NBA Roundup : Celtics Win Ninth Straight, 101-91

The Boston Celtics have begun the second half of the season the way they ended the first----hot.

Larry Bird scored 26 points and Robert Parish 20 Thursday night at Chicago to lead the Celtics to a 101-91 victory over the crippled Bulls.

It was the ninth win in a row for the Celtics, who finished the first half of the season with a 33-8 record, the best in the league.

The Bulls have been without their best player, Michael Jordan, since the third game of the season. For this one, Orlando Woolridge, who has taken over as the leader in the absence of Jordan, was also out with a wrist injury.

The Celtics were without Kevin McHale, who has a bruised Achilles tendon, and for more than half the game, they trailed the hustling Bulls.

Three minutes into the second half the Bulls led, 60-53. But Bird scored six points in a 21-9 spurt that gave the Celtics a 74-69 lead.

The Bulls made one more run, cutting the lead to a point early in the last quarter. But Bird and Parish each made two baskets and the Celtics had another victory, their 13th in the last 14 games.

The Celtics are leading the Atlantic Division by six games. With Bird playing slightly below all-pro form, the Celtics were sluggish to open the season. They are now in high gear.

At least one person, Peter May of the Hartford Courant, believes the Celtics are now the best in the NBA. He points out that in games against the only teams that figure to give the Celtics trouble--the Lakers, Milwaukee and Philadelphia--they are 6-1.

May also pointed out that the Celtics’ rivals in the East have been beset by injuries to key players. McHale and Dennis Johnson have missed three games, the most by any Celtics.

Denver 102, New York 97--Bill Hanzlick scored 14 of his career-high 27 points in the fourth quarter at Denver to keep the Nuggets in front.

Alex English scored 39 for the Nuggets, eight of them in the last eight minutes.

Hanzlick, a 6-7 sixth-year pro from Notre Dame, also guarded 7-0 Patrick Ewing for a brief spell in the second quarter and did a commendable job of keeping the big rookie away from the basket.

The Nuggets were without Calvin Natt, who has a shoulder injury.

Seattle 89, New Jersey 82--Al Wood scored 25 points and Jack Sikma 24 at East Rutherford, N.J. and the SuperSonics took advantage of the Nets’ poor shooting to score an upset. The Nets shot only 37.5% from the field and wound up with their lowest output of the season.

San Antonio 112, Cleveland 99--A tough Spurs defense held the Cavaliers to 15 points in the fourth quarter at San Antonio to turn a close game into an easy victory.

Mike Mitchell scored 26 points and Artis Gilmore had 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Spurs.

Houston 111, Sacramento 109--Akeem Olajuwon blocked an 18-foot jumper by LaSalle Thompson at the buzzer at Sacramento to save the Rockets’ fifth consecutive victory.

Milwaukee 120, Golden State 108--The Bucks spotted the Warriors an 11-point lead in the first period at Oakland, then charged back to hand the Warriors their eighth loss in a row.