NBA Roundup : Barkley Leads 76ers With 41 Points

The Philadelphia 76ers are on top of the Atlantic Division, and Charles Barkley is intent on keeping them there.

Barkley collected 41 points and 22 rebounds Wednesday night to lead the 76ers, playing without injured starters Cliff Robinson and Maurice Cheeks, to a 114-106 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers at Philadelphia.

“When guys are out, I get a few more shots,” Barkley said. “I volunteered my services to shoot more.”

Barkley has 72 points and 45 rebounds in his last 2 games, and the 76ers have climbed into the division lead by winning 5 of 6.

Philadelphia had a 58-55 halftime lead behind Barkley’s 24 points and 13 rebounds. Coach Jim Lynam said Barkley probably has never played a better first half.

“It was almost frightening,” Lynam said.

The 76ers maintained the lead throughout the third period and took a 101-87 lead on a jumper by Hersey Hawkins with 8:42 left.

A 7-2 run by Portland narrowed the gap to 105-96, but the 76ers then scored 5 straight, putting the game out of reach.

Hawkins added 28 points for Philadelphia. Steve Johnson had 24 points and Kersey 20 for Portland.

Boston 133, New Jersey 100--Kevin McHale scored 26 points, and the Celtics avoided their first losing month since Larry Bird joined the team in 1979, routing the Nets at Boston.

The Celtics extended to 61 their streak of winning months by boosting their record to 8-7 in November. Their last losing month was April 1979, when they were 1-5. Bird, expected to be sidelined until March after heel surgery, joined them the next season.

Dennis Johnson also missed the game with an Achilles’ tendon injury.

Boston, which never trailed, began the game with an 11-3 surge and led by at least 10 points for the final 42 minutes. The Celtics made 16 of 22 shots in the first quarter and had a 41-19 lead.

Rookie Brian Shaw added 17 points for Boston, while Brad Lohaus and Reggie Lewis each had 16. Roy Hinson scored 24 points for New Jersey.

San Antonio 105, Miami 101--Alvin Robertson scored 27 points at Miami as the Spurs held on to hand the Heat their 12th consecutive defeat.

The loss gave the Heat, in its first season, the fourth-worst start in NBA history. Three teams, most recently the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, lost their first 15 games.

San Antonio led by as many as 20 points, but the Heat came within 97-94 on a basket with 2:08 left by Kevin Edwards, who scored 24 points.

Miami stayed close at 102-99 on 5 points by Rory Sparrow, who had 22 points, but Robertson tipped in a missed shot with 31 seconds left to make it 104-99.

Detroit 114, Indiana 111--Isiah Thomas scored 36 points, including the last 6 as the Pistons beat the Pacers at Auburn, Mich., to earn a split of a 2-night home-and-home series.

The Pacers, who notched only their second win of the season by beating the Pistons, 107-98, at Indianapolis Tuesday night, got six points from Rik Smits in overcoming a 10-point deficit and took their first lead, 102-100, on 2 free throws by John Long with 7:13 left.

Vinnie Johnson hit 2 baskets and Adrian Dantley another for a 108-104 Detroit lead before Thomas took over.

Dantley added 34 points for Detroit, while Reggie Miller and Vern Fleming had 17 each for Indiana.

Utah 107, Chicago 93--Darrell Griffith scored 32 points at Salt Lake City, and the Jazz handed the Bulls their fourth straight setback.

The Jazz, which lost its previous 2 games, took the lead for good in the second quarter when Thurl Bailey had 13 of his 23 points and Griffith added 10.

Karl Malone scored 19 points, and John Stockton had 15 points and 17 assists for Utah, including a franchise-record 11 assists in the second quarter.

Chicago’s Michael Jordan, the NBA’s leading scorer, scored 33 points despite being hit in the face by an elbow just before halftime.