NBA Roundup : Daugherty Helps Cavaliers Maintain Edge on Celtics

The Boston Celtics, with their late-season spurt, have convinced almost every team in the East that they are the best team in their conference, if not in the entire National Basketball Assn.

The one holdout is the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Celtics, who had won eight games in a row while challenging the Lakers for the league’s best record, took a 50-33 lead in the first 15 minutes Friday night at Richfield, Ohio.

But the Cavaliers are charging into the playoffs, too. And with Brad Daugherty scoring a career-high 44 points, the Cavaliers fought back for a 120-109 victory.

The win, the 8th in their last 10 games, gave the Cavaliers the season’s series over the Celtics, 3-2, and was the fifth time in a row they have beaten the Celtics on their home court.

Larry Bird, who scored 30 points, kept the Cavaliers from catching up earlier. His two free throws gave Boston a 96-90 lead with 7:55 left. Then Daugherty took charge. He scored 15 points in a 19-6 run that put the Cavaliers in command, 109-102, with 2:25 left.

“In high school, I had 73 one time, but I was playing against guys Mark Price’s size,” said Daugherty, referring to the Cavalier guard who is 6 feet 1 inch.

This time, he was guarded by 7-foot Robert Parish. But Parish didn’t get much help from teammates, and Daugherty was making his shots in close or getting fouled.

One more victory and the Cavaliers (39-40) will be in the playoffs.

The Celtics had been closing in on the Lakers, but with three of their five remaining games on the road, they figure to have a tough time catching the Lakers.

During their winning streak, the Celtics’ regulars had been healthy, but guard Dennis Johnson missed this game with a bruised shoulder.

Washington 106, New York 97--Jeff Malone led a last-quarter surge at New York as the Bullets won and threw the battle for the last two playoff berths in the Eastern Conference into a free-for-all.

Cleveland is a cinch for sixth, but four teams have a shot at the other two spots. With the road win, the Bullets are 36-42, and so are the Knicks. Indiana is 35-42, and Philadelphia, after a tough loss at Atlanta, is 34-43.

Malone scored 10 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, and a tough Bullet defense limited the Knicks to 11 points in the first 10 minutes of the fourth quarter.

Denver 132, Houston 125--Danny Schayes scored a career-high 32 points, and Michael Adams sank five three-pointers at Denver as the Nuggets moved into first place in the Midwest Division.

With Seattle knocking off Dallas, the Nuggets rallied from a 20-point third-quarter deficit to win for the 13th time in their last 14 games and move ahead by a half-game.

Atlanta 103, Philadelphia 101--Dominique Wilkins tossed an air ball with five seconds left in overtime at Atlanta, but Scott Hastings grabbed the rebound and scored a layup for the win.

Gerald Henderson’s three-point basket with five seconds to play in regulation enabled the 76ers to send it into overtime.

Chicago 100, New Jersey 99--It was no air ball that Michael Jordan fired with 20 seconds left at East Rutherford, N.J. The 15-foot jumper gave Jordan 28 points and enabled the Bulls to stay one game behind Atlanta in the fight for third place in the Central Division.

Detroit 92, Milwaukee 91--Dennis Rodman came off the bench to score 18 points at Pontiac, Mich., and move the Pistons closer to their first Central Division title. The Pistons, with five games left, lead Atlanta by three games.

San Antonio 116, Sacramento 112--Jon Sundvold scored 25 points at San Antonio, and the Spurs, moving closer to a playoff berth, handed the Kings their 12th road loss in a row.

Seattle 115, Dallas 88--The SuperSonics jumped in front early at Seattle and romped to victory, knocking the slumping Mavericks out of first place in the Midwest Division.

The Mavericks play at Denver Sunday night.

Portland 147, Golden State 113--Kiki Vandeweghe scored 36 points in a rout at Portland.