NBA Roundup : Pistons Outbattle Celtics, 116-107

The Detroit Pistons and the Boston Celtics picked up where they left off last season. They feuded and fought, and the Pistons won.

Adrian Dantley and Isiah Thomas keyed a decisive rally down the stretch as the unbeaten Pistons streaked to their fifth victory in a brawl-interrupted game, winning, 116-107, Friday night at Boston.

Centers Bill Laimbeer of the Pistons and Robert Parish of the Celtics were ejected in the first quarter for fighting. “We got into a shoving match and we were thrown out,” Laimbeer said. “It was just a shoving match.”

The fight broke out after the 7-foot Parish was struck on the head during rebounding action. Parish and the 6-10 Laimbeer threw wild punches before being separated by other players.

Dantley topped all scorers with 31 points. Kevin McHale led Boston (1-3) with 30 points. Bird had 24.

For the Pistons, off to their best start since 1970, it was their first regular-season victory in 15 Boston Garden visits since Dec. 19, 1982. Detroit won twice in Boston during last season’s rough Eastern Conference playoffs, which the Pistons took in 6 games.

Dallas 115, San Antonio 102--Derek Harper and Mark Aguirre traded roles as the Mavericks rolled over the Spurs at Dallas.

Harper, Dallas’ playmaker, led the Mavericks with 25 points, while Aguirre, the team’s leading scorer, contributed a game-high 12 assists.

“When Mark was double-teamed, he moved the ball to the open guy,” Harper said. “That was the key. He was passing the ball at exactly the right time, getting us into our shooting rhythm.”

Chicago 97, New Jersey 85--Michael Jordan scored 36 points and ignited a fourth-quarter surge as the Bulls won at Chicago.

The Bulls, leading in the final quarter, 70-66, broke open the game with a 15-6 spurt that started with Jordan’s layup at 10:16 and ended with another basket by Jordan with 5:44 left that put Chicago in front, 85-72.

Jordan, who entered the game as the NBA’s leading scorer with an average of 35 points a game and had 52 Wednesday night against Boston, scored 12 points during the decisive stretch Friday night.

Chicago center Bill Cartwright had only 8 points in the first half but finished with 21. He also had 10 rebounds.

New York 121, Indiana 120--Gerald Wilkins made 2 free throws with 8 seconds left in overtime at Indianapolis, and the Knicks kept the Pacers winless in 4 games.

The Knicks, who led by as many as 16 points in the third quarter, fell behind in the fourth period when Indiana’s Wayman Tisdale scored 15 of his career-high 39 points.

Four straight free throws by Tisdale gave Indiana a 106-103 lead, and 2 minutes later a basket by Tisdale put the Pacers ahead, 111-109. Mark Jackson scored for New York with 42 seconds left, sending the game into overtime.

Philadelphia 107, Atlanta 105--Charles Barkley made a tiebreaking foul shot with 14 seconds left, and Mike Gminski added a free throw with 2 seconds remaining as the 76ers held off the Hawks at Philadelphia.

Atlanta’s Dominique Wilkins missed a long jumper at the buzzer.

Philadelphia’s Hersey Hawkins led all scorers with 23 points, including a key 3-point shot late in the fourth quarter.

Phoenix 141, Golden State 103--Tom Chambers scored 22 points, and Eddie Johnson added 20 at Phoenix as the Suns recorded their largest margin of victory ever over the Warriors.

Phoenix, trailing, 24-21, with 3:54 remaining in the first quarter, closed out the period with a 23-6 run for a 44-30 lead.

The Suns, up by 28 at one stage of the second quarter, led, 80-53, at halftime--just 3 points shy of the club scoring record for a half.

Washington 96, Charlotte 87--Ledell Eackles scored 9 points in the first 6 minutes of the fourth quarter at Landover, Md., as the Bullets recorded their first win of the season. Jeff Malone led the Bullets with 21 points.

Houston 121, Miami 100--Rookie Derrick Chievous scored 22 points, including 12 in a 7-minute span of the second quarter, to lead the Rockets over the winless Heat at Miami.