NBA Roundup : McHale Is Almost All Way Back

It has been a long road back, but Kevin McHale is just about where he wants to be.

The veteran, 6-foot 10-inch McHale was the most efficient shooter in the National Basketball Assn. and the Boston Celtics’ best rebounder when he injured his foot halfway through last season.

It turned out that McHale had a broken bone in his foot. He refused to have surgery and limped through the playoffs, only a shadow of his former self.

He finally had surgery and missed the first 14 games this season. He was, until recently, hobbling some of the time.

After Larry Bird scored 32 points in the first half Wednesday night at Boston, McHale took over to assure a 117-108 victory over the New York Knicks.

McHale scored a season-high 30 points as the Celtics won their third game in a row and handed the hapless Knicks their seventh straight road loss.

There were some who predicted McHale would never come back to top form. But in the last five games, four of which the Celtics have won, he has been playing extremely well.

While making 44 of 69 field-goal attempts, he has averaged 25.4 points in the five games.

“There are still times when the foot hurts,” McHale said. “But that’s to be expected. I keep feeling better all the time. I’m almost back to where I want to be.”

After making the first basket of the third quarter to start an 18-6 surge that gave the Celtics an 81-61 lead, Bird cooled off and finished with 41 points.

Danny Ainge of the Celtics set a record by making a three-point basket in 13 consecutive games. He was 2 for 5 from that range, after going 6 for 6 Monday night against Utah.

The Knicks, who are 1-13 on the road this season, have lost 12 in a row at Boston Garden.

After falling 20 points behind in the third quarter, they fought back behind the shooting of Johnny Newman and pulled within five with two minutes left.

Detroit 90, Atlanta 87--With a chance to score consecutive victories over the Pistons and stretch their lead in the Central Division to 3 1/2 games, the Hawks played tight defense at Pontiac, Mich.

They also built a nine-point lead in the third quarter, but without their best player, Dominique Wilkins, the Hawks couldn’t hold off the spirited closing rally of the Pistons, led by Isiah Thomas.

Wilkins suffered a bruised knee Tuesday night at Atlanta but thought he could play. He warmed up, then decided he couldn’t make it.

The shooting of both teams was poor in the Hawks’ 81-71 win Tuesday night. It wasn’t any better in this one. While the Hawks shot only 41.4%, the Pistons were worse, 36.5%.

After the Hawks took a 71-62 lead in the last minute of the third quarter, the Pistons came back. Thomas hit a jump shot with 1:07 left to break an 86-86 tie and give Detroit the lead for good.

Denver 98, New Jersey 93--Alex English became the 14th player in NBA history to score 20,000 points, leading a rally at East Rutherford, N.J., that wiped out a 19-point deficit.

The Nets led, 58-39, late in the second quarter, but English, who wound up with 25 points, led the spirited spurt.

He scored 11 points in the third quarter, and the Nuggets pulled within two points. The Nuggets took the lead with three minutes left and went on to win their third in a row on the road.

Seattle 110, Houston 95--Tom Chambers, who has not had an outstanding early season, scored a career-high 46 points at Seattle, and the SuperSonics ended the Rockets’ four-game winning streak.

Chambers, who has been averaging under 18 points per game, made 15 of 23 field goals and was a perfect 15 for 15 from the line to help the Sonics score their 11th straight win at home.

The Sonics scored the first six points and never trailed.

Philadelphia 116, Utah 93--Cliff Robinson scored 21 of his 25 points in the second half at Philadelphia to pace the 76ers to victory.

The 76ers held only a 94-87 lead with almost six minutes to play. But Robinson sank two jumpers in a row to trigger a 14-0 run that wrapped it up.