NBA ROUNDUP : Celtics End 76er Streak at Five

Age may be creeping up on the Boston Celtics, but they are still a potent NBA force--especially when they are rested and playing at home.

The Celtics needed their leader, Larry Bird, for only 29 minutes Friday night as they easily put an end to the Philadelphia 76ers’ five-game winning streak, 122-97.

Bird, making nine of 17 shots, had 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists. By the time he went to the bench in the third quarter, the Celtics led by 17.

The 76ers, unbeaten since losing their first two games, stayed in contention for one quarter as Charles Barkley had 15 of his 28 points. By halftime Boston, which has won three in a row, led, 56-48.

The Celtics improved to 5-4 although two of their top young players, Dee Brown and Brian Shaw, are sidelined because of injuries.

The Celtics will play at Charlotte tonight, so they gave their veterans some rest. Bird, who will turn 35 on Dec. 7, sat out the entire fourth quarter. Kevin McHale, 34, played 23 minutes and had 14 points. Robert Parish, who sat out the previous game because of a back problem, is 38. He played 22 minutes, scored nine points and had 12 rebounds.

“The work we did on the recent trip paid off,” Bird said. “We were struggling, but we’re getting people in shape.”

Portland 107, Minnesota 102--The Timberwolves were feeling pretty good about their chances of winning their first home game after three defeats. In the first 7:40 of the second half, they outscored Portland, 23-8, and led, 75-54.

But Clyde Drexler started the comeback and rookie Robert Pack, from USC, completed it.

Drexler, who scored 35 points, had the Trail Blazers’ last 17 of the third quarter to cut the deficit to nine points.

Pack, signed as a free agent, then took charge in the last quarter, scoring 13 of his 15 points.

With Minnesota leading, 101-100, Pack rebounded a miss by Drexler and made a 10-foot jump shot. After Minnesota tied the score with a free throw, Pack sank a jumper from the lane, barely beating the 24-second clock, and the Trail Blazers had the lead for good.

Miami 120, Charlotte 105--The Heat lead the Atlantic Division after climbing two games above .500 (4-2) for the first time in its history.

Grant Long and Steve Smith keyed a second half attack at Miami that handed the Hornets (1-8) their fifth loss in a row.

Glen Rice led all scorers with 33 for the Heat. Long had 24.

Chicago 114, Milwaukee 101--For the first time this season, Michael Jordan wasn’t the Bulls leading scorer, but they had little trouble getting their sixth consecutive victory, at Chicago.

Scottie Pippen had 23 points to lead the Bulls. Jordan took only 10 shots and had 17 points.

The Bulls played most of the game without center Bill Cartwright, who suffered a bruised hand when accidentally kicked by the Bucks’ Jay Humphries.

Detroit 123, Utah 115--Isiah Thomas scored 44 points for the Pistons at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Thomas, whose personal best is 47 points, sank all seven of his shots during the third quarter.

Karl Malone had 31 points and 10 rebounds for Utah.

Atlanta 119, Phoenix 115--Last season, while posting the fifth-best record in the NBA, the Suns lost only nine of 41 home games.

But with Dominique Wilkins scoring 39 points, the Hawks handed the Suns their fourth loss in six games at Phoenix this season. Kevin Willis added 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Seattle 124, Indiana 108--Eddie Johnson came off the bench to score nine of his 32 points during a 24-10 run early in the fourth quarter to lead the SuperSonics at Indianapolis.

Ricky Pierce had 34 points for the SuperSonics, who trailed, 85-84, after three quarters,then scored 40 points in 12 minutes.

Washington 116, New Jersey 111--Michael Adams scored seven of his 24 points during overtime at East Rutherford, N.J., to lead the Nets.