NBA Roundup : Bird Gets Celtic-Record 60 Points

Larry Bird allowed Kevin McHale to hold the Boston Celtics scoring record for just four games and nine days.

Bird, having the best season of a fabulous pro career, scored 60 points Tuesday night to lead the Celtics to a 126-115 victory over the slumping Atlanta Hawks on a supposedly neutral court at New Orleans.

McHale scored 56 points March 3 against Detroit to erase Bird’s club mark of 53 points. Bird’s 60 matched Bernard King’s season high set Christmas Day.

The game was played at Lakefront Arena where the Hawks have been drawing about 2,500 fans. A sellout 10,079 showed up for this one, and it was obvious the fans came to see the Celtics’ superstar. He didn’t disappoint them, either.

Bird made 22 of 36 shots from the field and 15 of 16 free-throw attempts. He was at his best in the closing minutes when he scored his team’s last 16 points to put the Hawks away.

He scored “only” 23 in the first half when the Celtics had to struggle to stay ahead of a team that had not won since they beat the Celtics in Boston March 1.

In that game, Bird scored 34 points.

“My teammates helped me out an awful lot,” Bird said. “They kept giving me the ball at the end of the game.

“I didn’t think that I would like this gym, but I had a good feeling from the first quarter on, even though it was awfully hot.”

Coach K.C. Jones has learned to expect such performances from his star. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him shoot better,” he said. “At the end, I was just like a fan. I sat back and watch. And I had the best seat.”

Bird often leads the Celtics in scoring, rebounding and assists. But he was so busy scoring, that Robert Parish led in rebounds with 19, while Dennis Johnson had 17 assists and Danny Ainge 13.

The Hawks have lost five in a row and they trail Cleveland for the last playoff spot in the East by 1 1/2 games.

Houston 131, Denver 129--Akeem Olajuwon scored 36 points and had 14 rebounds at Houston, and the Rockets served notice that the Midwest Division race is not yet over.

A victory for the Nuggets would have given them a five-game lead with only 15 games to play. But the Rockets, behind their brilliant rookie, took the lead early, built it to 16 points and then held off the patented Nuggets’ rally. In cutting the Nuggets’ lead to three games, the Rockets rekindled hopes for a division title.

The Nuggets, who have won four games in the last two weeks in which they put on fantastic closing rallies, threatened to do it again. They trailed by 14 points going into the last quarter. Alex English and Mike Evans keyed the rally that cut the lead to 127-125 with 36 seconds left. But Mitch Wiggins sank a 20-foot jumper with 30 seconds left, and Lionel Hollins made 2 of 4 free-throw attempts to assure the Rockets their victory.

Before the middle of the season most people awarded Rookie of the Year honors to Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls. But Jordan has been unable to make a contender of the Bulls. On the other hand, Olajuwon, improving weekly, is making a contender of the Rockets. There are those who believe the Rockets are a threat to knock the Lakers out of the playoffs and reach the championship round.

Rockets Coach Bill Fitch is one of those who believe Olajuwon has earned rookie honors.

“Akeem didn’t have the benefit of playing in the Olympics and receiving all that exposure,” Fitch said. “But, I think most general managers would take Akeem to build a team around before they would Jordan.

“I’m not taking anything away from Jordan, though. He may be as good at his position as anybody since Julius Erving. But Akeem is the big man.”

Chicago 111, Detroit 110--Michael Jordan had 32 points including four clutch free throws in the last 33 seconds at Chicago, and the Bulls ended a two-game losing streak.

Jordan scored 14 of his points in the last 10 minutes to help the Bulls battle back from an 87-76 deficit.

Indiana 109, New Jersey 108--Clark Kellogg scored 21 points at Indianapolis, including a layup that gave the Pacers the lead for good with three minutes to play.

The Pacers built a 14-point lead in the second quarter, but the Nets came back to take their first lead with 3:28 left in the game.

Kansas City 120, Portland 114--Mike Woodson came off the bench to score 10 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter at Kansas City.

The Kings, in a tightly fought final period, took the lead for good when Sam Bowie was called for goaltending on a shot by Larry Drew with less than three minutes left.

Phoenix 123, New York 119--Alvan Adams missed his first nine shots at New York, but he didn’t lose heart. With 86 seconds left and the score tied, 113-113, Adams sank a jumper and when Maurice Lucas followed with two free throws, the Suns had the game.

Bernard King scored 37 for the Knicks before fouling out with one minute left.

Golden State 145, San Antonio 122--Purvis Short scored 40 points and the Warriors, in their best performance of the season, scored a club-record 86 points in the first half at Oakland. The Warriors have won seven of their last 12.

Short has scored 40 or more eight times this season.