used M.L. Carr led a fourth-quarter rally that cut the 76ers’ once sizeable lead to 99-95 with 10:29 left, it appeared the stage was set for Bird once again.

But Malone, who scored 12 points in the third quarter to help build an 11-point lead, was having none of that. The big man in the middle scored the next four points to start a 21-5 run that made it look as though the 76ers won easily.

Except for the second quarter when he scored 10 points, Bird was not much of a factor in the game. He finished with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists.

A number of people have expressed the opinion that the Celtics, because they are going mostly with six players, will wear out before the playoffs. Do the last three games indicate they are beginning to tire?

On Sunday, they barely beat a slump-ridden Portland team at home. Tuesday night at home, Coach K.C. Jones, trying to give Bird and other regulars a rest, used his bench and almost lost to a Detroit team missing its starting forwards.

In this game, the lack of a bench, showed up once again. Center Robert Parish was in foul trouble early, making it possible for Malone to have his biggest night of the season.

Malone, in the four previous 76er games, had averaged only 16 points per game. He had not had more than 15 rebounds in a game for more than a month. But with Parish playing only 26 minutes, it was a picnic for Malone.

The 6-11 Kevin McHale may be the best sixth man in the NBA, but he can’t guard a Malone or a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

“It wasn’t too much Moses tonight, it was too, too much Moses,” Jones said. “Moses has that great ability to get fouled and still get a decent shot off. That is the best I think we’ve seen Moses play against us.”

Bird had averaged 38 points in the previous three games, but with Julius Erving and Bobby Jones taking turns shadowing him, he managed to get off only 15 shots.

Detroit 120, Kansas City 116--Isiah Thomas scored only 13 points, but he put on another dazzling display of passing at Pontiac, Mich., to give the Pistons a 12-2 record in January.

Thomas, the league leader in assists, had 18 of them as the Pistons won their eighth in a row at home and their ninth overall in their last 10 games.

In the last six games Thomas has had 108 assists. He has been as high as 20 in those six, but never below 16.

With all of the heroics of Thomas, the Kings came close to pulling it out. They trailed, 119-116, and had the ball with 21 seconds left. Eddie Johnson’s three-point try went in and then spun out and the Kings lost for the ninth time in the last 11 games.

Washington 106, Chicago 95--Greg Malone and Greg Ballard each scored six points in a 12-2 spurt in the fourth quarter at Landover, Md., that brought the Bullets from behind.

The Bulls lost their seventh road game in a row despite a sparkling performance by Michael Jordan. The rookie guard scored 38 points, had 7 rebounds and 8 assists.

With Jordan leading the drive, the Bulls built an 83-79 lead midway through the final quarter. But Malone put Washington ahead with three baskets in a row, Ballard scored on a jumper and, after a dunk by Jordan, Ballard scored two more baskets to give the Bullets a 91-85 lead.

Indiana 120, Cleveland 115--The Cavaliers, who have been improving steadily after a 2-19 start this season, let one slip away at Indianapolis.

With 10 1/2 minutes remaining the Cavaliers held a 103-92 lead. However, they allowed the Pacers to score 12 unanswered points and lost the lead. With seven minutes to play, Mel Turpin sank a jumper to give Cleveland the lead again, 105-104, but then came another cold spell.

Rookie Tony Brown came off the bench to score six points in a 16-10 closing rally that assured the Pacers the victory. World B. Free scored 39 points, but wasn’t much help in the closing minutes.

Phoenix 110, New York 93--Larry Nance scored 8 of his 21 points in the first quarter at Phoenix to help the Suns build a 25-18 lead and they went on to end their six-game losing streak.

It was the 13th consecutive road loss for the injury-riddled Knicks, who had won four in a row despite the absence of Bernard King, the league’s leading scorer.