NBA ROUNDUP : Bulls Turn Up Pressure on Celtics, Who Are Too Weary to Challenge

The Bulls played as if they still had something to prove Wednesday night at Chicago.

They dominated the weary Boston Celtics, 119-85, in a game that was close for less than a quarter.

While Michael Jordan was putting on an offensive show, the Bulls’ tough defense shut out Larry Bird and the Bulls built a 37-13. It didn’t get much better for the Celtics, who lost at Miami Tuesday night.

As Jordan was outscoring the Celtics, 17-13, in the first 12 minutes, Bird was missing all seven of his shots. Jordan played 35 minutes, had 32 points and 13 rebounds. Bird played 36 minutes, had 10 points and four rebounds.

The Bulls’ biggest lead in handing the Celtics their worst defeat of the season, was 105-62 early in the final period.

The Bulls (52-12) extended their lead in the Central Division to 10 games over Cleveland. The Celtics, 4-2 since Bird returned from his back injury, fell four behind New York in the Atlantic Division.

“We went out and jumped right on them,” Jordan said. “Their legs were gone after playing three games in four nights and ours were fresh from being off a couple of days. They expended a lot of energy last night. We get motivated for them.

“With us fresh and their legs not so young anyhow, it was an easy victory. You have to give everyone credit. We all kept the pressure of them.”

Boston Coach Chris Ford felt his team was out of sync.

“We just had a four-game winning streak,” he said. “Everyone was contributing at both ends of the court and our shot distribution was there. Now, the last two games we’ve been playing all out of whack.”

The victory, the Bulls’ 10th in their last 12 games, gave them a 3-0 record against the Celtics. “We had nothing,” said Bird. “I felt good, but I played bad.”

Charlotte 120, Dallas 105--It would have been just fine with the Mavericks if Larry Johnson had forgone his first visit to Dallas as a professional.

Johnson enjoyed his homecoming immensely. The former UNLV star had 24 points and 18 rebounds for the Hornets.

There were 150 family members and friends of Johnson, who was a high school star in Dallas.

The Hornets have won seven of their last eight, and the Mavericks have lost 11 of 13.

Hornet Coach Allan Bristow said he didn’t notice anything unusual about Johnson’s preparation for the game. “He just played a typical Larry Johnson game,” Bristow said. “This is what he’s been doing all year. That’s the way he’s played and that’s the way he’s acted. I wouldn’t even say it was one of his better games.”

Teammate Tyrone Bogues said Johnson was more pumped up for the game than he let reporters know.

Portland 124, Minnesota 113--Clyde Drexler scored 25 points at Minneapolis and the Trail Blazers, who lead the Pacific Division by two games, won their sixth in a row, their longest streak of the season.

Portland’s 45-18 record is the best in the West, second only to the Bulls.

“Usually when we get eight players in double figures, it means we have been moving the ball around,” Portland Coach Rick Adelman said.

The Trail Blazers sank 16 of their first 23 shots for a 40-29 lead and the Timberwolves spent most of the game trying to catch up.

“We had to dig ourselves out of a hole again,” said Doug West, who led the Timberwolves with 25 points. “We played them a little soft and they knocked the shots down. We did bother them a bit with the full-court pressure, but they solved that, too.”

Philadelphia 111, Indiana 93--Armon Gilliam had 21 points and 14 rebounds to lead the 76ers at Philadelphia.

The 76ers took command after a quarter, 36-23.

Charles Barkley had 11 of his 19 points in the quarter, but it was nine Indiana turnovers that enabled the 76ers to build their edge.

With the victory, the 76ers retained the sixth-best record in the East with a 30-33 record. There is a six-team battle for the last three playoff berths. Indiana is 30-35.