Celtics Win Last Game on Famous Floor

The Boston Celtics said goodbye to their parquet floor at halftime, but said goodbye to the Atlanta Hawks long before that.

Antoine Walker scored 24 points, and Boston took a 14-point first-quarter lead and coasted to a 98-81 victory over the Hawks on Wednesday night, ending a six-game losing streak. The Hawks lost their fourth in a row.

The game was the finale for the famous parquet floor that has supported the Celtics since 1946. A new floor built to resemble the old will be unveiled Jan. 3 for Boston’s game against Cleveland.

“I get very emotional about tradition,” Boston Coach Rick Pitino said. “That’s one of the reasons I love being a Celtics coach. It’s a memory every time you walk out.”

Miami 74, Utah 72--Alonzo Mourning had 17 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots to lead the Heat to a victory over the Jazz at Miami. Mourning blocked Bryon Russell’s drive to the basket with 13 seconds remaining and John Stockton missed a three-point shot at the buzzer.

New York 91, Toronto 90--Patrick Ewing made a turnaround 14-footer with 21.3 seconds left and the Knicks, despite blowing a 13-point lead with 6:12 left in the game, overcame Vince Carter’s 36 points at New York. It was Ewing’s seventh game since recovering from a partially torn Achilles’ tendon. He finished with eight points, only the 36th single-digit scoring night of his 984-game career.

Orlando 103, Cleveland 97--Rookie Chucky Atkins scored 22 points to lead the Magic at Cleveland for their fourth consecutive victory. Cleveland, with only nine healthy players, battled but committed 10 turnovers in the first 9:19 of the fourth quarter and lost its fifth in a row.

Minnesota 106, Chicago 86--Kevin Garnett scored 22 points in his hometown as the Timberwolves routed the Bulls at Chicago for their third consecutive victory. Garnett, who played at Chicago’s Farragut Academy his senior year in high school, led five Timberwolves in double figures.

Around the League

Spur forward Sean Elliott, who received a kidney transplant in August, remained hospitalized in San Antonio with flu. The earliest that Elliott, hospitalized since last weekend, could be discharged is today, hospital spokeswoman JoAnn King-Sinnett said. She declined to give his condition. . . . Miami point guard Tim Hardaway, sidelined the last 13 games because of a jammed right knee, said he will not be able to practice for at least the next 10 days. . . . Cleveland forward Danny Ferry was placed on the injured list because of a strained left calf. Ferry has already been out six games. . . . Atlanta activated forward LaPhonso Ellis, who hadn’t played this season because of a strained left calf.