NBA Roundup : Fans Cheer Russell; Celtics Romp

Bill Russell got a standing ovation on his return to Boston Garden as the coach of the Sacramento Kings. The Celtics weren’t as hospitable.

Boston used the scoring of Kevin McHale and Larry Bird and a 14-0 spurt to take a 34-11 lead after one quarter and rolled to a 122-86 victory over the Kings Friday night.

“I sort of felt like I was in the Colosseum waiting for the lions,” Russell, the former Celtic center, said of the pregame applause. “That’s sort of what happened.”

Russell, in his first game in Boston as the Kings’ coach, added: “I don’t want to be embarrassed anywhere. The Celtics were very good tonight. We were very bad.”

The Celtics shot 66.3%, the Kings 38.1%. Danny Ainge led the Celtics with 29 points and made five of six three-pointers to extend his NBA record to 18 straight games with at least one three-point field goal. He scored 19 points in the third quarter.

The Kings, who are 1-14 on the road, were led by Kenny Smith with 16 points.

Philadelphia 119, New York 104--Charles Barkley scored 35 points and Cliff Robinson had 19 of his 20 points as the 76ers outscored the Knicks, 69-46, in the second half for an easy victory at Philadelphia.

The win was the 76ers’ sixth in their last seven games, while the Knicks have lost 15 of 16 road games this season, including 10 in a row.

New York led, 58-50, at halftime, but Philadelphia took the lead, 64-63, on a three-point shot by Barkley with 8:42 left in the third quarter.

With the score tied at 71-71, Barkley scored six points in a 12-2 Philadelphia spurt for an 83-73 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Patrick Ewing and Gerald Wilkins each scored 20 points to lead the Knicks.

Philadelphia’s Roy Hinson had 18, and David Wingate, who returned after missing 14 games with a groin injury, added 15.

Detroit 97, Cleveland 93--Adrian Dantley scored 14 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter, and the Pistons rallied from a 12-point deficit to beat the Cavaliers at Detroit.

Cleveland took its biggest lead, 79-67, on a three-point play by Mark West with 40 seconds left in the third quarter.

Detroit’s Isiah Thomas had 18 points and 11 assists. Brad Daugherty had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Cleveland.

Indiana 112, San Antonio 108--The Pacers rallied from a 16-point deficit and got a season-high 32 points by John Long to defeat the Spurs at San Antonio.

The Spurs played the second half without point guard Johnny Dawkins, who left the game with a sprained left foot.

Chuck Person scored 18 points for Indiana.

Seattle 124, Utah 105--Dale Ellis scored 39 points and Xavier McDaniel added 26 as the SuperSonics rolled to their 14th straight home victory. Karl Malone led Utah with 28 points.