Fitch Gains Emotional Win Over KC and Celts

1983-84 Boston Celtics
Rockets 107, Celtics 94
Record: 23-8
12/29/1983

HOUSTON

It was like a frightening dream in which you suddenly realize that the wife you divorced might have been right all along. This was supposed to be a triumph of the K.C. Jones soft shoe over the Bill Fitch goose step, of the open campus over the core curriculum. Instead, the lowly Houston Rockets thoroughly dominated the cocky Celtics, beating the Green Team, 107-94, as Big Brother Bill smirked on the sideline. Give Fitch and the Rockets credit. Houston was thoroughly prepared for the Celtics and outplayed Boston from end line to end line in three of the four quarters.In the first half the Celtics were outshot, 48-26, committed 15 turnovers and trailed by 21 at the buzzer. Above all else, their no-show performance made Jones look bad. Perhaps Jones told the Celtics that Fitch would return as head coach if the pattern continued. Whatever K.C. said worked for one quarter. The Celtics outscored Houston, 33-15, in the third period to cut the margin to 81-78 at the end of three.

The Celtics had some smoke coming out of their ears when the second half started. They found their running game, forced a couple of Fitch timeouts, and chopped 10 points off the lead to trail, 70-59, with 6:47 left in the period. Boston's defensive pressure finally forced Houston into turnovers and bad shots. Meanwhile, Bird outscored Houston, 11-9, in the first nine minutes of the period. When Parish converted a three-point play with 33 seconds left, Houston's lead was down to one (79-78). The Rockets were outrebounded, 16-5, in the period, but still led by three after three.

Allen Leavell drove Houston to an eight-point lead early in the fourth quarter. Bird came in and moved to the backcourt. He and Parish chopped it to four, and with 7:16 left, Jones called time. That was it for Boston. After the pause, Ralph Sampson and Leavell led an 8-1 surge. When a Leavell bank shot went through the net to make it 96-85 with 4:32 left, Jones called yet another timeout. It was too late for the Celtics. Bird (25 points) missed 3 of 6 free throws, Parish (28) traveled, Sampson (27) canned a turnaround, Dennis Johnson lost the ball out of bounds and Leavell scored three more to give Houson an insurmountable 101-88 lead with 1:58 left.

One quarter of basketball wasn't enough to pull the Celtics out of this one. The Celtics were embarrassed in the first half, which ended wih Houston on top by 21 points (66-45). Sampson neutralized Parish, Robert Reid turned in one of his old- fashioned smother jobs on Bird, and Boston's guards handled the ball as if it had a communicable disease (10 turnovers in the first quarter). Houston outscored Boston, 16-4, in the last four minutes of the first period and led, 35-20, after one.

It got worse. With help from the Celtics, who ushered Rockets to the basket throughout the half, Houston steadily padded its lead and capped the first 24 minutes with a 60-footer by Sampson five seconds before the buzzer. Sampson outplayed Parish in the first quarter. He won the opening tap and hit four of his first five shots: a turnaround over Parish, a long jumper from the left corner, a short hook and a coast-to-coast layup jam. He also caused Parish to miss his first two shots, forcing the Chief to alter his usually unblockable turnaround.

Sampson's first block was a rejection of a Cedric Maxwell offering. Maxwell scored eight of Boston's first 12 points, but the Rockets were beating Boston in every phase of the game. When Xaverian's own James Bailey canned a foul line jumper after another Celtics' turnover, the Rockets led, 23-16, and Jones called time. After the pause, Lewis Lloyd hit two free throws, Quinn Bucker threw the ball out of bounds and Reid canned a jumper to complete an 8-0 run and put the Rockets on top by 11 (27-16). There was more Celtics' sloppiness. Phil Ford hit a free throw after stripping the ball from Johnson, then Parish dribbled it off his foot out of bounds, and Reid followed with two free throws. Bailey stole a Danny Ainge pass and Lloyd tipped in a Sampson miss to make it 34-18. Both Parish (15 points in the half) and Sampson (17 in the half) took a breather early in the second quarter, as Kevin McHale and Bailey took over the pivot battle for a while. The Celtics were able to cut the margin to 11 a couple of times but still had trouble with turnovers, and Bird couldn't shake Reid.

When Sampson (18 in the half) returned, he scored on a long turnaround and a jam off the break after another Celtics turnover, and it was 51-34 with 5:36 left in the half. DJ missed one of two from the line, Leavell hit a jumper and Gerald Henderson was called for traveling. Down by 18 (53-35) with 4:45 left, a disgusted Jones called time again. Sampson's 60-footer served as a fitting conclusion to Boston's worst two quarters of basketball this season.