1986 Cs Fall to 25-8

The Celtics hate losing to the Pistons because they think Bill Laimbeer's mother wears army boots, that Kelly Tripucka is a wimp and that new Piston Rick Mahorn is a no-talent thug. That's why last night's 113-109 Piston victory featured more yapping than your average junior high study hall period.

The Celtics lost their center, one front tooth, the battle of the boards, the final argument and the ball game at the Silverdome.

There were some fascinating postgame confessions after Detroit snapped its six-game losing streak. It was like listening to a courtroom divorce proceeding. Two parties who'd spent considerable time under the same roof offered completely opposite views of what had transpired.

Let's start with a controversial offensive foul which was called on Kevin McHale with four seconds left. Larry Bird had just hit a rainbow from the left corner which would have tied the game, but Jess Thompson was blowing his whistle. Thompson called an offensive foul on McHale, who appeared to have flattened Tripucka while making room for Bird. The hoop was nullified, and the Celts were forced to foul. Instead of a 111-111 tie with four seconds left, the Celts were four-point losers.

K.C. Jones: "I thought the call was totally horsebleep. It was a perfectly good pick, and a 260-pound guy (Tripucka weighs 225) falls down. They made moving picks all night, and he never called one. The rule about a guy flopping on the floor is that you don't call it."

Tripucka: "I have no idea who hit me. I thought it was a truck. Larry dribbled hard to the left corner, and I took off. The next thing I know, I'm on my back. It was a hell of a flop if that's what they're calling it. I didn't see anybody. It was the old Pearl Harbor play. It was a sneak attack."

McHale (29 points): "What I think doesn't make much difference. It must have been a foul if the guy called it."

There was also plenty of disagreement over a first-half incident which resulted in the ejection of Robert Parish.

After a jam at the Celtic end, Parish took a swing at Laimbeer. He missed and has yet to show us any of the karate he learned last summer, but the whiff was enough to get him thrown out. Strangely enough, Dennis Johnson was also ejected for fighting with Laimbeer in November.

Parish was not around to comment on his brief bout, but Bird (26 points, 12 rebounds) said, "That's the way he (Laimbeer) plays. It was a typical night for him. He got somebody thrown out of the game. We either have to retaliate harder or don't do it at all."

Jones added, "What the official didn't see was Laimbeer elbowing Robert in the throat. That's not basketball. Any player who uses that kind of stuff I don't think much of as a player or as a person."

Laimbeer (14 rebounds) said, "We were running down the court, pushing off each other, and all of the sudden, he throws a punch. If he's stupid enough to swing at me, he deserves to get thrown out."

Laimbeer was also in the middle of the action when Bill Walton had his crown knocked out (for the second time in a week) in the first period. Walton spent the rest of the half in the locker room but replaced Parish on the floor for the final two periods.

But The Call, The Punch and The Tooth weren't the only elements that contributed to this Boston defeat. The Celts were simply unable to stop Isiah Thomas (39 points, 13 assists), and were outrebounded, 54-36. The Celtics blew a nine-point third-quarter lead and made only four of 20 shots in the final period.

Parish got tossed with 3:15 left in the first half. The incident started after Detroit rebounded a Celtic miss and ran upcourt. Parish and Laimbeer got into a jam near the foul line at the Celtic end. Parish threw a punch at Laimbeer, and Thomas fired the ball at Parish. Mahorn rushed to the scene, and Bird started jawing with Laimbeer (whom he loathes).

After an official timeout, Parish was ejected (for punching), and Isiah was tagged with a technical for throwing the ball at the Chief. The Celtics have had two player ejections for fighting this season, and both were in Pontiac against Laimbeer.

Danny Ainge was back in the Celts' starting lineup, but played only 17 minutes due to a sore left ankle. Bird led an 11-2 run, and Boston led, 25-20, before Isiah made it 26-26 at the end of the first.

With two centers in the locker room, the Celts finished the first half with Greg Kite in the middle and trailed, 65-59, at intermission.

Trailing, 78-76, the Celts scored 11 straight and took an 87-78 lead in the third. But Isiah enabled the Pistons to claw to within six at the end of three.