C's Win 8th Straight, Move to 9-1

1981-82 Boston Celtics

No matter how many times Bulls center Artis Gilmore has played against the Celtics , losing has been a tough thing to swallow, and last night's 98-95 loss was no different.

Last night's loss, the sixth straight at the hands of Boston, gave Chicago a 4-7 record for the young season. The Celtics , now 9-1 and still not as polished a unit as they hopefully will be two months from now, took Chicago's best shot in the first half.

"You probably won't believe this," said the 7-foot-2 Gilmore, "but this was probably the best game we've played all year. We lost because in the second half we stopped doing the things that were successful for us in the first half. The Celtics' defense had something to do with that.

"Maybe this is the kind of game that will wake us up. It brings to mind last year when we were struggling to make the playoffs. We played a good game like this for a time and lost to Los Angeles. But we learned something from that defeat and went on to win 15 of the next 17. Maybe this game will do it for us again."

Boston and Chicago were two ships passing in the night. The Celtics played like defending NBA champions, which is to say when it got down to the nitty gritty, they made the key shots and the defensive plays that separate the winners from losers.

The Bulls, who lost to Boston in last year's playoffs in four straight games, figured to be a much tougher team this year based on their experience and the fact that they match up with Boston very well up front and in the backcourt.

But after battling to a 55-53 lead at halftime, the Bulls fell apart in the third quarter and reverted to the mysterious team that despite obvious talents, manages to lose all the games that count.

"I guess that's what bothers me the most," said Gilmore. "It's like we've forgotten what we accomplished last year. We became a pretty good team and lost in the playoffs to a team that won the world championship. We're still a good team, but we shouldn't have to start all over again. The Celtics picked up right where they left off. They play hard and with intensity. "But we only did it for about a half," said Gilmore. "After that, we resorted to the one- on-one things that hurt us last year. We're not that good a team playing one-on-one."

The Celtics were winners last night and coach Bill Fitch would be the first to tell you it was by doing the things that last year made them an NBA champion.

Their offense is an octopus, and chopping off one arm simply doesn't stop them. Larry Bird got 29 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. But theses statistics were no more important than the third-quarter surge by Robert Parish, in which he got 16 of his 21 points; the field generalship of Tiny Archibald, who ironically was on the bench for defensive purposes in the last 1:21 of the game; the pressure defense of his replacement, rookie Charles Bradley; or a couple of clutch shots by Kevin McHale, which somewhat countered an otherwise horrible night.

"This was a good one for us to win," he said. "Chicago played great early, but our guys stayed with it. We got steady play all night from No. 7 (Archibald) and No. 33 (Bird) but everybody contributed. It's good to have a game of this caliber early in the season. It was as competitive as any of our playoff games.

"We didn't play well early but we came back with good defense. We came out of a couple of timeouts and concentrated on making the plays we had to make. McHale was terrible. But when we needed a key play, he made it. That's really the key to the game. We made the key plays and they didn't."

A McHale hook shot at gave Boston a three-point lead after Chicago had pulled to within one point at 85-84. He hit a turnaround from the baseline with 1:58 to play, and a four-point Celtic lead grew to 97-91. That's how it went last night. The Celtics had an answer for every Chicago outburst.

"The coach kind of chewed me out," said McHale, "for the way I've been playing. But that's all right. I deserved it. The important thing is that we came back to play well and make the shots that we had to make and play good defense. That's the advantage of experience in this league, and we have it. When you're a veteran, you have a better idea of what a team might do in a certain situation. You can look for things and be there when the ball is coming."

The Celtics were in the right place in the right time for most of the second half. Chicago was unable to get the ball inside to Gilmore easily. He picked up his fifth foul in the third quarter, and the Celtic explosion was just a natural result.

"I'm glad we had a game like this," said Parish. "It will make us that much stronger down the road. The big fellow (Gilmore) was great in the first half. They'd lob the ball over me, and and nobody could stop him.

"But in the second half, we began to tighten up and play the kind of helping defense that makes us tough. I got hot and made some shots. But after Artis got his fifth, he had to back off and I was able to take advantage of it. When they adjusted to stop me, somebody else was open. Like I said, games like this will make us stronger."

The Celtics were strong, all right. Bradley was in the game at the end, giving Archibald some needed rest. Neither Reggie Theus nor Rickey Sobers had the three-point magic at the end with the Bulls trailing, 98-95. But with the Celtics these days, that is no accident.

"They're a great team that always has had the knack of executing," said Bulls' coach Jerry Sloan. "We had three shots at it, and couldn't do it. It's as simple as that. They're a team that right now is much better than us in the half court game. Bird is the reason for that because of his talent, and the fact that you must extend your defense over so much of the floor. But the key is that they execute when it counts. We played very well, but we couldn't get the good shots at the end, and it cost us."