NBA Roundup : Celtics Blow a 30-Point Lead and Lose to 76ers

If the Philadelphia 76ers are a bad team, as Charles Barkley has said, then what are the Boston Celtics?

The Celtics, playing at Boston Garden, held a 30-point lead with 7:31 remaining in the third quarter, but it wasn’t enough as the 76ers rallied to win, 97-93, Friday night.

The score was 75-45 when Philadelphia started chipping away. With Barkley scoring 16 of his 29 points in the third quarter, the 76ers pulled within 84-67 by the end of the quarter.

Philadelphia, which had lost 14 straight games at Boston Garden, outscored the Celtics, 18-6, at the start of the fourth quarter to make it 90-85 with 5:16 to play.

Danny Ainge then hit his fourth three-pointer of the game to make it 93-85 with 4 1/2 minutes left, but the Celtics went scoreless after that.

Maurice Cheeks, who had 20 points, hit a 16-foot jump shot with nine seconds left to cap the comeback.

Larry Bird, who made only 3 of 17 shots in the second half, led the Celtics with 21 points.

Chicago 111, Cleveland 110--Charles Oakley tipped in a missed shot by Michael Jordan with one second left in overtime to give the Bulls the victory over the Cavaliers at Richfield, Ohio.

Cleveland rallied from a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime.

Jordan scored 39 points, with 35 coming in the first three quarters. Oakley finished with 22 points and 19 rebounds. Larry Nance had 29 points for Cleveland.

Indiana 101, New Jersey 100--Steve Stipanovich, a 7-foot center, sank a three-point shot with two seconds remaining to win the game for the Pacers at Indianapolis.

The Pacers made only one shot in the previous 5:26 before Stipanovich took a desperation shot off a pass from Vern Fleming. Stipanovich had made only 2 of 12 previous three-point attempts this season.

San Antonio 107, Detroit 106--Reserve forward Eddie Nealey scored his only points of the night at San Antonio on a field goal at the buzzer as the Spurs snapped the Pistons’ seven-game winning streak.

Jon Sundvold came off the bench to lead the Spurs with a season-high 25 points, and Greg Anderson added 23 points and 13 rebounds. Detroit’s Isiah Thomas had 34 points and 10 assists.

Dallas 106, Portland 101--Roy Tarpley scored 25 points to help the Mavericks win at Dallas.