NBA Roundup : Bird Not Hurting, but Celtics Lose

Larry Bird opened the season with an impressive performance Friday night, but the Boston Celtics blew a 19-point lead and lost in overtime to the New Jersey Nets.

Bird, who had back and elbow problems during training camp, erased any doubts about his physical condition. He had 21 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 8 steals at East Rutherford, N.J. His shooting wasn’t vintage Bird, however--just 5 for 15. Because of back spasms this week, there was some doubt whether Bird would be able to play. He played 36 minutes.

He helped the Celtics build an 83-64 lead early in the second half, but Micheal Ray Richardson brought the Nets even, 99-99, with a 21-foot jumper with two seconds left in regulation.

Then, Richardson and Buck Williams each scored six points in overtime to lead the Nets to a 113-109 victory. Williams led the Nets’ comeback, scoring 23 points and pulling down 15 rebounds.

It was a successful coaching debut for former Laker assistant Dave Wohl, who watched his Nets go into the last quarter trailing by 12 points. Darryl Dawkins scored seven points in a 17-4 surge that put the Nets in front. Bird had one more burst left, including a three-point basket to give the Celtics a 99-94 lead. It was 99-97 with 10 seconds left, but Dennis Johnson missed a free throw, and Richardson sank the tying jumper.

“I have no voice left,” Wohl told the Associated Press. “I can’t handle 81 more like that. Coming from that far behind to beat the Celtics is an amazing feat.”

The game marked the debut of Bill Walton as a Celtic. He scored 4 points, played 19 minutes and had 5 fouls and 5 rebounds.

The Celtics’ off-season moves had been designed to build bench strength for a team that appeared to wear out in the playoffs. However, in this game, all the Celtic starters played 36 minutes or more. Johnson played 44. Last season, they were playing more minutes in 48-minute games that were close.

“We hit a cold spell and turned the ball over a lot in the fourth quarter,” Celtic Coach K.C. Jones said. “I was really upset with the calls. We didn’t get the benefit of anything.”

Chicago 116, Cleveland 115--Michael Jordan scored 7 of his 29 points in overtime at Chicago, including a free throw with eight seconds remaining to give the Bulls the hard-earned victory.

The Bulls had a 70-57 lead in the third quarter, blew it and had to come from behind in the closing seconds to send the game into overtime.

George Gervin played 16 minutes in his debut as a Bull and made only two of eight shots. He had four assists.

Orlando Woolridge of the Bulls led all scorers with 35, while World B. Free led the Cavaliers with 27.

Washington 100, Atlanta 91--Jeff Ruland, who missed more than half of last season because of injuries, made a powerful return in this game at Atlanta. Ruland had 19 points, 14 rebounds and 9 assists to pace the Bullets.

The game marked the debut of the tallest and shortest players in the NBA and the little man emerged triumphant. Spud Webb, the 5-7 rookie guard was 5-for-7, had 12 points and 10 assists for the Hawks. But Manute Bol, two feet taller than Webb, was a disappointment. He picked up two fouls in 44 seconds, played only three minutes, missed his only shot and did not have a rebound or a blocked shot for the Bullets.

Webb opened at guard opposite 6-7 Dominique Wilkins, usually a forward. Wilkins led all scorers with 32 points.

Detroit 118, Milwaukee 116--When last seen during the playoffs, Vinnie Johnson was shooting the lights out. He hasn’t lost his touch--at least not in the clutch.

Before 24,353 fans at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., Johnson, only 2-for-9 previously, sank a basket off a rebound as time ran out to give the Pistons the victory.

Houston 112, Utah 108--Rodney McCray and Lewis Lloyd each scored a basket in the last 30 seconds at Salt Lake City to give the Rockets the victory. The Rockets outscored the Jazz, 12-3, in the last 3 1/2 minutes.

Adrian Dantley led all scorers with 32 points, but the Jazz sharpshooter couldn’t overcome the late baskets by McCray and Lloyd. McCray’s jumper broke a 108-108 tie.

Denver 119, Golden State 105--The Nuggets spotted the Warriors a 15-point lead in the first half at Oakland and rallied behind Alex English and Calvin Natt to pull out the victory.

English scored 47 points, and Natt scored 21, nine in the fourth quarter.

Portland 128, Phoenix 123--Kiki Vandeweghe scored 29 of his 31 points after halftime to spark the Blazers to their overtime victory at Portland.

Vandeweghe, who missed 6 shots from the field in the first half, had 23 second-half points and another 6 in overtime.