NBA Roundup : Sonics Deal Celtics Second Loss at Home

Jack Sikma knew the magnitude of the SuperSonics’ task Wednesday night at Boston, where the Celtics had lost just one game all season.

“We had to play well to win and we did,” the Seattle center said after his team overcame a 14-point second-quarter deficit to beat the Celtics, 107-97.

“We played with confidence,” said Sikma, who scored a season-high 34 points and led all players with 16 rebounds. “Offensively, we moved the ball better than we have all season. Our defense in the third quarter was the key to the game.”

Boston had a 10-point lead at halftime but managed just 14 points in the third period and 36 points in the second half.

“In the third quarter, we went away from our game,” Boston Coach K.C. Jones said. “We were running and getting good shots, but I guess we thought that the game was over. Seattle never quit. . . . They outplayed us and outhustled us.”

Jones said that it was the lack of effort, not poor shooting (29% in the third quarter) that bothered him.

“I don’t mind if the shots don’t fall,” he said, “but we really didn’t have an all-out effort. That concerns me, but that will be rectified.”

Said Sikma: “We kept working and controlled the boards. You come in here against the Celtics and you really don’t expect to win, so I guess you have a tendency to play loose and free.

“Even when we were down by 14 points, we weren’t frustrated.”

Boston led, 45-31, with 6:47 left in the first half and was ahead, 61-51, at halftime.

However, the Sonics started the third period with a 20-8 run that boosted them to a 71-69 advantage. The score was tied, 75-75, after the third quarter.

Larry Bird, who led Boston with 30 points, scored his team’s first seven points of the final period to give the Celtics an 82-79 edge with 10:21 left in the game.

But John Sundvold hit a field goal for Seattle, and former Celtic Gerald Henderson gave the Sonics the lead for good, hitting a jumper with 8:22 left. Tom Chambers, who scored 24 points, then scored to open the lead to 85-82.

A free throw by Kevin McHale got the Celtics within 97-95 with 2:17 to play, but Sikma hit a field goal and two free throws to give Seattle a safe cushion with 1:26 left in the game.

The victory boosted Seattle (20-24) into sole possession of third place in the Pacific Division, a half-game ahead of the Clippers. Boston, losing at home for only the second time in 20 games this season, dropped to 34-8 and fell out of a first-place tie in the Atlantic Division with Philadelphia.

Seattle, which won its fifth game in the last seven, got 18 points from Al Wood and 16 from Henderson, who also had 15 assists.

Henderson was making his first Boston Garden appearance since being traded just before the season began.

“It was a sweet win. I wanted to come in and play well,” he said. “Our team played very well down the stretch and executed when it had to.”

Sikma said that Henderson has become Seattle’s leader.

“He runs the show and helps control the team during tough situations. He’s got a big responsibility on this team,” Sikma said.

Atlanta 101, Phoenix 100--Eddie Johnson led all scorers with 28 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, as the Hawks overcame a 15-point deficit and edged the Suns at Atlanta.

The Hawks went into the final period trailing, 79-73, but put together a 10-0 spurt, capped by Johnson’s 15-footer, to take an 83-81 lead--their first lead since the opening basket.

Atlanta’s Doc Rivers was ejected in the final minute of the third quarter when he kicked Kyle Macy after the Phoenix guard caught him with an elbow.

Dallas 122, San Antonio 110--Rolando Blackman scored 27 points, and Mark Aguirre added 22 as the Mavericks capitalized on 26 San Antonio turnovers at Dallas.

The loss snapped a four-game win streak for the Spurs, who could get no closer than five points in the final quarter as the Mavericks successfully converted 10 free throws down the stretch. The Spurs were led by George Gervin with 28 points.

Portland 136, Indiana 104--The Trail Blazers, who got 28 points from Jim Paxson, snapped a three-game losing streak as they led from start to finish at Indianapolis.

Portland led, 59-45, at halftime, and an 11-2 run boosted its advantage to 26 points with 1:50 left in the third period. The Pacers, who got 16 points and six assists from guard Jerry Sichting, could never cut the lead below 20 points after that and incurred their worst loss of the season.