Green Moves to 3-0
1990-91 Boston Celtics
Even when they try to throw the game away, the Celtics just can't lose.
After turning the ball over 20 times through three quarters, Boston finally got serious, roaring back from a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit to positively stun the winless Chicago Bulls, 110-108, last night at Chicago Stadium.
The Celtics won the game when Brian Shaw gently laid in a Robert Parish airball as time expired. Boston's Boo Brother raised his fists in victory, accepted a hug from Larry Bird, then ran off the floor with a radiant smile that demonstrated how big this win -- and the team's 3-0 start -- truly are.
"We've made a lot of mistakes in three games," said jubilant coach Chris Ford. "But what I like is these guys stay after it.
Was that last play designed to go to Chief? No, it wasn't. But I said I wanted the last shot, and we got it."
The game came down to Boston with the ball and 6.9 seconds to create. Kevin McHale was inbounding, looking for Bird as the primary option. When it was clear he was covered, McHale lobbed it to Parish out of the stack.
Parish wheeled around, dribbled left, then tried to upfake Bill Cartwright. Mr. Bill wasn't biting, so with the clock winding down, Parish lofted his patented rainbow. Only one problem: He was more than 18 feet from the basket, and the shot simply did not have enough air in it.
Shaw, however, was waiting on the weak side and had position on Michael Jordan. He banked the follow-up off the glass, then began his celebration.
"I know Michael likes to roam a lot, so I wanted to be down there and ready," said Shaw. "Chief shot the ball right into my hands."
The shocking finish left Jordan, who scored 33, and his teammates with their tongues hanging. This was a game that belonged to them most of the evening, including with 10:22 to play, when they had a 94-84 lead.
They had constructed it mostly off Boston mistakes. The young backcourt of Shaw and Dee Brown tried to force tempo through much of the game, and fell victim to aggressive trapping defense from Chicago's backcourt. The veterans, meanwhile, were consistently careless with their outlet passes.
In the third quarter alone, the Celtics coughed up the ball eight times. Bird epitomized the team's troubles and fortunes during this time. No. 33 was sizzling from the floor during that frame (he hit six straight jumpers) and hauled in four rebounds, but he also turned the ball over five times in the third period. He finished the game with 24 points and 8 turnovers.
"We should have taken advantage of them," said Chicago's Stacey King. "We had them throwing the ball all over the place."
Although it was a rocky evening for Boston, the one asset that did not abandon them was shooting touch. The visitors shot 56.8 percent for the game, 55 percent in the fourth quarter.
The Bulls simply could not match that in the final period. They were 8 of 24 from the floor (33 percent).
It was in the midst of one of Chicago's mini-shooting slumps that the Celtics made their move, ripping off a 12-2 run that turned that 94-84 deficit into a tie ballgame. That streak was highlighted by back-to-back 3-point plays from the Kevins, McHale and Gamble.
The comeback resembled the surge that helped pull out a victory in Madison Square Garden Saturday, with one difference: The Knicks had to rely on an exhausted center (Patrick Ewing) to keep them in it, while the Bulls went to a tireless acrobat (Jordan).
Michael delivered after the Boston run, finishing off a coast-to-coast dunk, then banking in a 10-footer to push his club back up by 4.
Not so fast. Boston countered with a 10-2 run to take back the lead, 106-102. The most incredible part about this and the previous spurt? Both Bird and Reggie Lewis, whose back had stiffened, were sitting on the bench.
Bird returned to the game with 2:12 left, his team up 2 (106-104).
Within seconds, it was tied, as a Parish offensive foul was quickly cashed in by Scottie Pippen (23 points) on the other end.
Bird answered 18 seconds later, with a high-fly bomb that ripped through the bottom of the strings. He connected on his final seven shots of the night, finishing 11 of 16 from the floor.
Jordan, meanwhile, nailed a fallaway at the 1:00 mark to knot it, 108-108. After two subsequent jump balls, the second of which was controlled by Chicago, Jordan lined up from the same spot again and let it fly.
The ball bounced long, and Shaw grabbed the rebound. Twenty-one seconds later, he grabbed it again -- only this time it was the game ball, and it was his.
