NBA ROUNDUP : Pistons Lose for the Fourth Time in Row

The Detroit Pistons have not done this since April, 1988.

Their fourth consecutive loss came at Oakland Friday night when Mitch Richmond scored six consecutive points in the final three minutes to give the Golden State Warriors a 113-110 victory over the Pistons.

Detroit, trailing by 16 points in the third quarter and 13 early in the fourth, had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer.

With the score 113-110, Joe Dumars purposely missed the second of two free throws with 4.7 seconds left and the Pistons got the ball back. Isiah Thomas then missed a desperate, off-balance shot in the final second.

Richmond and Chris Mullin led Golden State with 25 points each, and Tim Hardaway had 22. Dumars and Mark Aguirre led Detroit with 29 each, and Thomas had 23.

Orlando 106, Seattle 100--After trading their leading scorer to Phoenix earlier in the day, the visiting SuperSonics lost for the seventh time in their last eight games.

The Magic responded with a season-high 33 points from 6-foot-5 Otis Smith, who made 13 of 19 shots, many of them coming against 6-4 rookie Gary Payton.

“They had a little guy on me. A little guy with a lot of mouth,” Smith said. “He was out there mouthing off. You don’t expect that from a rookie. He’s going to learn his way around the league. Guys don’t take that. This isn’t college.”

Chicago 108, New York 98--Michael Jordan scored 24 of his 33 points in the first half at Chicago as the Bulls won their seventh consecutive game and their 12th of their last 15.

Patrick Ewing had 23 points for the Knicks, who lost their second game under Coach John MacLeod.

Scottie Pippen made a 35-footer as time expired to give Chicago a 10-point lead entering the fourth quarter. The closest the Knicks came in the final quarter was seven points.

Philadelphia 135, Denver 126--Charles Barkley had 40 points and 22 rebounds to keep the Nuggets winless in nine road games this season.

Barkley, the NBA’s leading scorer, connected on 14 of 19 shots. Orlando Woolridge had 36 points for Denver.

Boston 112, Dallas 104--Larry Bird scored six points on two-for-11 shooting on his 34th birthday, but the Celtics had plenty of alternative weapons.

Robert Parish scored 26 points, Reggie Lewis 23 and Kevin McHale 21 in the victory at Dallas.

“I felt like it,” Bird said of his 34 years. “I shouldn’t have been even out there. It was my birthday.”

Bird had 11 assists and eight rebounds as the Celtics (15-3) continued their fastest start since the 1985-86 season.

Phoenix 129, New Jersey 110--Jeff Hornacek made 12 of 16 shots and finished with a season-high 28 points and Phoenix took control with a 13-1 second-quarter run in the victory at East Rutherford, N.J.

The Suns snapped a three-game losing streak--their longest since losing four in a row to the Lakers in the 1988-89 playoffs--and was only the second loss in seven games for the Nets.

Sam Bowie had a season-high 27 points for New Jersey.

The Nets also retired the number of ailing John Williamson.

Milwaukee 104, Atlanta 103--Fred Roberts’ 20-footer as time expired capped the Bucks’ comeback from an eight-point deficit in the final 3:09. It was Atlanta’s sixth consecutive home-court defeat.

Portland 127, Indiana 105--The Trail Blazers improved their record to 17-1, matching the second-best start in NBA history, and stayed unbeaten in seven games on the road.

Clyde Drexler led Portland with 23 points. The Trail Blazers, who led by as many as 26 points in the fourth quarter, extended a two-point edge to 36-20 with a 16-2 run in the first quarter.

Indiana was led by Chuck Person, who had 22 points.