Wedman, Walton, Sichting, Carlisle, and Kite Lead C's to 65th Win
K.C. Jones started Bill Walton, Scott Wedman, Greg Kite, Rick Carlisle and Jerry Sichting. Dennis Johnson didn't play a minute. Robert Parish played just 16. Did it matter? Nah. The Celtics won it anyway, 126-114.
The final score matched the high spread of the game, and was indicative of the Celtics' control of this passionless game. Coming from that crazy Spectrum on Sunday, the Celtics had to be pleased playing in this far more genteel atmosphere.
The Celtics led the Bucks at every checkpoint. With Walton (10 of his 22 points, 6 of his 12 rebounds and 4 of his 5 assists) dominating the game in the first period, the so-called "Green Team" (with some key end-of-the- period help from Bird) took a 33-29 lead. It was 63-59 at the half and 93-85 after three.
Milwaukee made one serious fourth-quarter challenge, closing to within two at 105-103 on two Sidney Moncrief free throws with 6:19 to go. But the Celtics ran off a 10-2 spurt, starting with a runner by Sam Vincent, who did some nice things during his 24 minutes of play, and concluding with an acrobatic banker by Kevin McHale (degree of difficulty, 2.2). The Celtics cruised home from there.
The game had that makeshift flavor from the moment K.C. sent out that second-string starting five. "I decided to do it after Sunday's game," the coach explained. "We've got the best record. We've got nothing left to play for. I thought it was a chance to rest the starters and give needed minutes to people like (David) Thirdkill and (Sam) Vincent."
There were a lot of "mosts," "second-mosts" and "best-sinces" racked up by the irregulars. It was Carlisle's most minutes of the season (28). It was Thirdkill's most minutes of the season (23). It was Vincent's second-most minutes of the season. It was Walton's Celtic high (22). It was the most points for Sichting (15) since he scored 17 against New Jersey back on Jan. 13.
The only sub who didn't get to share in the fun was Kite, who was ejected by referee Lee Jones with 2:37 in the opening period, but not before he fulfilled the fantasies of scores of players, coaches, general managers, owners, ball boys, trainers, equipment managers, fans and writers by firing a basketball at the unfathomable Mr. Jones.
Kite did so from a sitting position, having just engaged in a rebound battle and having been assessed a rebounding foul. Not long before he had cleanly blocked a Terry Cummings layup, only to have Jones call a foul from 5 feet beyond the three-point circle. Apparently, he simply could not take Jones any longer, for when the foul call was made, the normally mild-mannered Kite threw the ball at him. Jones then threw him out.
This turned out to be an unfortunate occurrence for the Bucks, because it meant Parish wasn't going to have the night off after all. K.C. did wait until the third quarter before using the Chief, but the big man made his presence felt with 10 powerful points as the Celtics expanded the four-point halftime lead to 10 on five occasions. "Parish's play was as important as anything else in this game," said Don Nelson, who did a lot of exhibition-like substituting himself.
Now that's at least a slight exaggeration, because the most significant figure after the first period was Larry Bird, who spent a very active 31 minutes on the floor. Bird, who admitted Sunday that he really wasn't into that game the way he should have been, was into this one from the moment he stepped onto the floor with 3:20 remaining in the opening period.
It was Bird's left-handed give-and-go three-point play from Walton that created the 12th, and final, lead change of the first period (29-28), and that basket, with 1:37 left, served as a fitting prelude to the spectacular second quarter he laid on the overmatched Bucks.
Bird's second-quarter display included deep jumpers, rugged offensive rebounds (he would finish with a season-high 8), a truly amazing top-speed lefty drive from the right baseline on the break and, finally, a beautiful lefty tip-in of his own running hook miss. By halftime, he had 18 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. By the time the game was over, he had collected 26 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists, plus the grudging admiration of the Milwaukee fans.
So, with the first-period clinic put on by Walton, the third-period play of Parish, the steady inside brilliance of Kevin McHale (19) and the all-around grace of Bird, the fans wound up getting something approximating their money's worth.
"We match up with every other team in the league, but not with Boston," said Nelson. Indeed, the Celtics finished the season with a 5-0 record against Milwaukee, three of them in this building. And they did this one with one hand tied behind their metaphorical back.