1990-91 Boston Celtics
Even when they try to throw the game away, the Celtics just can't lose.
After turning the ball over 20 times through three quarters, Boston finally got serious, roaring back from a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit to positively stun the winless Chicago Bulls, 110-108, last night at Chicago Stadium.
The Celtics won the game when Brian Shaw gently laid in a Robert Parish airball as time expired. Boston's Boo Brother raised his fists in victory, accepted a hug from Larry Bird, then ran off the floor with a radiant smile that demonstrated how big this win -- and the team's 3-0 start -- truly are.
"We've made a lot of mistakes in three games," said jubilant coach Chris Ford. "But what I like is these guys stay after it.
Was that last play designed to go to Chief? No, it wasn't. But I said I wanted the last shot, and we got it."
The game came down to Boston with the ball and 6.9 seconds to create. Kevin McHale was inbounding, looking for Bird as the primary option. When it was clear he was covered, McHale lobbed it to Parish out of the stack.
Parish wheeled around, dribbled left, then tried to upfake Bill Cartwright. Mr. Bill wasn't biting, so with the clock winding down, Parish lofted his patented rainbow. Only one problem: He was more than 18 feet from the basket, and the shot simply did not have enough air in it.
Shaw, however, was waiting on the weak side and had position on Michael Jordan. He banked the follow-up off the glass, then began his celebration.
"I know Michael likes to roam a lot, so I wanted to be down there and ready," said Shaw. "Chief shot the ball right into my hands."
The shocking finish left Jordan, who scored 33, and his teammates with their tongues hanging. This was a game that belonged to them most of the evening, including with 10:22 to play, when they had a 94-84 lead.
They had constructed it mostly off Boston mistakes. The young backcourt of Shaw and Dee Brown tried to force tempo through much of the game, and fell victim to aggressive trapping defense from Chicago's backcourt. The veterans, meanwhile, were consistently careless with their outlet passes.
In the third quarter alone, the Celtics coughed up the ball eight times. Bird epitomized the team's troubles and fortunes during this time. No. 33 was sizzling from the floor during that frame (he hit six straight jumpers) and hauled in four rebounds, but he also turned the ball over five times in the third period. He finished the game with 24 points and 8 turnovers.
"We should have taken advantage of them," said Chicago's Stacey King. "We had them throwing the ball all over the place."
Although it was a rocky evening for Boston, the one asset that did not abandon them was shooting touch. The visitors shot 56.8 percent for the game, 55 percent in the fourth quarter.
The Bulls simply could not match that in the final period. They were 8 of 24 from the floor (33 percent).
It was in the midst of one of Chicago's mini-shooting slumps that the Celtics made their move, ripping off a 12-2 run that turned that 94-84 deficit into a tie ballgame. That streak was highlighted by back-to-back 3-point plays from the Kevins, McHale and Gamble.
The comeback resembled the surge that helped pull out a victory in Madison Square Garden Saturday, with one difference: The Knicks had to rely on an exhausted center (Patrick Ewing) to keep them in it, while the Bulls went to a tireless acrobat (Jordan).
Michael delivered after the Boston run, finishing off a coast-to-coast dunk, then banking in a 10-footer to push his club back up by 4.
Not so fast. Boston countered with a 10-2 run to take back the lead, 106-102. The most incredible part about this and the previous spurt? Both Bird and Reggie Lewis, whose back had stiffened, were sitting on the bench.
Bird returned to the game with 2:12 left, his team up 2 (106-104).
Within seconds, it was tied, as a Parish offensive foul was quickly cashed in by Scottie Pippen (23 points) on the other end.
Bird answered 18 seconds later, with a high-fly bomb that ripped through the bottom of the strings. He connected on his final seven shots of the night, finishing 11 of 16 from the floor.
Jordan, meanwhile, nailed a fallaway at the 1:00 mark to knot it, 108-108. After two subsequent jump balls, the second of which was controlled by Chicago, Jordan lined up from the same spot again and let it fly.
The ball bounced long, and Shaw grabbed the rebound. Twenty-one seconds later, he grabbed it again -- only this time it was the game ball, and it was his.
No comments:
Post a Comment