1983-84 Boston Celtics
Celtics 118, Cavs 97
Record 33-9
January 22, 1984
RICHFIELD, Ohio
The game was played before a tiny (5,038), silent crowd in the suburban nowhere land of northeast Ohio, against a presumably hungry underdog, and on the eve of another duel to the death with the Philadelphia 76ers. In other words, all of the upset ingredients were present when the Celtics took the floor against the Cleveland Cavaliers last night. In another year, the cocky Celtics might have been upended, or at least scared, but this is the winter of content and conviction. Accordingly, in a complete and sometimes arrogant display of dominance and precision, the Celtics vaporized the hapless Cavaliers, 118-97, befoe a disgraceful gathering of 5830 neighbors and friends at the Richfield Coliseum.
The 48-minute scrimmage was the kind of game that is always possible but rarely materializes when social register teams clash with NBA doormats. The Celtics led by six after one, by 23 at the half, and held an embarrassing 101-67 margin at the end of three quarters. The final minutes were played for the benefit of Mr. Kite and Carlos Clark. Boston's 36-19 second quarter put the blowout in motion. The Celtics' bench was responsible for turning a respectable game into garbage time before intermission. Danny Ainge and Quinn Buckner were chief architects of smoke city. They scored 19 second-quarter points (9 of 13 from the floor) and ran the Cadavers into submission.
The starters came back for showtime in the third quarter. Larry Bird (24 points) canned some hideous fallaways and Robert Parish hung around long enough to compile 13 points. A 17-2 run midway through the quarter turned a 78-55 lead into an obscene 95-57 bulge. The 38-point lead was Boston's biggest. Parish and Bird were both on the pine before the third period ended. While the shoulder-to-shoulder throng screamed at K.C. Jones for piling it on, Greg Kite came into the game with 8:56 remaining in the fourth quarter. Clark appeared 55 seconds later. With four minutes to play, fans were screaming: "Come on K.C., put (trainer Ray) Melchiorre in."
The Celtics never trailed. Boston led by as many as nine in the first period, and took charge with a 36-19 second-quarter that resulted in a whopping 65-42 halftime advantage. While Lonnie Shelton slept, Bird (10 in the first period) canned four straight outside jumpers as the Celtics bolted to an 18-10 lead midway through the opening quarter.Meanwhile, Cedric Maxwell and Dennis Johnson shut down Cliff Robinson and World B. Free, and the rest of the inept Cavaliers stopped themselves. Accordingly, the Celtics had little trouble maintaining a comfortable lead.
Buckner came in for Gerald Henderson and Kevin McHale replaced Maxwell late in the first period. Scott Wedman, the only Celtic who didn't play against Milwaukee Sunday, appeared with 1:08 left in the period. Parish, who turned his left ankle in practice Monday, played the entire quarter, scored nine points and showed no signs of the injury. In the first period, the Celtics forced eight Cleveland turnovers, outrebounded the Cavaliers (14-8) and took 30 (count 'em, 30) shots. Parish was still in the game when the second quarter began. But he immediately picked up his third foul and was replaced by Maxwell.
The Celtics' shock troops proceeded to blow the Cavaliers away. Boston's second unit had great success with the running game and ripped off nine in a row to stretch the lead to 13 (38-25). While Cleveland coach Tom Nissalke displayed a stubborn aversion to timeouts, the Celtics kept running and burst to a 45-27 lead. The artistic 16-2 surge was orchestrated by backup guards Buckner and Ainge. Buckner had nine in the period, Ainge eight, as they ran with dazzling efficiency. Bird, Maxwell, and McHale went to the free throw line late in the half and stretched the Celtics' lead to 23 (63-40) with 1:11 left.
By then, Kite and Clark were salavating at the end of the Boston bench.
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