K.C. Jones started Bill Walton, Scott Wedman, Greg Kite, Rick Carlisle and Jerry Sichting. Dennis Johnson didn't play a minute. Robert Parish played just 16. Did it matter? Nah. The Celtics won it anyway, 126-114.
The final score matched the high spread of the game, and was indicative of the Celtics' control of this passionless game. Coming from that crazy Spectrum on Sunday, the Celtics had to be pleased playing in this far more genteel atmosphere.
The Celtics led the Bucks at every checkpoint. With Walton (10 of his 22 points, 6 of his 12 rebounds and 4 of his 5 assists) dominating the game in the first period, the so-called "Green Team" (with some key end-of-the- period help from Bird) took a 33-29 lead. It was 63-59 at the half and 93-85 after three.
Milwaukee made one serious fourth-quarter challenge, closing to within two at 105-103 on two Sidney Moncrief free throws with 6:19 to go. But the Celtics ran off a 10-2 spurt, starting with a runner by Sam Vincent, who did some nice things during his 24 minutes of play, and concluding with an acrobatic banker by Kevin McHale (degree of difficulty, 2.2). The Celtics cruised home from there.
The game had that makeshift flavor from the moment K.C. sent out that second-string starting five. "I decided to do it after Sunday's game," the coach explained. "We've got the best record. We've got nothing left to play for. I thought it was a chance to rest the starters and give needed minutes to people like (David) Thirdkill and (Sam) Vincent."
There were a lot of "mosts," "second-mosts" and "best-sinces" racked up by the irregulars. It was Carlisle's most minutes of the season (28). It was Thirdkill's most minutes of the season (23). It was Vincent's second-most minutes of the season. It was Walton's Celtic high (22). It was the most points for Sichting (15) since he scored 17 against New Jersey back on Jan. 13.
The only sub who didn't get to share in the fun was Kite, who was ejected by referee Lee Jones with 2:37 in the opening period, but not before he fulfilled the fantasies of scores of players, coaches, general managers, owners, ball boys, trainers, equipment managers, fans and writers by firing a basketball at the unfathomable Mr. Jones.
Kite did so from a sitting position, having just engaged in a rebound battle and having been assessed a rebounding foul. Not long before he had cleanly blocked a Terry Cummings layup, only to have Jones call a foul from 5 feet beyond the three-point circle. Apparently, he simply could not take Jones any longer, for when the foul call was made, the normally mild-mannered Kite threw the ball at him. Jones then threw him out.
This turned out to be an unfortunate occurrence for the Bucks, because it meant Parish wasn't going to have the night off after all. K.C. did wait until the third quarter before using the Chief, but the big man made his presence felt with 10 powerful points as the Celtics expanded the four-point halftime lead to 10 on five occasions. "Parish's play was as important as anything else in this game," said Don Nelson, who did a lot of exhibition-like substituting himself.
Now that's at least a slight exaggeration, because the most significant figure after the first period was Larry Bird, who spent a very active 31 minutes on the floor. Bird, who admitted Sunday that he really wasn't into that game the way he should have been, was into this one from the moment he stepped onto the floor with 3:20 remaining in the opening period.
It was Bird's left-handed give-and-go three-point play from Walton that created the 12th, and final, lead change of the first period (29-28), and that basket, with 1:37 left, served as a fitting prelude to the spectacular second quarter he laid on the overmatched Bucks.
Bird's second-quarter display included deep jumpers, rugged offensive rebounds (he would finish with a season-high 8), a truly amazing top-speed lefty drive from the right baseline on the break and, finally, a beautiful lefty tip-in of his own running hook miss. By halftime, he had 18 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. By the time the game was over, he had collected 26 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists, plus the grudging admiration of the Milwaukee fans.
So, with the first-period clinic put on by Walton, the third-period play of Parish, the steady inside brilliance of Kevin McHale (19) and the all-around grace of Bird, the fans wound up getting something approximating their money's worth.
"We match up with every other team in the league, but not with Boston," said Nelson. Indeed, the Celtics finished the season with a 5-0 record against Milwaukee, three of them in this building. And they did this one with one hand tied behind their metaphorical back.
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