PRO BASKETBALL

For the second week in a row, the Boston Celtics went down to a heartbreaking defeat in a nationally televised Sunday afternoon game. Two-point losers to Los Angeles the previous Sunday, when they blew a 14-point lead, the Celtics battled the NBA champion Seattle SuperSonics nip-and-tuck through two overtimes, only to lose 108-106. Boston seemingly had the game on ice in regulation, but Dennis Johnson took a cross-court pass with seconds remaining and dropped in a desperation three-point basket at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. Gus williams, who scored 29 points, had eight of these in the first overtime, including a jumper with 11 seconds left that forced the second OT. the win was Seattle's seventh in a row, yet Los Angeles (4-0) managed to pare the Sonic's Pacific Division lead with an additional victory.

* Boston's loss to Seattle cost the Celtics a first- place Atlantic Division tie with Philadelphia, which went 3-0 and now owns a league-best .761 winning percentage. Anticipating the need for backcourt help come playoff time, both Philadelphia and Boston arranged to talk to newly available Pete-Maravich. The high-salaried guard became available when Utah placed him on waivers and no team was willing to pick up his sizeable contract.