Another Dilly in Philly: C's Fall to Sixers in 2 OTs

1983-84 Boston Celtics
Sixers 119, Celtics 114 (2 OTs)
Record 52-19
March 26, 1984

PHILADELPHIA

You don't need Ralph Houk to find the silver lining in this one.

Doubts about the hearts and heads of the 1983-84 Celtics were obliterated in the Spectrum yesterday afternoon. Losers to the 76ers in a 119-114 double- overtime, Praise-The-Lord-And-Pass-The-Ammunition special, the Celtics displayed more heart and hunger than in any of their 52 victories thus far this season. It was a day of heroic individual efforts. Larry Bird scored 33 with 17 rebounds in 53 minutes. Kevin McHale played 50 minutes, most of them against the backboard-inhaling Moses Malone, who established a season record with 27 rebounds, including 15 offensive boards.

Beyond the numbers, this should be remembered as the game in which Boston ventured into the Philly snake pit without Robert Parish (ankle) and Danny Ainge (neck), and spit in the face of Philly hostility and a suddenly smoking Sixers team which had won 10 of 11. Fatigue and foul trouble, coupled with the absence of Parish and Ainge, forced K.C. Jones to juggle for 58 minutes. Among other things, he tried Cedric Maxwell at center against Malone, Scott Wedman in the backcourt, M.L. Carr up front, and Greg Kite for wingspan defense on an inbounds play.

Maxwell and Dennis Johnson managed to play Oakland Raiders crunch-time defense while carrying five fouls. Max and McHale were disqualified in the second overtime, while DJ and Gerald Henderson finished with five fouls. It was one of those rare games when Jones could have employed a 25-man roster. The loss was Boston's fourth in the last seven overall, and their fourth in six tries against Philly. It dropped Boston's Atlantic Division record to a suspect 9-11 and marked the first time in the five-year Bird era that any team has beaten the Celtics four times in a regular-season series.

But just as the Celtics couldn't take much shelter from their 102-98 victory over a Sixers team without Malone in January, the Sixers can find little comfort in the difficulty which marked yesterday's conquest. "I know they can't be thinking this is easy," said DJ (47 minutes, 13 points). The Sixers won it by outscoring Boston, 16-11, in the second overtime. Ironically, Malone was in the bench when Philly pulled away. The Sixers opened OT 2 with a finger roll basket by the estimable Julius Erving (29 points). Philly never trailed again.

Bird missed a shot after Erving's bucket, and McHale and Maurice Cheeks tied each other up for a jump ball. Enter Bobby Jones. Knowing McHale would win the tip, Mr. Whiter Shade of Pale slipped in front of DJ and poked the ball toward the scorer's table at midcourt. He got to it in time to slap it to Andrew Toney (an obligatory 20) for a breakaway. It was 107-103. After DJ missed two free throws (the Celtics were a self-destructive 67 percent from the line), Maxwell fouled out and Erving hit one of two to make it 108-103 with 3:19 left. Moses was back by then.

McHale and Bird broke the offensive drought, and when Quinn Buckner scored as he was fouled, the Celtics were within one (110-109) with 1:58 left. But Buckner missed his free throw, and Cheeks hit a jumper as the 24-second clock wound down. Two free throws by Bird closed it to one again, but with 50 seconds left Erving pushed it to three with a banker (narrowly beating the shot clock again), and after Malone blocked a Bird followup, Bobby Jones hit two free throws to make it 116-111 0:32 showing.

Bird thought the ball hit out of bounds after Malone's block. "I thought it was right on the line, but he never did call it," said Bird. "It's upsetting after you play two overtimes to have it come down to one play and then they don't call it." Overtime 1 was an 8-8 deadlock in which the Celtics tied it on two Maxwell (22) free throws with 29 seconds left. Philly's last chance melted when a Toney-to-Malone feed in the lane went out of bounds as the clock expired. The first 48 minutes featured a rebounding clinic by Malone, who was obviously happy to see Parish sitting in civvies on the sideline. Malone had eight offensive rebounds in the first quarter and pulled down 14 rebounds by halftime.

"He's just big and strong and he really played well today," said the overmatched McHale, who took only 13 shots and managed a mere four rebounds in 50 minutes. Boston led by one after one, and trailed, 46-41, at intermission. Bird's 16 points pushed the Celtics to a 75-73 lead after three. Here's the disturbing part: With six minutes left in regulation, the Celtics led by five and had the ball. In the next two minutes, Bird missed a shot, DJ and McHale were tagged with offensive fouls, and it was 89-89.

With Philly leading, 95-93, Bird canned a lefty baseline jumper with 18 seconds left. After a timeout, DJ did a great job pressuring Toney and forced a bad pass. Bird stole the pass near midcourt and heaved it from long range. It was short. One second remained. Erving tossed one in after the buzzer, and it was on to extra innings.