NBA ROUNDUP : Barkley and 76ers Rising in the East, Down Hawks

Early in the season Charles Barkley said this was the best Philadelphia 76ers team since he joined the club. He predicted they would surprise people and finish first in the Atlantic Division.

Although his team holds only a 2 1/2-game lead over Boston with six games remaining, Barkley has decided the race is over. After the type of season that wins most valuable player honors, Barkley is looking toward the playoffs.

Barkley had 39 points and sparked the fourth-quarter comeback Saturday night at Atlanta that carried the 76ers to a 112-108 victory, their ninth in 10 games.

His 18-foot jumper from the left side broke a 108-108 tie with 30 seconds left as the 76ers dealt a blow to the Hawks’ playoff hopes. The Hawks, ninth in the East, one-half game behind Cleveland, led, 85-80, after three quarters.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Barkley said, “the Knicks played well. But history will tell you they’ll get knocked off in the first round of the playoffs by Boston.

“Before the game I told the guys we weren’t going to lose. If I die, we might lose, but if I don’t and I’m playing, we won’t lose.”

The Hawks, who have lost three in a row, have seven games left, four on the road--where they are 13-24.

Boston 115, Miami 105--The last two performances by Larry Bird point out how meaningless the triple-double is. Friday night he made four of 17 shots and had a triple-double, but it was his teammates who pulled out the victory.

In this game at Miami, there was no triple-double, but Bird was responsible for the victory that strengthened the Celtics’ grip on second place.

Bird made 13 of 21 shots, including four of six three-pointers, and had 37 points. It was Bird, who got the Celtics untracked after a 17-0 spurt gave the Heat a 30-16 lead in the first quarter.

“The ball just started going in,” said Bird, who had only four points in the first quarter. “I started coming off picks, saw some openings and started shooting.”

Chicago 109, Dallas 108--The Mavericks, holding a two-point lead with 5.5 seconds left at Dallas without Roy Tarpley, were expecting Michael Jordan, who had 43 points, to take the last shot in the Bulls’ attempt to tie.

Instead, Jordan flipped the ball back to John Paxson, who swished a three-pointer to win it.

Tarpley has been suspended for two games, pending the outcome of a drug test after he missed practice Friday. If he tests positive for cocaine or heroin, Tarpley will be banned for at least two years. If he tests positive for alcohol, he may miss the rest of the season. Otherwise he’ll play against the Clippers Tuesday night.

Milwaukee 110, Washington 100--Jay Humphries scored 29 points at Milwaukee to lead the Bucks to their third win in a row.

Bernard King scored 35 for the Bullets, whose desperate late rally fell short.

San Antonio 111, Sacramento 93--The Spurs were in danger of losing their third in a row, but Terry Cummings led a 22-4 spurt early in the fourth quarter at Sacramento that brought them from behind.

The Kings led, 80-71, going into the fourth quarter.