Celtics Squelch Bullets

1983-84 Boston Celtics
Celtics 106, Bullets 93
Record 53-19
March 28, 1984
LANDOVER, Md.

Easter weekend in Washington means cherry blossoms by the Potomac, the traditional egg roll on the White House lawn . . . and Greco- Roman wrestling with Gene Shue's ebony and ivory tag team of Rick Mahorn and Jeff Ruland. The Celtics claim they have no preference for their first-round playoff foe, and underlined the point with an emphatic 106-93 victory over the Washington Bullets last night.

Beating the Bullets for the third time at the Capital Centre, the Celts dominated the boards (42-34), neutralized the Beef Brothers and controlled the tempo for 48 minutes. Dennis Johnson destroyed Ricky Sobers, and a healthy Celtics' frontcourt beat Washington's inside game. Cancel that April order for crutches and wheelchairs. The Celts will go into the postseason with a 4-2 record against Washington. A five-game set with the Bullets might not be so bad after all.

"Coming off the Philly game, which took a lot out of my guys, I was afraid we might come in here and be flat," said coach K.C. Jones. "But we started off running and played good defense in the first half. That's the part that excites me." Robert Parish (15 points, 13 rebounds) was back in the starting lineup after a two-game layoff due to a sprained ankle. He found himself face to face with Mahorn, one of his least favorite people. Mahorn finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Ruland earned his 24 and 15.

The Celts scored 10 straight in the first four minutes and jumped out front, 11-4. They led the rest of the way. Cedric Maxwell (14 points) had nine rebounds and eight points in the first 12 minutes andthe Celts led, 27-18, after one. Boston shot 52 percent (12-23) and outrebounded the Bullets, 16-9, in the period. The Celtics also played commendable defense, holding Washington to one shot while shutting down Ruland, Greg Ballard and erratic guards Sobers and Frank Johnson.

Meanwhile, DJ and Gerald Henderson ran and hit transition jumpers. DJ finished with 24 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. He hit 9 of 12 from the floor. At the other end he vaporized Sobers, who made only 3 of 11 shots and committed five turnovers. Sobers was 0 for 7 in the first half. "If DJ plays like that, we're going to be tough to beat," said Kevin McHale, who scored 22. "That's what we really need."

Boston's only difficulty came late in the second period when Washington went to a half-court trap and reeled off eight straight points. Two baskets by Mahorn capped the surge and pulled the Bullets to within three for the first time since 7-4. But Larry Bird (19 points, 13 assists) answered with four before the half and the Celts led, 53-46, at intermission.

In the first four minutes of the third quarter, Maxwell hit three quick baskets, but picked up his fourth and fifth fouls. The Bullets cut it to five after Max came out, but McHale led a 7-2 run, pushing the Celts to 70-60 with 5:15 left in the period. Bird took over from there, scoring six of Boston's next eight. A buzzer-beating fallaway by Bird gave the Celtics an 80-67 lead at the end of three.

Shue protested the game before the start of the fourth quarter. The dispute involved a Tom McMillen free throw attempt with 2:03 left in the third. After making his first foul shot, McMillen was denied another because official Mike Mathis claimed McMillen faked his second shot from the line to draw Bird into the lane. Boston was awarded the ball when Bird and Greg Ballard both stepped into the lane before the shot.

McHale shot the Celts to a 15-point lead early in the fourth. Parish got it going and thrust the Celts to 99-83 with 3:36 left. Washington never got closer than 13 after that. "We wanted to get out early and rebound well," said Maxwell. "We figured we could beat them if we controlled the boards. I think we had the game pretty much under control and eliminated all possiblilties of them getting on top of us."