NBA Roundup : Bird Picks Up the Slack as Celtics Rout Bullets

Larry Bird scored 30 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and handed out 15 assists Wednesday night as the Boston Celtics routed the Washington Bullets, 103-86, at the Boston Garden.

Kevin McHale missed his third straight game because of a foot problem, and Dennis Johnson played only 21 minutes after a three-game absence because of a bruised shoulder.

“I have to score a little more if they’re (McHale and Johnson) not in, and I have to handle the ball more if DJ’s not in,” said Bird, who registered season highs in rebounds and assists.

“My rebounding was there tonight, but the scoring was up and down--it came in bunches. On the assists, I thought everybody was just hitting the shots when I passed the ball to them,” he said.

Bird had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in the first half.

Bullet Coach Kevin Loughery said: “He (Bird) was probably responsible for 60 or 70% of their points; 30, 17 and 15 are big numbers in a game with only 103 points. He played in a different stratosphere.”

The Celtics won their 25th consecutive home game and have won 71 of their last 72 at Boston Garden.

The Bullets, who Tuesday night scored an NBA-season low 75 points against Chicago, have lost three straight and nine consecutive road games.

Despite the defeat, the Bullets clinched a spot in the playoffs because Cleveland, ninth in the Eastern Conference, also lost.

Jeff Malone scored 25 points and Jay Vincent had 15 for the Bullets. For Boston, Robert Parish scored 18 and Jerry Sichting added 14.

Indiana 99, Chicago 94--Chuck Person scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Pacers beat the Bulls at Indianapolis to clinch their first playoff berth since 1981.

The Pacers have won six straight, one shy of the team’s longest NBA winning string set six seasons ago.

“We’ve got 10 games left. We use these to get us as tight as we can get on offense,” Indiana Coach Jack Ramsay said. “We want to get better. Crazy things have happened in the playoffs. If you are playing hard and well at the end of the season, anything can happen.”

Chicago’s Michael Jordan had 26 points, hitting only 10 of 25 shots from the floor. Charles Oakley had 18 points and 17 rebounds.

Philadelphia 108, Cleveland 99--Charles Barkley scored 25 points and Roy Hinson added 22 as the 76ers beat the Cavaliers at Philadelphia. The loss eliminated Cleveland from a spot in the playoffs.

Cleveland Coach Lenny Wilkins was called for two technical fouls and ejected in the fourth quarter.

Julius Erving added 20 points for Philadelphia. Rookie Brad Daugherty had 24 points for the Cavaliers.

New Jersey 121, New York 120--Buck Williams tapped in a Mike Gminski miss with four seconds left as the Nets edged the Knicks at East Rutherford, N.J.

Williams, who scored 10 of his 26 points in the decisive fourth quarter, leaped over Knicks’ forward Louis Orr to tip in the winning basket after Gminski’s 20-foot jumper from the top of the key bounced high off the rim.

Trent Tucker scored a career-high 34 points for the Knicks. Bill Cartwright, returning to the Knicks’ lineup after missing 21 games with tendinitis, had 24 points and 9 rebounds.

Milwaukee 104, Atlanta 92--Ricky Pierce scored 22 points and Sidney Moncrief added 20 as the Bucks beat the Hawks at Milwaukee.

Buck Coach Don Nelson received two technical fouls and was ejected in the first quarter.

Utah 107, San Antonio 104--At San Antonio, Darrell Griffith scored 19 of his 21 points in the fourth-quarter as the Jazz handed the Spurs their fourth straight loss. The Spurs (26-47) tied the club record for most losses in one season.

Phoenix 117, Houston 104--Walter Davis scored 35 points and Larry Nance had 10 of his 26 points in the fourth period as the Suns beat the Rockets at Phoenix.

Nance also had 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 blocked shots.