Bird Goes for 31 & 15, Despite Missing First Eight Shots
When time dims the memory of two teams playing underwater for 48 minutes, maybe this holidayfest will be footnoted only as Patrick Ewing's hometown pro debut. Meanwhile, list last night's 94-88 Celtics victory over the Knicks as Boston's gift to the 1983 "Winning Ugly" White Sox.
What else can you say about a toxic waste game in which the messageboard's big note of the night is "That was Rick Carlisle's 100th career point"?
Ewing shot 3 for 10 in the first half but wound up with 29 points and nine rebounds. Larry Bird missed his first eight shots but took charge, hitting eight of nine in the third period en route to a 31-point, 15-rebound performance.
Everything else was sludgeball. The winners shot a season-low 41 percent and had a season-low 34 field goals. The Celts hit five of 18 shots (27 percent) while protecting a lead throughout the fourth quarter. The losers shot 40 percent and had 13 shots blocked. It was a night of missed shots, errant passes and botched assignments. Even the officials (Jake O'Donnell and Terry Durham) were brutal.
"It wasn't the prettiest of games," admitted Bill Walton (nine rebounds in 21 minutes), "but we were able to win."
"They have a tendency to take you out of what you want to do," said Danny Ainge.
"We had all the open shots in the world, and they didn't drop," said Celtics coach K.C. Jones. "We had layups and missed 'em . . . Then I get a tech from an (-------) (referee Terry Durham). Other than that, we won, and I'm happy."
The victory was Boston's sixth straight, and the Celts' 10th consecutive regular-season win over the Knicks. New York dropped to 4-13 and has lost 16 of its last 17 road games since March 22.
The Celts shot 36 percent in the first half but still led by two at intermission. After missing eight in a row, Bird ended his woeful first half with a tap-in and a rainbow. There was more to come.
Mr. Hungry Heart torched the Knicks from every spot on the floor in the third period. He opened the quarter with a pair of three-point plays, then switched to baseline turnarounds, fallaways, follow-ups and fast breaks. The Celtics had a 31-point quarter and an eight-point lead at the end of three.
"Bird took over the game in the third quarter," moaned Hubie Brown. "That gave them the ability to hold us off. For them, nobody else was doing anything (we noticed)."
An eight-point cushion at the three-quarter pole should be insurmmountable against Hubie's tractor-pull offense, but the Celtics went cold (credit New York's dogged defense). Rory Sparrow shot New York to within three points (87-84) with less than three minutes left before Bird and Kevin McHale iced it with six free throws. Fans started filing out when two free throws by McHale made it 93-84 with 1:31 left.
Ewing scored New York's final two baskets to reach a career scoring high. He ended up hitting nine of 21 floor shots, 11 of 14 from the line and had only one turnover in 39 minutes.
"He got off to a tough start, but he came back strong," said Hubie.
"He's Ewing the magnificent," proclaimed Jones.
St. Patrick got a nice ovation when he was introduced with the Knick starters. He's still suffering from a sore left ankle and elbow but wasn't about to skip his pro Garden debut.
"I always play well in the Garden," said the rookie big man.
The Pride of Cambridge missed his first five floor shots and was outrun by Robert Parish (13 rebounds) as the Celtics bolted to a 10-4 lead. "I was letting my man beat me," admitted Ewing.
Pat Cummings (20 points, 13 rebounds) led the visitors back with a series of jumpers, but both teams staggered throughout the rest of the quarter. Ewing's first basket came from the left baseline after he faked Walton into the 1976 championship banner.
Boston led, 22-19, after one, but a jumper by Fred Cofield (presumably no relation to Holden Caulfield) put the Knicks ahead by three early in the second.
The Celts regained the lead on a couple of baskets by McHale (18) and staggered to a 45-43 halftime lead.
New York kept firing shots into the palms of Celtic defenders while Bird went berserk in the third. A fast-break basket by Bird gave the Celts their biggest lead, 67-55.
Ewing and Cummings kept battling, but the Knicks don't have enough to beat Boston in the Garden (New York was outrebounded, 53-41). They can only disrupt a usually fluid attack.
"I don't think you can call it an artistic game," said Dennis Johnson (6 for 16). "It definitely was not a beautiful game."
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