NBA Roundup : Celtics Honor Erving, Then Floor 76ers, 118-100

Julius Erving, in his last scheduled visit to Boston Garden, was given a piece of the famed parquet floor Sunday and offered the regrets of Red Auerbach.

“We’ve made some mistakes in the past,” said the Boston Celtics’ president, “and one of them is that we never had him in Celtic Green.”

Erving, who attended the University of Massachusetts, was honored before the Celtics’ game against the Philadelphia 76ers in ceremonies that began with a two-minute standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 14,890.

Unless the Celtics and Philadelphia meet in the playoffs, Sunday’s 118-100 Boston victory over Erving and the 76ers marked the final appearance in Boston for the 16-year pro, who is retiring after this season.

Larry Bird presented Erving with a framed small older section of the arena’s floor. The inscription read: “A most respected and admired adversary whose grace, skill and competitiveness has entertained so many for so long on the Boston parquet.”

Erving scored a team-high 28 points in the game to bring his career total to 29,820, with 11 games left to reach 30,000.

He praised and thanked Celtic fans. “Your support and love and care for Julius Erving is much appreciated, but more important is your love for basketball,” he said.

Danny Ainge scored 30 points to lead seven Celtics in double figures and give Boston Coach K.C. Jones his 400th NBA victory.

For Boston, which shot 62%, Fred Roberts scored 21 points, Larry Bird 17, Robert Parish 14, Jerry Sichting 13, Conner Henry 12 and Darren Daye 11.

Ainge hit four three-point shots. Both Bird and Parish completed triple-doubles. Bird had 13 rebounds and 12 assists, both team highs. Parish had 10 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists.

Chicago 115, New York 96--Michael Jordan scored 11 of his 33 points during the third quarter, then left the game with 2:42 to play when he injured his left wrist after getting tangled up with three Knick players during a scramble for a loose ball.

After the game at Chicago, the Bulls said Jordan had suffered a bruise and was expected to play Tuesday night against Washington.

“My left wrist hurts and I’ll be wearing a protective bandage and a splint for a couple of days,” Jordan said, (but) “there’s no way I’m going to miss the Washington game, especially with Moses (Malone) back.”

The victory, only the Bulls’ fourth in their last 13 games, moved them within a half-game of the idle Indiana Pacers in the race for the seventh playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Portland 135, San Antonio 113--Clyde Drexler scored 31 points, and Jerome Kersey and Kiki Vandeweghe each scored 28 as the Trail Blazers defeated the Spurs at San Antonio, Tex.

The win improved Portland’s record to 43-28 and ended a two-game losing streak.

Walter Berry and Jon Sundvold scored 24 points apiece for San Antonio, which fell to 26-45, including a 13-23 home record.

Detroit 108, Seattle 107--Adrian Dantley scored 33 points, including 22 in the second half, and Isiah Thomas added 26 as the Pistons rallied to beat the SuperSonics at Seattle and further tighten the Central Division race.

The victory left Detroit one game behind the first-place Atlanta Hawks, who were idle.

Dantley, who scored 14 points in the third period, led the Pistons’ comeback with eight points in 11-0 streak midway through the third quarter. His layup tied the game 74-74 with 3:48 remaining in the period.

Dantley also scored the game-winning basket. Seattle’s Dale Ellis fumbled the ball attempting to get off a last-second shot.

Dallas 101, Cleveland 98--Orlando Blackman scored 38 points, and Roy Tarpley’s basket with 59 seconds remaining put the Mavericks ahead to stay as they edged the Cavaliers at Richfield, Ohio.

With their eighth victory in the last nine games, the Mavericks extended their lead to 8 1/2 games over the second-place Utah Jazz in the Midwest Division.

Mark Price missed a desperation three-point shot from 30 feet at the buzzer for Cleveland, which got 19 points from Brad Daugherty and 18 from Ron Harper.