Celtics Win 14th Straight

Celtics Improve to 51-15
1981-82 Boston Celtics

That's not a basketball team heading down to the Spectrum tomorrow. That's a human tidal wave. The Celtics did not so much defeat the San Antonio Spurs last night as they did overwhelm them. The final score was 134-110 and there was absolutely no department in which the Celtics failed to demonstrate superiority over the Midwest Division leaders. The Celtics led by 12 (63-51) at the half, 16 (97-81) after three periods and by as many as 28 (119-91) in the foul-laden final period, whose sole purpose appeared to be to keep the crowd in its seats just long enough to miss the end of the BC-Kansas State game.

Competition existed in this game for approximately 18 minutes. The Spurs had come back from three seven-point first-period deficits (the last at 17-10) to go ahead by as many as three (38-35) in the second period. Boston regained the lead to stay at 39-38 when Kevin McHale (17 points, 8 rebounds) took a clever Larry Bird feed and stuck in a jumper from the middle of the lane, but the Spurs were still hanging around the ballgame thinking about a W when Mike Mitchell picked up his third foul and was sat down by coach Stan Albeck. With Mitchell not there to help George Gervin share the load, and with the Celtics getting a welcome lift from Chris Ford (six points, including two long sets), the game's momentum swung drastically, sending the
Celtics into the locker room in possession of a 63-51 halftime advantage.

It was shades of Elgin and Jerry by late third period, as the Iceman (31) and Mitchell (30) had 61 of San Antonio's first 77 points. But there was no way a two-man offensive team was going to beat the Celtics, who were on their way to placing five men in double figures, in addition to a nine and two eights.

What passed for a second-half crisis in this game was any San Antonio incursion within 15 points. Thus, when a run of seven unanswered Spurs' points reduced a one-time 22-point Celtics' margin to 15 at 15 (79-64), coach Bill Fitch was wearing a pained look. There wasn't much to worry about, however, for Gerry Henderson stuck in a foul-line jumper to stop the run, leading to some basket swapping for the rest of the period.

Fitch undoubtedly reminded his team in between periods that it had blown most of a 16-point fourth-period lead to Atlanta on Wednesday, because the Celtics showed absolutely no fourth-period mercy this time. Bird (19 points, 11 rebounds) started off the last quarter with a three-point runner. Tiny Archibald (11 points, 6 assists), who looked infinitely better than in his first four post-injury performances, banged in a jumper and free throw of a fast-break following an horrendous 15-foot air-balled hook by George Johnson.

Now it was Show Time, and soon Archibald and Carr would collaborate on the kind of play that makes the 11 o'clock sports guy salivate. M.L., who has proven beyond doubt that he is now a guard, switched off to steal a John Lambert dribble. Carr fed Archibald, who returned the ball via a behind-the- back bounce pass. Carr drove from right to left and curled in a lefthanded reverse layup while drawing a foul, signaling the shot good, a la Manny Sokol. The crowd erupted, and it might as well have turned out the lights and headed onto the X-way right there, since the score was 108-84 with 9:45 to play.

Carr's emergence as a guard has, of course, been one of the keys to the winning streak. "It wasn't until the streak that I really felt comfortable there," he admitted. "With Chris and Tiny out, I had to bring it. The concentration has been there."

The night was festive from start to finish, since it had begun with Red Auerbach making a surprise presentation of a signed basketball to Fitch commemorating his 500th career win (Wednesday, against Atlanta) and since it ended with Charles Bradley supplying an appropriate exclamation point in the form of a thundering dunk with seven seconds remaining.

In sum, it was a night reminiscent of countless others in the past 25 years. Do Celtics' fans really recognize how truly fortunate they are?