Bird Scores 28, including 14 in the Fourth Quarter, while Ainge Adds 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 Assists and 6 Steals in 27 Minutes
ATLANTA It doesn't matter if Robert Parish scores only nine points and the Celtics clang the rims to the tune of 26 percent in the fourth quarter. Boston can still beat the Hawks in the Omni anytime - especially when one of Atlanta's best players is no taller than Larry DiCara.
Last night's 102-97 victory extended Boston's winning streak to seven games and improved the Celts' 1985-86 record to a flossy 15-2. It was also Larry Bird's 10th consecutive win at Atlanta. The Celts are 21-3 against the Hawks during the Reagan Administration.
"We're too young to beat the Boston Celtics," admitted Hawk general manager Stan Kasten, adding, "Regularly, that is."
The crowd was embarrassingly pro-Boston, but what else could the Hawks have expected? Any Georgian worth his mint julep was watching last night's Georgia- Georgia Tech gridiron holy war.
Bird led the Celtics with 28 points, including 14 in the third period. Danny Ainge chipped in with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 6 steals in 27 minutes. Dominique Wilkins had 24 for the Hawks, but diminutive Spudd Webb (5 feet 7 inches, the shortest player in NBA history) brought the Hawks back from a 16-point deficit. The Hawks closed to within one once, but Atlanta never led after 8-6.
The Celtics blew open a 10-10 tie with 14 straight in the first period and kept the Hawks under the big green thumb for the duration of the drab evening. Dennis Johnson broke the tie with a routine jumper midway through the first quarter. DJ then connected with Bird on a sneakaway touchdown bomb to force a Hawk timeout. Bird made a steal and Ainge hit two transition jumpers after the pause to make it 18-10. Atlanta coach Mike Fratello asked for a 20-second timeout.
Things didn't get any better for the Hawks. Ainge immediately stole a pass and hit two from the line to make it 20-10. Then McHale rebounded a Dominique miss and Bird hit a bomb. Ainge rebounded another stupid shot by the shameless Wilkins and McHale hit a pair of free throws. Boston had its 14 straight and a 24-10 lead with 4:39 left in the first. That was it. Boston never trailed again.
"Everything went pretty well in that first quarter," said DJ. "There are very few times when we put it together for the full 48 minutes, but they didn't really catch up tonight. They just stayed on the verge."
Webb stopped Boston's 14-0 streak with a free throw and a court-length drive. Rookie guard John Battle made some nice moves to the basket and the Hawks trailed by a respectable 31-21 at the end of one.
Boston led, 41-25, early in the second when the young Hawks finally woke up. Webb had success pushing the ball up the floor and dishing off to fellow rookie Jon Koncak (12 points). The Hawks trimmed the lead to five by halftime.
Webb started the third quarter and Ainge made four straight shots over the Spudman to give the Celtics a nine-point lead. Ainge was then banned to the bench until the final 4:39 of the fourth quarter.
Atlanta roared back with eight straight - the last six by rocketman Cliff Levingston. Boston's lead was down to a point. Bird broke the streak with a soft 15-footer, then grabbed a defensive rebound and fed McHale for two more. Jerry Sichting stole from Webb and found Bird breaking. Bird's layup made it 72-65.
Bird kept the Hawks at arm's length for the rest of the period. The Celts led, 88-83, at the three-quarter pole.
Both teams were ice cold throughout the fourth. The Hawks hit five of 20, Boston five of 19. When Ainge finally returned, he blocked Dominique and Bird scored off a high post pass from Parish. Boston led, 100-91, with 2:20 left. It was time to turn the lights out in Georgia.
ATLANTA It doesn't matter if Robert Parish scores only nine points and the Celtics clang the rims to the tune of 26 percent in the fourth quarter. Boston can still beat the Hawks in the Omni anytime - especially when one of Atlanta's best players is no taller than Larry DiCara.
Last night's 102-97 victory extended Boston's winning streak to seven games and improved the Celts' 1985-86 record to a flossy 15-2. It was also Larry Bird's 10th consecutive win at Atlanta. The Celts are 21-3 against the Hawks during the Reagan Administration.
"We're too young to beat the Boston Celtics," admitted Hawk general manager Stan Kasten, adding, "Regularly, that is."
The crowd was embarrassingly pro-Boston, but what else could the Hawks have expected? Any Georgian worth his mint julep was watching last night's Georgia- Georgia Tech gridiron holy war.
Bird led the Celtics with 28 points, including 14 in the third period. Danny Ainge chipped in with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 6 steals in 27 minutes. Dominique Wilkins had 24 for the Hawks, but diminutive Spudd Webb (5 feet 7 inches, the shortest player in NBA history) brought the Hawks back from a 16-point deficit. The Hawks closed to within one once, but Atlanta never led after 8-6.
The Celtics blew open a 10-10 tie with 14 straight in the first period and kept the Hawks under the big green thumb for the duration of the drab evening. Dennis Johnson broke the tie with a routine jumper midway through the first quarter. DJ then connected with Bird on a sneakaway touchdown bomb to force a Hawk timeout. Bird made a steal and Ainge hit two transition jumpers after the pause to make it 18-10. Atlanta coach Mike Fratello asked for a 20-second timeout.
Things didn't get any better for the Hawks. Ainge immediately stole a pass and hit two from the line to make it 20-10. Then McHale rebounded a Dominique miss and Bird hit a bomb. Ainge rebounded another stupid shot by the shameless Wilkins and McHale hit a pair of free throws. Boston had its 14 straight and a 24-10 lead with 4:39 left in the first. That was it. Boston never trailed again.
"Everything went pretty well in that first quarter," said DJ. "There are very few times when we put it together for the full 48 minutes, but they didn't really catch up tonight. They just stayed on the verge."
Webb stopped Boston's 14-0 streak with a free throw and a court-length drive. Rookie guard John Battle made some nice moves to the basket and the Hawks trailed by a respectable 31-21 at the end of one.
Boston led, 41-25, early in the second when the young Hawks finally woke up. Webb had success pushing the ball up the floor and dishing off to fellow rookie Jon Koncak (12 points). The Hawks trimmed the lead to five by halftime.
Webb started the third quarter and Ainge made four straight shots over the Spudman to give the Celtics a nine-point lead. Ainge was then banned to the bench until the final 4:39 of the fourth quarter.
Atlanta roared back with eight straight - the last six by rocketman Cliff Levingston. Boston's lead was down to a point. Bird broke the streak with a soft 15-footer, then grabbed a defensive rebound and fed McHale for two more. Jerry Sichting stole from Webb and found Bird breaking. Bird's layup made it 72-65.
Bird kept the Hawks at arm's length for the rest of the period. The Celts led, 88-83, at the three-quarter pole.
Both teams were ice cold throughout the fourth. The Hawks hit five of 20, Boston five of 19. When Ainge finally returned, he blocked Dominique and Bird scored off a high post pass from Parish. Boston led, 100-91, with 2:20 left. It was time to turn the lights out in Georgia.
No comments:
Post a Comment