NBA ROUNDUP : Spurs Are Sad Sight for Bird, Celtics, 97-90

Since he arrived in the NBA, Larry Bird has seldom seen the San Antonio Spurs win.

Bird could only watch Friday night at Boston as the Spurs ended a string of 20 losses against the Celtics with a 97-90 victory.

It was the fourth game Bird missed because of a sprained ankle. In the previous game Wednesday night, the Celtics overcame the absence of their star and beat the NBA champion Detroit Pistons, 104-97.

But they couldn’t handle the new-look Spurs. Rookie David Robinson and newcomer Terry Cummings took charge as the Spurs improved to 23-8, despite scoring only nine points in the third quarter.

The poor quarter enabled the Celtics, trailing by 13 at halftime, to pull within one point early in the fourth quarter. But the Spurs, who had seven fewer field goals, went on a 10-2 run, making six of the 10 free throws, to pull away.

Cummings had 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter. Robinson had 18 points and 10 rebounds.

The last time the Spurs beat the Celtics was Jan. 5, 1980, Bird’s rookie season.

“It’s definitely a big win for us,” San Antonio Coach Larry Brown said.

New York 101, Indiana 96--Patrick Ewing had an off night, scoring only 20 points in 47 minutes at Indianapolis, but he scored the basket in overtime that put the Knicks ahead to stay.

Ewing, who missed a short hook shortly before the buzzer that sent the game into overtime, was six for 15 from the field before making a jump shot early in the overtime that made the score 91-89. The Knicks, 4-0 in overtime games, shot only 44.7%.

Except for Detlef Schrempf, who was 10 for 14, the Pacers shot more poorly. The Pacers’ Reggie Miller, who had 44 points in his previous game, made six of21.

Ewing limited Rik Smits, the Pacers’ 7-foot-4 center, to seven-of-21 shooting from the field.

Chicago 107, Charlotte 95--If the bruised knee suffered by Michael Jordan was bothering him, it wasn’t evident to the Hornets or 23,901 fans at Charlotte.

Jordan’s injury had hampered his shooting and was a major reason the Bulls lost three in a row.

But Jordan made 19 of 28 shots and scored 45 points to end the Bulls’ skid.

Armon Gilliam had 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets.

Detroit 97, Minnesota 86--Isiah Thomas scored eight of his 23 points during an 18-5 run at Auburn Hills, Mich., to lead the Pistons.

Tony Campbell, who led the Timberwolves with 28 points, made a jump shot to tie the score, 64-64, with 3:52 left in the third quarter. But Thomas took charge and the Pistons pulled away.

Cleveland 113, Philadelphia 102--Mark Price scored 15 of his 30 points in the third period at Philadelphia as the Cavaliers won only their fifth road game in their last 15 outings.

After the 76ers rallied from a 13-point deficit to trail by five with 8:28 left, Price made a three-point play to take the Cavaliers out of danger.

Phoenix 111, Sacramento 96--Kevin Johnson scored 14 points in the first quarter at Phoenix--nine in the last 2:35--to get the Suns off to a 32-19 lead.

The Kings have lost eight in a row on the road and 15 of their last 17 overall. It was the fifth consecutive victory at home for the Suns.