Let it rain. The Celtics are going to postpone summer a little longer. After four days of listening to theories about Laker supremacy and whispers of a sweep, Boston has served notice that some extra frequent-flyer miles will be compiled before this NBA championship series is over.
Last night was gut-check time, and when the midnight confessions had all been heard, the Celtics had beaten the Lakers, 124-121, in overtime. The win tied the best-of-seven series, 1-1, and sent a frenetic Garden crowd into the street for an early-morning celebration.
The Celtics had more heroes than a Philadelphia deli. There was Gerald Henderson, who forced the extra innings with Boston's most dramatic theft since John "Havlicek stole the ball" in 1965. There was Scott Wedman, who hit the key jumper in overtime. And there was Robert Parish, who stripped the ball from Bob McAdoo when LA blew its final chance.
A big assist went to Magic Johnson, who specializes in assists, although not of this kind. In a variation of the bonehead play executed by Dallas' Derek Harper last month, Magic dribbled out the clock when the Lakers had a chance to win it in regulation.
Let's start with the finish. Cuckoo Man Jack Nicholson was mercilessly taunting Celtics fans when his Lakers held a one-point lead and the basketball with 45 seconds left in overtime.
After a timeout, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (20 points, but only 9 of 22 from the floor) missed a hook and firestarter James Worthy (29 points on 11-of-12 shooting from the field) was tagged with a non-shooting foul while going for the rebound.
Down by one point with 25 seconds left, the Celtics called time.
Larry Bird (27 points, 13 rebounds and what else is new?) inbounded from midcourt, then wound up with the ball at the right of the key. He passed out top to Henderson, who fed Wedman in the left corner. It was a shot Scott Wedman has probably taken 10,000 times in his hoop life. It never meant more. Wedman's 13-foot fling hit nothing but net.
"You know what they put you in there for," said Wedman, who scored 10 off the pine. "If the opportunity comes, you've got to want to take the shot."
The Celtics led, 122-121, with 14 seconds left. Timeout. Again.
A wild sequence took place when LA inbounded. First, Parish knocked the ball away from Abdul-Jabbar. In the scramble, the ball bounced out of bounds off Bird's foot. LA inbounded again, and this time Parish stripped it from McAdoo. Bird ended up with the ball and was fouled. He made both with two seconds left and it was 124-121.
"I thought I was fouled," said McAdoo. "I saw Robert and I was going to try to take it to the basket. I got raked across the arm, but no call was made. That was the ballgame, but we should have never let it get to that point. We gave it to em."
With :02 showing, McAdoo threw a floor-length pass that touched no one before it flew out of bounds. Then Bird inbounded to Cedric Maxwell and the buzzer sounded.
When folks tell their grandchildren about this game, the end of regulation may be the most memorable aspect.
A collective groan could be heard from Portland to Providence when Kevin McHale missed two free throws with 20 seconds left and the Celtics trailing by two. But just as Havlicek saved Bill Russell (who had lost the ball off a wire support), Henderson knocked the goat-horns off McHale's crown.
Magic (27 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists) had called time after catching McHale's second miss. After the pause, he inbounded to Worthy. Maxwell (16 points and 12 rebounds) blanketed Magic. Worthy saw teammate Byron Scott on the other side of the floor, but his lob was picked off by Henderson. Henderson took it right to the hoop for two and it was 113-113 with 13 seconds left.
"We were trying to get time off the clock," said Worthy. "I wanted to get the ball to Magic, but he was covered. I saw Byron wide open. But Henderson was quick enough to double back. It wasn't a real zip pass. Henderson made a good play."
"Maxwell did a good job denying Magic the ball," said Henderson. "Worthy sort of lofted the ball to Scott, and I came in for the steal. No question I was thinking steal in that situation. Somebody had to get it. If we'd lost this one, things would have looked kind of dim."
The Derek Harper Special was next. Ironically, Magic is the man who was guarding Harper when the Dallas rookie dribbled out the clock, thinking his team was ahead instead of tied.
Magic knew the score, but he couldn't get the ball to Kareem. After dribling near the three-point line for several seconds, he passed to McAdoo as time expired. Overtime.
"I would rather hold it and take our chances in overtime than throw it in and have them steal it," reasoned Magic.
"We wanted to get the last shot," echoed LA coach Pat Riley. "We didn't want them to have any opportunity. The idea was to get the clock down to six or five seconds and let him go. It didn't work, but their press had more to do with it than our inability to get a shot."
The first 47 minutes had faded into oblivion by the time midnight struck.
With considerable help off the bench from Danny Ainge (12 points), Boston bolted to a 13-point first-half lead. Late in the period, however, the Lakers ripped off one of those 13-2 blowtorchings that can dishearten any team. Boston's lead was down to 61-59 at intermission.
The Celtics pushed their lead to 76-69 in the third before LA fought back again. Worthy started breaking and when Michael Cooper capped an 11-2 run (and it was a run) with a give-and-go layup and another fast break, LA led, 85-82. Worthy and Cooper had scored all 11 points.
Bird, who missed seven of his first eight shots in the second half, put the Celtics back in the lead and Ainge hit a pair of transition jumpers to give the Celtics a 90-87 lead after three. Everything from there led to McHale's misses - and Henderson's steal.
