NBA ROUNDUP : Pistons Put Bird in a Cage

Just when it appeared the Boston Celtics had their offense in high gear, they had to play in Auburn Hills, Mich.

At the home of the Detroit Pistons Tuesday night, the Celtics’ attack went down in flames.

The Pistons controlled the backboards, kept the ball away from Larry Bird and breezed to a 93-82 victory.

In the previous four games, the Celtics had averaged 120 points and Bird averaged 21 shots and 26 points. With Dennis Rodman hounding him most of the game, Bird took only 13 shots and had only 19 points.

It was the 15th win in a row at home for the Pistons, still chasing the Lakers for the best overall record. They have beaten the Celtics 12 times in a row at home.

Bill Laimbeer had 21 rebounds and the Pistons dominated the boards, 59-36.

With Philadelphia winning, the defeat probably ended the Celtics’ hopes of winning the Atlantic Division. They trail by four games and have only 10 games remaining.

Philadelphia 133, Houston 112--It’s really Charles in charge these days in Philadelphia. Charles Barkley, making his pitch for most valuable player honors, had 26 points and 14 rebounds in the 76ers’ fourth consecutive one-sided victory.

The 76ers have won eight in a row in their drive to the division title and they have been overwhelming in the last four. They have won all four by at least 18 points and Barkley has averaged 29.3 points.

During regular-season play, the 76ers have beaten the Rockets 23 times in a row since 1974.

Center Mike Gminski of the 76ers made Akeem Olajuwon battle for everything. Gminski had 16 and 15 rebounds to 19 and 13 for the Rockets’ all-star.

Chicago 109, Indiana 102--Michael Jordan had 29 points and 10 assists at Chicago to lead the Bulls to their fifth consecutive victory.

The Pacers, led by Reggie Miller with 26 points, rallied to cut the Bulls’ lead to 89-88 with nearly seven minutes left. But Jordan paced a 10-4 spurt that ended the threat.

The Pacers double- and triple-teamed Jordan, freeing Scottie Pippen (21 points) for easy shots.

The Pacers, battling Atlanta and Cleveland for the last two playoff spots in the East, are 36-36.

Minnesota 92, San Antonio 90--Former Laker Tony Campbell had 27 points at San Antonio and the surprising Timberwolves dealt a severe blow to the Spurs’ hopes of winning the Midwest Division.

David Robinson had only 18 points against the expansion team and the Spurs dropped three games behind Utah with just 10 games to play.

The Timberwolves (21-52) built a 14-point lead at halftime, lost it, then won when Tod Murphy broke a 90-90 tie with two free throws with 30 seconds left.

Seattle 136, Portland 134--Dana Barros made a three-point shot with 16 seconds left in overtime at Seattle as the Sonics pulled a full game ahead of Houston in the battle for the last playoff spot in the West.

The Sonics rallied from a 12-point deficit in the last quarter to send the game into overtime.

New York 106, Cleveland 97--Gerald Wilkins scored 10 of his 25 points in the third quarter at New York to lead the Knicks to their second victory in the last 11 games.

The Cavaliers missed a chance to catch Atlanta for the eighth playoff spot in the East. The Cavaliers are home to the Hawks tonight and desperately need a victory if they expect to make the playoffs.

Golden State 127, Orlando 126--The Warriors led by 21 points with 12 minutes left at Orlando and blew it, but they managed to pull out the victory when Rod Higgins made one out of two free throws with 10 seconds left to break the 126-126 tie.

Chris Mullin had 32 points for the Warriors, who outshot the Magic from the field, 53.6% to 43.5.

Utah 127, Charlotte 104--Karl Malone had 36 points and 13 rebounds at Salt Lake City and the Jazz tied a franchise record with their 51st victory.

The Jazz, who are 33-4 at home, have 10 games remaining.

Phoenix 117, Dallas 111--The Suns, battling San Antonio for the fourth position in the West, moved half a game ahead of the Spurs as Tom Chambers scored 34 points at Phoenix.