C's Make it Six Straight

November 25, 1982

Bird, Cornbread and the Chief power Celtics to win over Blazers

(CP) Larry Bird scored 22 points, Cedric Maxwell had 21 and Robert Parish 17 last night to lead Boston Celtics to a 104-95 National Basketball League decision over Portland Trail Blazers at Boston.


The victory was Boston's sixth in a row and ended a four-game Portland winning streak.

The Celtics jumped to a 25-15 first-quarter lead as Bird led the way with eight points and Portland was held to 28 per cent shooting from the floor. The Blazers cut it to 32-31 before Boston closed the quarter with a 16-4 run to make it 48-35 at halftime.

But Portland, behind Calvin Natt's 21 points, came back in the third quarter to close the gap to 68-60 with 3:52 left. The Celtics, behind Kevin McHale, made an 8-2 run and Boston led 76-67 going into the fourth quarter. Backed by Maxwell and Parish, the Celtics built their lead to 100-89 with two minutes left. Portland closed the score to 100-95 with 34 seconds left, running off six points in a row, but four free throws for Boston sealed the game.

Mychal Thompson topped Portland with 23 points.

At Indianapolis, Moses Malone scored 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to spark Philadelphia 76ers to a 121-106 victory over Indiana Pacers.

Julius Erving added 22 points for the 76ers. Rookie Clark Kellogg scored 25 points to lead the Pacers and Billy Knight added 22.

Philadelphia trailed 27-22 after the first quarter, but Franklin Edwards scored six points during a 10-point spurt as Philadelphia took command. The 76ers turned a 37-30 disadvantage into a 40-37 lead in the 87-second span.

The score was 41-41 with 5:11 to play before halftime, but Philadelphia pulled ahead 57-49 by the half. The 76ers led by 14 points entering the fourth quarter.

At Milwaukee, Marques Johnson scored a season-high 34 points and snared 17 rebounds to carry Milwaukee Bucks to a 119-106 decision over Utah Jazz.

Sidney Moncrief added 24 points for Milwaukee. Adrian Dantley, the NBA's leading scorer, matched his season average with 30 points to lead the Jazz. Darrell Griffith added 29.

The Bucks, down 76-73, went on a 15-2 spree late in the third quarter and early in the fourth to take an 88-78 lead. Johnson had five points in the drive and Moncrief four.

Milwaukee, behind Johnson's 14 points, led the Jazz by 10 points at one point in the first quarter. But Dantley and Griffith pulled Utah to 28-27 by the end of the quarter. Brian Winters hit for 11 points, including a three-point field goal, as Milwaukee overcame a seven-point disadvantage to lead 51-49 at the half. Johnson had 16 points and nine rebounds to lead both teams in the first half.