Last night was gut-check time, and when the midnight confessions had all been heard, the Celtics had beaten the Lakers, 124-121, in overtime. The win tied the best-of-seven series, 1-1, and sent a frenetic Garden crowd into the street for an early-morning celebration.
The Celtics had more heroes than a Philadelphia deli. There was Gerald Henderson, who forced the extra innings with Boston's most dramatic theft since John "Havlicek stole the ball" in 1965. There was Scott Wedman, who hit the key jumper in overtime. And there was Robert Parish, who stripped the ball from Bob McAdoo when LA blew its final chance.
A big assist went to Magic Johnson, who specializes in assists, although not of this kind. In a variation of the bonehead play executed by Dallas' Derek Harper last month, Magic dribbled out the clock when the Lakers had a chance to win it in regulation.
Let's start with the finish. Cuckoo Man Jack Nicholson was mercilessly taunting Celtics fans when his Lakers held a one-point lead and the basketball with 45 seconds left in overtime.
After a timeout, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (20 points, but only 9 of 22 from the floor) missed a hook and firestarter James Worthy (29 points on 11-of-12 shooting from the field) was tagged with a non-shooting foul while going for the rebound.
Down by one point with 25 seconds left, the Celtics called time.
Larry Bird (27 points, 13 rebounds and what else is new?) inbounded from midcourt, then wound up with the ball at the right of the key. He passed out top to Henderson, who fed Wedman in the left corner. It was a shot Scott Wedman has probably taken 10,000 times in his hoop life. It never meant more. Wedman's 13-foot fling hit nothing but net.
"You know what they put you in there for," said Wedman, who scored 10 off the pine. "If the opportunity comes, you've got to want to take the shot."
The Celtics led, 122-121, with 14 seconds left. Timeout. Again.
A wild sequence took place when LA inbounded. First, Parish knocked the ball away from Abdul-Jabbar. In the scramble, the ball bounced out of bounds off Bird's foot. LA inbounded again, and this time Parish stripped it from McAdoo. Bird ended up with the ball and was fouled. He made both with two seconds left and it was 124-121.
"I thought I was fouled," said McAdoo. "I saw Robert and I was going to try to take it to the basket. I got raked across the arm, but no call was made. That was the ballgame, but we should have never let it get to that point. We gave it to em."
With :02 showing, McAdoo threw a floor-length pass that touched no one before it flew out of bounds. Then Bird inbounded to Cedric Maxwell and the buzzer sounded.
When folks tell their grandchildren about this game, the end of regulation may be the most memorable aspect.
A collective groan could be heard from Portland to Providence when Kevin McHale missed two free throws with 20 seconds left and the Celtics trailing by two. But just as Havlicek saved Bill Russell (who had lost the ball off a wire support), Henderson knocked the goat-horns off McHale's crown.
Magic (27 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists) had called time after catching McHale's second miss. After the pause, he inbounded to Worthy. Maxwell (16 points and 12 rebounds) blanketed Magic. Worthy saw teammate Byron Scott on the other side of the floor, but his lob was picked off by Henderson. Henderson took it right to the hoop for two and it was 113-113 with 13 seconds left.
"We were trying to get time off the clock," said Worthy. "I wanted to get the ball to Magic, but he was covered. I saw Byron wide open. But Henderson was quick enough to double back. It wasn't a real zip pass. Henderson made a good play."
"Maxwell did a good job denying Magic the ball," said Henderson. "Worthy sort of lofted the ball to Scott, and I came in for the steal. No question I was thinking steal in that situation. Somebody had to get it. If we'd lost this one, things would have looked kind of dim."
The Derek Harper Special was next. Ironically, Magic is the man who was guarding Harper when the Dallas rookie dribbled out the clock, thinking his team was ahead instead of tied.
Magic knew the score, but he couldn't get the ball to Kareem. After dribling near the three-point line for several seconds, he passed to McAdoo as time expired. Overtime.
"I would rather hold it and take our chances in overtime than throw it in and have them steal it," reasoned Magic.
"We wanted to get the last shot," echoed LA coach Pat Riley. "We didn't want them to have any opportunity. The idea was to get the clock down to six or five seconds and let him go. It didn't work, but their press had more to do with it than our inability to get a shot."
The first 47 minutes had faded into oblivion by the time midnight struck.
With considerable help off the bench from Danny Ainge (12 points), Boston bolted to a 13-point first-half lead. Late in the period, however, the Lakers ripped off one of those 13-2 blowtorchings that can dishearten any team. Boston's lead was down to 61-59 at intermission.
The Celtics pushed their lead to 76-69 in the third before LA fought back again. Worthy started breaking and when Michael Cooper capped an 11-2 run (and it was a run) with a give-and-go layup and another fast break, LA led, 85-82. Worthy and Cooper had scored all 11 points.
Bird, who missed seven of his first eight shots in the second half, put the Celtics back in the lead and Ainge hit a pair of transition jumpers to give the Celtics a 90-87 lead after three. Everything from there led to McHale's misses - and Henderson's steal.
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