NBA ROUNDUP : Heat Beats Celtics, Stays Alive in East Race

As the regular season moves into the stretch, there are six teams fighting for the final three playoff spots in the NBA Eastern Division.

The only teams that appear to be eliminated from contention are the two expansion teams, the Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic, and the injury-riddled Washington Bullets.

The Miami Heat, in its fourth season, is one of the teams with a shot at the playoffs. The Heat took a big step in the right direction Tuesday night at Miami.

Glen Rice scored 31 points and helped hold off former teammate Sherman Douglas to lead the Heat to a 108-101 victory over the Boston Celtics.

Douglas, playing for the first time against Miami since being traded Jan. 10, scored 11 points and helped bring the Celtics within 101-99 with three minutes to play.

But Boston missed its next five shots, Rice sank a 20-footer and Rony Seikaly made a free throw. Douglas made a layup with 15 seconds to play, but Bimbo Coles scored the last four points.

The Heat (29-34) is a half-game behind Indiana and Philadelphia in the battle for the the final playoff positions.

Kevin Loughery, Miami’s coach, liked what he saw. “This is the playoff action we’ve been striving for,” he said. “No matter what happened, no matter who won, that’s the way we have to compete.”

Larry Bird, although he had 11 rebounds and eight assists, was only two for seven. He was disappointed in his team, which missed a chance to cut into New York’s 3 1/2-game lead in the Atlantic Division.

“We played stand-around basketball,” he said. “We watched Miami do it.”

Detroit 98, Seattle 92--The Pistons continued their winning trip through the West. Joe Dumars had 21 points and Dennis Rodman had 15 rebounds and the Pistons stopped the SuperSonics’ eight-game home winning streak.

The Pistons have won five in a row, including three on the trip.

With the Clippers winning, the seventh-place SuperSonics lead the Clippers by only 1 1/2 games.

Golden State 129, New Jersey 122--The Nets lost their fourth game in a row, but only after the strategy of Warrior Coach Don Nelson nearly backfired.

Drazen Petrovic scored 18 points during the second quarter to get the Nets into the game, and they made it close.

With the Warriors holding a small lead, Nelson had them foul Chris Dudley, a 32% free-throw shooter. Dudley responded by making all eight of his free throws.

San Antonio 103, Atlanta 92--Despite the loss of one of the league’s best players, Dominique Wilkins, for the rest of the season, the Hawks are trying to hang on for the playoffs.

They led the Spurs at San Antonio until late in the third quarter, when their lack of depth took over.

Although the Spurs’ David Robinson was only seven for 18 and blocked only one shot, the Spurs didn’t need him. Terry Cummings had 23 points and Rod Strickland 19 as the Spurs moved within half a game of Phoenix for fourth place in the Western Conference. The top four get home-court advantage during the opening round of the playoffs.

Kevin Willis led the Hawks with 25 points and 10 rebounds.

Portland 126, Milwaukee 112--After Clyde Drexler and the Trail Blazers beat the Bucks at Milwaukee, Buck Coach Frank Hamblen had an explanation.

“We just played the Chicago of the Western Conference,” he said.

Drexler, after scoring 16 of his 29 points during the third quarter, sat out the final 12 minutes after the Blazers took a 101-72 lead.

The Trail Blazers are 19-6 against the East.

Cleveland 102, Phoenix 100--Mark Price ended a six-game scoring slump, getting 17 points during the fourth quarter at Richfield, Ohio, to lead the Cavaliers’ rally.

Price, who was shooting below 33% in his previous six games, helped the Cavaliers overcome a nine-point deficit during the last six minutes. It was their eighth loss in a row on the road.

“My legs seemed to be tired for a couple of weeks,” Price said. “They came back in the fourth quarter.”

Indiana 101, Washington 91--Detlef Schrempf came off the bench to get 25 points and 11 rebounds and help the Pacers to their seventh home victory in a row.

It was the 26th consecutive game that Schrempf scored in double figures as a reserve.

Pervis Ellison led the Bullets with 22 points and 17 rebounds. He had 15 points during the first quarter.

Houston 116, Dallas 93--Vernon Maxwell scored 11 of his 19 points during the third quarter at Houston to help the Rockets pull away.

The Rockets had a 52-46 lead at halftime, but outscored the Mavericks, 38-18, during the third quarter.

The Rockets’ Hakeem Olajuwon played only 29 minutes, scoring 13 points. He had 11 rebounds.

Charlotte 105, Minnesota 96--The Hornets are becoming tough to beat at home. Kendall Gill scored 28 points and the Hornets won their ninth home game in a row.

Larry Johnson had 16 points and eight rebounds during the third quarter for Charlotte. He finished with 24 points and a franchise-record 23 rebounds.