NBA Roundup : McHale’s Perfect 10 Helps Celtics Win, 129-109

When sharpshooting Kevin McHale suffered an Achilles tendon injury in late January, the Boston Celtics didn’t skip a beat. With Scott Wedman replacing him, the Celtics were 12-3.

Don’t get the idea the Celtics can get along without their 6-10 forward, though. When the going gets rough, he’s a handy fellow to have around.

The Detroit Pistons found that out Sunday when they went into Boston riding a 10-game winning streak. And, they were doing quite well, too, until McHale took it upon himself to turn a close game around in the third quarter.

McHale, in just his fourth appearance since recovering from the injury, scored 14 of his 25 points in the third quarter to bring the Celtics from behind to a 129-109 victory over the Pistons.

Coach K.C. Jones had said he planned to bring McHale back slowly. Indeed, when he returned last Tuesday, he played only seven minutes and took one shot, which he missed.

In the three games since, he’s hardly missed. He didn’t miss at all in this one. He made all 10 field-goal attempts, including five in the winning rally. In the last three games he is 26 for 30.

At halftime, the Pistons, shooting brilliantly, rebounding well and hustling, led, 65-62. Jones started McHale, who has been coming off the bench, to begin the third quarter. There were no immediate results and Detroit increased its lead to 83-77.

Then, after Jones was hit with a technical, McHale, Larry Bird and Danny Ainge, the latter emerging from a terrible shooting slump, led the Celtics on a 21-6 burst that put them ahead, 98-89, after three quarters. McHale also scored the first basket of the last quarter, then retired as the game turned into a rout.

In just 23 minutes, McHale had 25 points, including 5 for 5 from the line, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a blocked shot.

“The guys made great passes to me down low,” McHale said. “Our team does that well and I was getting the ball in good position.”

Bird missed out on a coveted triple-double, getting 35 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. Ainge, who averaged 6.2 points in the previous 11 games, scored a career-high 27 points, making 11 of 18 shots.

Detroit Coach Chuck Daly, no longer in danger of losing his job because of the recent surge, had this to say of Bird: “I’ve been reading how Bird’s the Player of the Century. Well, if he isn’t, he’s pretty close.”

Washington 125, Milwaukee 104--It was a day for ending 10-game winning streaks. In this game at Landover, Md., Cliff Robinson had 27 points and 15 rebounds as the Bullets avenged a 102-84 loss in Milwaukee Friday night.

The Bucks managed to shoot without having 7-7 Manute Bol block one, but they didn’t shoot very well. The Bucks shot only 42.4% from the field.