NBA Roundup : Celtics End Western Trip on a Winning Note

They have one of the weaker benches in the National Basketball Assn. and they lost both games this season to the Lakers, but the feeling persists that the defending champion Boston Celtics are still the league’s best team.

Larry Bird scored 32 of his 34 points in the first half Saturday night at San Antonio as the Celtics built a big lead and held on to beat the Spurs, 121-113, ending a successful trip.

The win over the Spurs completed a sweep of Texas teams to conclude a western swing that began Feb. 10 at Denver.

With the three victories in Texas, the Celtics finished their toughest trip with a 6-2 record. They lost last Sunday to the Lakers, 106-103, at the Forum after building a 17-point lead in the third quarter, and let down the next night and also lost in Utah.

But, on successive nights, the Celtics, relying on their starters to play most of each game, won at Houston and Dallas.

Although they are half a game behind the Lakers in the overall standings, the Celtics figure to wind up with the best record.

Boston plays 17 of their final 28 games at home and does not have to travel west of Chicago.

Saturday night, with Bird doing most of the scoring, the Celtics jumped to a 31-13 lead and were never headed. For the game, Bird made four of eight three-point tries.

Walter Berry led the Spurs’ rally that cut the lead to 84-81 with 3:21 left in the third quarter. But Danny Ainge sank two three-pointers and, despite Berry’s 29 points, the Spurs were beaten for the sixth time in the last seven games.

“We have a problem with subs,” Bird acknowledged, “but we have the best five-man starting group in the game.”

Detroit 102, Atlanta 97--Isiah Thomas has said that adapting his game to the new members of the Pistons, especially Adrian Dantley, has been the toughest challenge he has faced in his six pro seasons.

Judging from the last two games, Thomas had made the adjustment. Thursday night in a 117-105 win over the Seattle SuperSonics, Dantley scored 28 points, most of them as a result of Thomas’ unerring passes.

Before a Pontiac Silverdome crowd of 44,978, Dantley led the Pistons with 23 points to help them turn back the Hawks’ bid to take over first place in the Central Division.

“We are just learning how to play off Dantley,” Thomas said. “We’ve never had the luxury of having someone double-teamed every time he touches the ball. It’s a constant learning process for us as a team.

“It’s been a hard season for me simply because of all the adjustments trying to incorporate six new guys into our offense.”

The Pistons are adapting just in time, because the Milwaukee Bucks, finally healthy, are ready to make a run for the top.

Milwaukee 115, Phoenix 107--John Lucas had 24 points and 10 assists at Phoenix to lead the Bucks to their seventh consecutive victory.

The Bucks, who have won seven consecutive Central Division titles, trail Detroit by 1 1/2 games.

Dallas 122, Golden State 111--Although the Mavericks were spending most of the night at the free-throw line in this game at Dallas, the Warriors led by five with 2:08 left in regulation.

But Rolando Blackman outscored the Warriors, 7-2, making a jumper with 23 seconds left to tie the score, 103-103.

Brad Davis scored seven of his season-high 22 points in overtime to give the Mavericks their 11th home win in a row over the Warriors.

The Mavericks, who made six fewer field goals than the Warriors, were 45 for 57 from the line. Mark Aguirre, who had 29 points, missed only 1 of 14 free-throw attempts.

Houston 94, Utah 81--Akeem Olajuwon scored 21 of his 28 points in the first half at Houston in a game that featured poor shooting.

The Rockets were only 36 for 82 (43.9%), but that was much better than the Jazz, 33 of 91 (36.3%).

New Jersey 111, New York 107--Buck Williams scored 32 points, and Mike Gminski had 26 points and 16 rebounds at East Rutherford, N.J., to lead the Nets to only their third win in the last 20 games.

The Nets overcame a 43-point performance by Gerald Wilkins.

Seattle 110, Washington 93--Tom Chambers and Xavier McDaniel came out of their slumps and the SuperSonics ended an eight-game losing streak in this game at Seattle.

Chambers scored 31 points and McDaniel 29 as the Sonics ended the Bullets’ three-game winning streak.