Celtics Down Nellie and the Bucks

1983-84 Boston Celtics
Celtics 109, Bucks 98
Record 32-9
January 22, 1984

If you weren't invited to a Super Bowl Brunch or a press conference at which somebody announced a candidacy for the Senate, the Celtics and Bucks offered a nice early afternoon alternative yesterday. On the one-week anniversary of the nationally televised Mauling at the Mecca, the Celtics struck back, beating the Bucks, 109-98, at the Garden. Let the record show that the key drive in this impressive victory came while Larry Bird was seated with Carlos Clark, Greg Kite, Ray Melchiorre and the rest of the Celtics' sideline gang.

It was 70-70 with 5:47 left in the third quarter when the floundering Bird (7 for 16) sat down to see what his teammates could do against the ever- ready Bucks. They did it all. As the antique Bucks sputtered, the Celtics outscored Milwaukee, 18-2, to take an 88-72 lead after three quarters. Cedric Maxwell, Robert Parish, Kevin McHale, Quinn Buckner and Dennis Johnson were Boston's fun bunch in the crucial stretch.

Parish (22 points, 15 rebounds), started the surge wih a finger roll in the lane. Then came a play that the Bucks thought was crucial and unfair. Paul Pressey scored on a power drive, but the goal was nullified when Jim Capers, standing at midcourt, ruled that Bob Lanier had touched Pressey's shot inside the cylinder. "I didn't touch it," said Lanier. "If I did, I'd tell you. That was a big call."

The Celtics didn't score immediately, but a DJ steal led to a Parish fast break slam. Buckner followed with a transition jumper, and when Maxwell (seven offensive rebounds) converted a DJ miss off the break, it was 78-70, and Bucks coach Don Nelson was calling for a 20-second timeout. The party wasn't over. After the pause, McHale scored off the break from Buckner, and Parish delivered a yo-mama dunk after taking a pass from Maxwell. Then Marques Johnson (a herioc 26 points) was tagged with an offensive foul, and McHale canned a turnaround from the left baseline to make it 14 straight, 84-70.

Fresh off the cover of "GQ," Paul Mokeski dumped in a hook-shot to interrupt Boston's blitz. McHale came back with a follow-up, and Buckner hit a left-handed half-jumper to make it 88-72 after three. The only question left was, "Raiders or 'Skins?" Remember, these were the same Bucks who tap-danced on the Celtics' foreheads, while America watched last Sunday.

"We were shocked last Sunday," said Parish, who is playing center better than anyone in basketballl at the moment. "Today, we did a much better job on their inside people in the second half. We opened the game up and got our running game going." Maxwell was the catalyst. He wound up with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. According to Nelson, "He absolutely destroyed us. He hurts us in almost every way." "Max has been the key to this ballclub since he's been here," said Parish. "He just doesn't get the ink for it."

Said K. C. Jones: "Max played a total game. He played with total determination and ferocity - playing great defense, banging the boards, getting those second chance points. I don't know what's gotten into him, but I'm not going to change it."
Maxwell had eight points and five rebounds in the third period. The Celtics outrebounded Milwaukee, 20-7, in the third quarter, and by a whopping 60-37 overall. "The way we went to the boards was big thing," said Maxwell. "We were getting second and third shots all through the second half."

The Bucks could get no closer than 12 points in the fourth period. Bird and McHale (20 points) each had eight in the period, and Jones kept his horses on the floor. Victory cigars Kite and Clark didn't appear until the final 36 seconds. Events leading to the 70-70 tie were relatively dull. The Celtics tried to run early and took advantage of Milwaukee's obvious matchup problems. When the Bucks double-teamed underneath, the Celtics kicked it back out and took jump shots. Boston never trailed after 26-25, led, 34-29, after one, and, 58-56, at the half. Sidney Moncrief was on his way to an eight-shot, 12-point performance (credit DJ), and the Bucks weren't the same team when Lanier (10 points, with only three rebounds in 25 minutes) was resting his wounded knees.