NBA Roundup : Orr Drops a Bomb on the Celtics

Louis Orr wanted to pass, but the Boston Celtics wouldn’t let him.

So Orr banked in a 21-foot jumper with one second left Monday to lift the New York Knicks to a 111-109 victory over the Celtics at New York.

“I was looking for Gerald Wilkins on the baseline, but he was covered,” Orr said. “So I dribbled it, and once I got to a certain point, I could hear the guys telling me to shoot because the clock was running down.

“Larry Bird ran at me, so I had to get the shot off quickly. My follow-through and concentration were good, but I didn’t mean to bank it in.”

Orr made his move after Boston’s Kevin McHale tied the score on a pair of free throws with eight seconds left.

The field goal was New York’s first since Patrick Ewing’s basket with 3:47 left gave the Knicks a 106-96 lead.

“We were out of it,” McHale said. “Everybody thought we were finished with 1 1/2 minutes to go, and we wind up losing in the last second. We snuck back in there and were close to stealing one. But it turns out to be a funny kind of a way to lose.

“The guy just flings up a shot. He’s got his feet spread wide, I look up and I said, ‘That’s not even close.’ Then rip.”

Boston got 24 points and 11 rebounds from McHale and 18 points and 11 rebounds from Parish. For New York, Henderson scored 23 points, Ewing had 22 and Wilkins 18. Cartwright had 21 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists.

Houston 127, Cleveland 103--Ralph Sampson had 33 points and 16 rebounds at Richfield, Ohio, and the Rockets beat the Cavaliers for their sixth victory in seven games.

The Rockets were trailing, 68-64, with 11 minutes left in the third quarter when they scored 19 straight points, six on monster dunks by Sampson, to break away.

John (Hot Rod) Williams scored 23 points for the Cavaliers.

Detroit 108, Atlanta 98--Adrian Dantley scored 27 points, and Joe Dumars and Vinnie Johnson each added 20 as the Pistons took the Central Division from the Hawks at Pontiac, Mich.

Mike McGee had 31 points for the Hawks, who played without forward Dominique Wilkins, who has a twisted knee.

Denver 118, Portland 116--Danny Schayes scored seven points in the final 89 seconds to rally the Nuggets past the short-handed Trail Blazers at Denver.

The Blazers played without Kenny Carr and Kiki Vandeweghe, who have the flu.

Clyde Drexler scored 36 points for Portland, and Alex English had 31 for Denver.

Philadelphia 107, Phoenix 104--Charles Barkley scored 27 points, and Julius Erving added 20 to lead the 76ers past the Suns at Philadelphia.

Barkley, who did not start because he was late arriving at the Spectrum, scored 17 points in the second half, including a basket with 1:18 left to give the 76ers a 105-102 lead.

Indiana 109, Chicago 95--Rookie Chuck Person scored 17 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, and the Pacers limited Michael Jordan to 32 points while beating the Bulls at Indianapolis.