Shaw Leads Explosive Attack

1990-91 Boston Celtics

Every fan who sat through those two years of dreary winter nights watching the walk-it-up Celtics grunt and groan their way through boring triumphs and embarrassing losses against more athletic teams knows how painful the past two Celtics seasons have been. But imagine what it was like to be playing in those games.

"To be truthful," said Kevin McHale, "there were times last summer, after those final Knick games, when I thought that might have been it."

As in, "I'm outta here."

That, of course, was pre-Brian, pre-Dee, pre-Oscar The Wonder Forward (Kevin Gamble, nicknamed "Oscar" Gamble by McHale) and pre-"Reg-gie LEWIS!" It was also pre-Chris Ford, pre-Dave Gavitt and pre-just about everything that makes the 1990-91 Celtics the talk of the NBA. It was pre- nights like last evening's awe-inspiring 152-132 destruction of the Indiana Pacers, the Celtics' 13th straight Garden victory and the team's 19th win in its last 21 games.

The 152 was the Celtics' highest regular-season total in over 20 years, and the third-highest in their history. The 152 was also the most points ever scored against the Pacers.

"Those guards certainly make a difference," observed Indiana coach Bob Hill, both before and after the game.

He was referring to Brian Shaw, who added 10 assists to his game-high 26 points (matching a season high), Reggie Lewis (a casual 19), Dee Brown (11) and even Kevin (Oscar) Gamble, who isn't really a 2-guard or a 3-forward, but who is simply a sensationally explosive player Larry Bird says is "easy to play with."

Hill has replaced the departed Dick Versace's plodding style with an up-tempo approach, and it will benefit the Pacers in the long run. The visitors matched Boston's 40-point first quarter, remaining alive until the final three minutes of the half, when a Celtic burst fueled by Shaw and Brown extended the lead to 75-61.

"We're not in shape yet to play this way," explained

Hill. "We have periods where we play well, but we can't sustain it."

The Celtics can. And even though the Pacers would creep within 6 (80-74) two minutes into the third period, they weren't really threatening this remodeled Boston outfit. At this juncture Lewis picked off an errant pass, got it to Bird (12 assists) and watched as Larry fed a streaking Robert Parish for a sneakaway dunk. That triggered a 14-2 run, extending the Boston lead to 18 at 94-76 and guaranteeing that Indiana would lose its 14th road game in 15 trips outside the Hoosier state.

There were no more moments of peril, because the Celtics simply never stopped rebounding (54-39 individual edge), outletting or running. By the end of the third period, they had a whopping 115 points and the nightly Garden Stojko watch had begun.

Shaw was nothing less than an All-Star guard in this one, slashing, penetrating, rebounding (7), harrassing and even stepping outside to salvage a broken play with the first successful 3-pointer of his NBA career (so much for that trivia question). "Let's face it," said McHale. "Brian Shaw is the difference."

Kevin, don't forget Mr. Gamble, too. He continues to feast in transition (four fast-break hoops in the first period alone), and he has learned to make a half-court living off Bird. "He's always moving," lauds No. 33. Defensively, he enables Shaw and Lewis to holler "Switch!" without hesitation, thus tightening the once-porous Boston defense.

Running up to and even past the final buzzer (a Vrankovic dunk came a fraction after time expired), the Celtics staged both a crowd-pleasing main show and a boffo Garbage Time.

"I never thought I'd have this much fun playing basketball again," said a grateful McHale.