NBA ROUNDUP : Pacers Slow Streaking Celtics, 114-91

The Boston Celtics knew they were in trouble after their first shot, when Robert Parish threw up an airball.

On a free throw.

It only got worse for one of the NBA’s hottest teams as the Celtics were grounded by the Indiana Pacers, 114-91, Wednesday night at Indianapolis.

The Celtics, who had won eight of their previous 11 games, were hurt by the strange absence of Sherman Douglas, who had lost his starting job earlier in the season. He received permission from the team to miss the game because he was suffering from a lack of confidence, according to Dave Gavitt, Celtics’ vice president.

After Wednesday’s game, the entire Celtic team might be experiencing that condition. The Pacers, winners of six of seven games, have beaten the Celtics by a larger margin only once in 79 meetings.

The Celtics, weary from a double-overtime victory against the Timberwolves at Minneapolis on Tuesday, shot only 33%, including only 11.5% in the second quarter.

“We didn’t give up any effort to play the game,” said Chris Ford, Celtic coach. “We just rolled over.”

Detlef Schrempf scored 18 points and Vern Fleming, subbing for injured point guard Pooh Richardson, had 15 points and eight assists for Indiana.

“We didn’t establish anything in 48 minutes except that we played like a (youth league) team,” said the Celtics’ Kevin McHale.

Portland 100, Denver 99--Clyde Drexler scored five of his 25 points in the final 3:24 for the Trail Blazers at Denver, handing the Nuggets their sixth consecutive defeat.

Reggie Williams hit three three-pointers in a three-minute span, pulling the Nuggets to within 100-99 with 34 seconds to play. Rod Strickland, who had 21 points for Portland, lost the ball on a steal by Chris Jackson with 10 seconds remaining, but Porter knocked the ball loose from Jackson with three seconds left. After a scramble, a jump ball was called and Strickland won the tap from Jackson as time expired.

Cleveland 115, Philadelphia 97--Brad Daugherty scored 26 points and reserve guard Gerald Wilkins added 19 at Philadelphia as the Cavaliers lowered the 76ers’ home record to 2-9.

Hersey Hawkins had 30 points for Philadelphia, which has not defeated Cleveland since 1991, a span of five games. The Cavaliers, 3-8 on the road, ended their four-game road losing streak. Mark Price had 20 points and 10 assists and Larry Nance 14 points for Cleveland. Nance left the game with 6:11 to play after suffering an ankle injury that team officials said was not serious.

Utah 93, Charlotte 91--Karl Malone scored 21 points, including five in the final two minutes, to lead the Jazz at Charlotte. Malone’s five consecutive points enabled the Jazz to extend an 88-86 lead to 93-88 with 1:06 remaining.

Dell Curry’s three-pointer for Charlotte made it 93-91 with 56 seconds to play, but Larry Johnson’s three-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the rim. The Jazz, which leads the Midwest Division, won for the seventh time in eight games.

Detroit 89, Atlanta 88--Bill Laimbeer’s tip-in with 0.8 seconds to play at Auburn Hills, Mich., lifted the Pistons to a victory over the Hawks for a second consecutive night.

The Hawks were unable to compensate for the loss of injured Dominique Wilkins, who broke a finger Tuesday and will miss at least a month. They scored only 28 points in the second half, tying a franchise low, and scored only 13 in the fourth quarter. Joe Dumars scored 25 points for Detroit and Dennis Rodman had 21 rebounds.