NBA Roundup : Bird Simply Is Super in Win Over Hawks

Larry Bird used his extraordinary powers to let the Atlanta Hawks, and the rest of the NBA, know Sunday that the Boston Celtics are still the world champions.

Bird scored 32 points, had 14 assists and made just about every key play at Boston to lead the Celtics to a 118-107 victory over the Hawks and give the Celtics the best record in the Eastern Conference.

With the Celtics aging and aching, the young, strong Hawks went into Boston Garden needing a victory in the regular-season finale to unseat the Celtics in the East. But, they couldn’t handle Bird.

Never mind that the Hawks’ chief long-ball threat, Mike McGee, was thrown out early for a punching incident. Never mind that the Celtics spent most of the day at the free-throw line. Never mind that Danny Ainge had a 17-point third quarter.

The Hawks would have overcome all those problems if it hadn’t been for Bird.

Every time the weary Celtics wanted to fold, beginning with the third minute of a game played with the fervor of a playoff battle, Bird made the big play.

Whatever was needed, a steal, a perfect pass, a basket, Bird provided it. The 6-9 forward probably won’t win his fourth consecutive Most Valuable Player Award, but for this one game he was magnificent.

After the Hawks opened with a 12-5 spurt and seemed ready to break the game over early, Bird took charge and sent the Celtics on a 14-0 spurt in just two minutes that quickly turned the game around. He took only one shot during the spurt--a three-pointer he made--but he was the dominant player.

Then, when the desperate Hawks opened the fourth quarter with a rush to cut a 93-77 deficit to 103-97 in six minutes, it appeared the Celtics were falling apart.

All, except Bird. He sank a long-range jumper, messed up an Atlanta scoring opportunity, then scored on a driving layup to restore order and a 10-point lead.

In between his big plays, Bird was merely sensational. He made a couple of passes that he must have learned from Magic Johnson. He played all but one minute and never stopped doing things to help his team.

Bird, in typical fashion, played up the team angle. “It was a great day for us,” he said. “I thought we did a great job for three quarters moving the ball around and taking the open shot.”

Dominique Wilkins had 28 points for the Hawks, whose lack of experience was evident on numerous occasions. What they do have is a large number of good players. In the long, drawn-out NBA playoffs, a team must win 15 games to be the champions. The depth may serve the Hawks well.

The victory means the Celtics will open the best-of-five first-round series against Air Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. The Hawks will play Indiana.

Philadelphia 108, Washington 102--Julius Erving, in the final regular-season game of an illustrious 16-year pro career, scored 24 points at Landover, Md., to lead the 76ers.

Although he missed 22 games because of injuries, Erving finished the season with 1,005 points, the 16th in which he exceeded 1,000. He finished with 30,026, third in history behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain.

Erving and the 76ers face Milwaukee in the first round of the playoffs. The 76ers hope to have Charles Barkley back for Friday’s opener. Barkley missed the last four games with a sprained ankle.

Portland 144, San Antonio 134--Jerome Kersey scored a career-high 28 points and had 9 rebounds to lead the Trail Blazers at Portland. Portland finishes the season 49-33 for second place in the Pacific Division. San Antonio was led by Johnny Dawkins’ 28 points. The Spurs, who rallied from a 21-point deficit to make it close late in the game, finish 28-54 in last place in the Midwest Division.