NBA Roundup : Hawks Still Aren’t Up to Winning in Boston

The Atlanta Hawks feel they can challenge the Boston Celtics’ supremacy in the Eastern Conference. To do it, they’ll have to find a way to win at Boston Garden.

Larry Bird, playing his third game with goggles that protect his injured right eye, scored 23 of his 28 points in the first half and the Celtics coasted past the Hawks, 117-100, Sunday at Boston.

The loss was Atlanta’s 11th straight at Boston Garden, where it has not won since March 1, 1985.

“I think it’s more mental than physical,” said the Hawks’ Glenn Rivers. “We get so hyped up for this kind of game. I think we put too much pressure on ourselves.”

The Celtics forced Atlanta’s Dominique Wilkins out of his game early and rolled to a 69-56 halftime lead. The Hawks got no closer than 17 points in the second half.

Wilkins scored 26 points, well below the 40.1 he averaged in the previous 10 games.

Without their big gun showing the way, the Hawks were lost. They made just 36% of their shots, missing 29 of 45 while Boston hit 28 of 49 for 57%.

Danny Ainge had 12 of his 20 points in the first half and McHale added 24 for the Celtics.

Philadelphia 104, Washington 96--Charles Barkley scored 42 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead the 76ers past the Bullets at Philadelphia.

Mike Gminski added 17 points and 15 rebounds for Philadelphia, which got within one-half game of Washington in the race for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

Jeff Malone scored 24 points for Washington, John Williams added 19 and Bernard King had 15.

Denver 108, Indiana 100--Alex English scored 24 of his 36 points in the second half and the Nuggets got past the Pacers at Indianapolis.

English scored 14 points in the third quarter as the Nuggets extended their three-point halftime lead to 85-72 after three periods. Denver hit 13 of 20 from the field in the quarter for 65%, while the Pacers made just 8 of 24 shots.

Wayman Tisdale scored 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Indiana. Steve Stipanovich had 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Milwaukee 117, Phoenix 107--Terry Cummings scored 27 points and reserve Ricky Pierce added 22 at Milwaukee and the Bucks sent the Suns to their ninth straight defeat.

The Bucks have won nine straight games at home and six of their last eight games. The Suns lost all five games on their trip, which ended in Milwaukee, and are 4-15 since the All-Star break.

Milwaukee broke the game open with an 18-6 run in the third quarter, capped by Sidney Moncrief’s basket that gave the Bucks an 82-66 lead.

Armon Gilliam and Kevin Johnson scored 18 points each for the Suns.

Seattle 115, New Jersey 102--Tom Chambers scored 19 of his 25 points in the third quarter and the SuperSonics beat the Nets at Seattle.

Chambers was 6 for 6 from the floor and 7 for 7 from the foul line in the third quarter.

Dale Ellis added 22 points and Xavier McDaniel had 21 for the Sonics, who won their third straight game.

Roy Hinson scored 27 points for New Jersey.

Houston 125, Golden State 112--Akeem Olajuwon scored 25 points and Sleepy Floyd added 23 as the Rockets turned back the Warriors at Houston.

The victory gave Houston a 5-0 series sweep against the Warriors this season.

Dave Feitl scored 19 points for Golden State, while Rodney McCray added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets.