NBA Roundup : Bird Watches as Celtics Beat 76ers

Almost without dissent, Larry Bird has been the Most Valuable Player in the National Basketball Assn. for the last three seasons. Hardly anyone believes there is a better player in the game.

When he joined the Boston Celtics for the 1979-80 season, they were almost the weakest team in the league. From his first NBA game, he turned the Celtics into one of the best and they have stayed that way.

Surprisingly, though, the Celtics have learned to win on the rare occasions when their star is unable to play.

Robert Parish scored 32 points and Dennis Johnson 27 Friday night at Boston to lead the Celtics to a 108-106 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers as Bird, nursing an Achilles’ tendon injury, sat on the bench in street clothes.

It was only the 15th game that the 6-9 forward had missed. The Celtics’ record in those games is 11-4?

They are 2-0 this season without their ace. Bird, who is expected to return Wednesday night against New Jersey, was out last Wednesday night when the Celtics, with Danny Ainge scoring a career-high 34 points, beat Denver, 119-113.

Friday night’s win was the Celtics’ 47th in a row at Boston Garden, and they managed it although Tim McCormick and Charles Barkley helped the 76ers control the rebounds, 40-26.

Besides leading the offense, Parish grabbed the rebound with two seconds remaining after Maurice Cheeks intentionally missed a free throw in hopes the 76ers could tie with a two-point basket.

“It’s a very satisfying win,” Coach K.C. Jones said. “We won without Larry and we won on our home court. They (the 76ers) wanted it badly.

“It’s still a December game, but you always have kind of a playoff intensity when the Celtics and 76ers meet. Players really want to perform.”

The victory, coming as both teams shot well (56.0% for Philadelphia and 55.8% for Boston), enabled the Celtics to move ahead of the 76ers by a game in the Atlantic Division.

With Barkley coming off the bench to score 23 points and grab 14 rebounds in 36 minutes, the 76ers made a battle of it all the way.

It was tied, 96-96, with four minutes left. Kevin McHale scored on a turnaround jumper and followed with a running one-hander to put the Celtics in front to stay.

Today will mark a year since the Celtics were last beaten at the Garden--by Portland.

Indiana 119, Atlanta 113--A technical foul called against popular rookie Chuck Person in the third quarter stirred up the Indianapolis crowd of 13,490 and started the Pacers’ drive to victory.

The Hawks held a slight lead midway through the period when Person, after engaging in a shoving match with Tree Rollins, was assessed a technical.

When fans booed and threw ice on the floor, they had to be warned several times before they finally settled down.

It wasn’t until early in the fourth quarterm, when Johnny Long got hot, that the Pacers pulled in front. Long, who missed the two previous games because of an ankle injury, scored 14 of his 24 points in the final 12 minutes.

“I don’t think the technical should have been called,” Person said. “But it stirred up the fans and started us rolling.”

It was only the fourth loss in 18 games for the Hawks, who have the best record in the East.

Denver 113, New Jersey 100--Fortunately for the travel-weary Nuggets, they made a stop at East Rutherford, N.J. Alex English scored 36 points, and Bill Hanzlick came off the bench to add 19 as the Nuggets ended their 0-8 road slump.

Although it was their fifth game in seven nights on this trip, the Nuggets had little trouble handing the Nets their 10th loss in the last 11 games.

Milwaukee 91, Washington 87--Terry Cummings scored 7 of his 18 points in a fourth-quarter rally at Landover, Md., that enabled the Bucks to pull out the victory.

With 2:58 left in the game, the Bullets led, 85-79. But Milwaukee scored nine points in a row. Cummings had two baskets and a steal that set up a three-pointer by Ricky Pierce.

Phoenix 114, Chicago 112--Walter Davis sank a 20-foot jumper with seven seconds left at Phoenix to offset another brilliant performance by Michael Jordan.

Jordan, the only Bull who didn’t seem to be worn out, scored 43 points, although he was playing his sixth road game in the last nine nights. He has scored at least 40 points in each of the last five.

But Jordan had a seven-foot jumper blocked by Larry Nance with three seconds left and his 20-footer at the buzzer hit the rim and caromed away.

Utah 123, New York 96--John Stockton came off the bench in the second quarter at Salt Lake City to get 8 points and 6 assists and bring the Jazz from behind. The Jazz, trailing, 31-23, outscored the Knicks, 31-13 in the quarter.