NBA -- Radja-Led Celtics Turn Back Nuggets, Snap Home Slide

BOSTON - The Boston Celtics' longest home losing streak ever finally came to an end yesterday.

Rookie forward Dino Radja scored a career-high 29 points and Robert Parish had a season-best 26 to lead Boston to a 105-100 victory over the Denver Nuggets.

The victory broke Boston's franchise-record seven-game home losing streak, as well as a five-game overall losing streak.

"It's frustrating when we lose this many games in a row. We lose five, then we lose seven in a row. I was upset. When you play Houston and lose, it's not bad, but when you lose to the Clippers you're really upset," Radja said.

Dee Brown added 16 points and 11 assists and Xavier McDaniel had 12 points.

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf led the Nuggets with 20 points and Tom Hammonds had 17, including 13 in the fourth quarter. Denver fell to 5-15 on the road.

Radja has scored in double figures in each of four games since he was inserted into the Celtics' lineup.

A put-back by Radja with 10.2 seconds left secured the victory.

T-wolves' move `plausible'

SAN DIEGO - The group attempting to build a new downtown sports arena is pursuing the Minnesota Timberwolves as a tenant, and an owner of the NBA team says moving to San Diego is "very plausible."

Late last month, Timberwolves owners Harvey Ratner, Marv Wolfenson and Joe Pettirossi, the team's chief financial officer, met in San Diego with members of Arena Group 2000, who want to build a new arena.

The meeting produced a memorandum which, if signed by Timberwolves representatives, could bring the team to San Diego in time for the 1994-95 season.

"There's still some work to be done, but (a move to San Diego) is very plausible," Pettirossi said. "I wouldn't dismiss it as being out of hand."

San Diego has been without an NBA team since the Clippers left for Los Angeles in 1984. They played at the Sports Arena, the current home of the International Hockey League's San Diego affiliate.

Wolfenson and Ratner have set a March 1 deadline for Minneapolis to take over $74 million in debt on the financially strapped Target Center, an arena they built for the Timberwolves.

That date coincides with NBA rules that require franchises planning a move next season to notify the league and pay a $10,000 fee.

"We don't have to do something by March 1. But if I didn't set a date, I'd never hear from (Minneapolis)," Wolfenson said. "I want a decision. Then I'll know what to do. And if they can't make a decision, I'll just make a decision."

Note

-- Forward-center Tod Murphy signed a 10-day contract with the Golden State Warriors. Murphy fills a roster opening created when forward Byron Houston was placed on the injured list with a sprained ankle. Murphy recently played for the Rochester (Minn.) Renegades of the CBA, averaging 11.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. He was waived by Minnesota after the 1991-92 season. He spent last season on Houston's injured list with a bruised hamstring.