NBA ROUNDUP : Celtics Still Have Old Touch

Those who reasoned that more than 2,600 games played have taken their toll on Larry Bird, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale might have to readjust their thinking.

The Boston Celtics’ aging threesome might not be what they once were, but they are showing they are still a force in the NBA.

McHale, who thrives on coming off the bench, took over at Boston Wednesday night to lead the Celtics to a 108-95 victory over the Houston Rockets.

McHale, making 13 of 19 shots, scored 32 points in 35 minutes, had 10 rebounds and helped Parish hold Akeem Olajuwon to 19 points.

Bird had 18 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists. Parish had 18 points and 11 rebounds.

“Kevin really gave us a lift tonight,” Bird said. “We fell behind because we were missing easy shots. When Kevin started hitting, we tightened our defense, too.”

The Celtics (8-2) have won four in a row and lead the Atlantic Division by two games over New York.

Philadelphia 101, Sacramento 99--The Kings made another valiant effort at Philadelphia but fell short when Rick Mahorn tipped in a miss by Charles Barkley with only four-tenths of a second left.

The Kings pulled even in a tight game when seldom-used Ralph Sampson put in a rebound with 10 seconds left.

Sampson played 26 minutes because starting center Bill Wennington was hurt.

Phoenix 109, Chicago 107--The Bulls, playing their fifth road game in eight nights, barely failed to last at Phoenix.

Kevin Johnson hit an off-balance baseline jumper at the buzzer to give the Suns the victory. Before his winning basket, Johnson was only three for 10.

Michael Jordan, who scored 32 points, had only two in the last quarter as the Bulls wasted an 85-78 lead.

Detroit 108, Indiana 100--The Pistons have made it a habit to go to Isiah Thomas in the clutch, and he came through again for them with a six-foot jumper with five seconds left in regulation at Indianapolis to put the game into overtime.

The Pacers, who missed winning when Chuck Person tossed up an air ball at the buzzer, fell apart in overtime when Thomas sank two three-pointers to reach 32 points.

Cleveland 123, Miami 109--The Cavaliers made quick work of the Heat at Richfield, Ohio, getting 44 points in the first quarter.

San Antonio 114, Minnesota 100--David Robinson took apart the best defense in the NBA, getting 15 of his 30 points in the first quarter at San Antonio.

Milwaukee 105, Atlanta 93--Ricky Pierce had 25 points and Jack Sikma 24 at Milwaukee as the Bucks handed the Hawks their sixth defeat in a row.

The loss marred the occasion of Moses Malone becoming the seventh player to score 25,000 points.

Utah 106, Orlando 91--Karl Malone and John Stockton led a late attack that wiped out an 87-83 deficit at Salt Lake City. The Jazz scored 17 consecutive points.

Malone wound up with 32 points, and Stockton had eight steals and 13 assists.