Bird's Rookie Year: December 17, 1979

December 17, 1979

Cowens picked off a poorly thrown pass just outside the circle and sprinted all the way down court for a layup which sent the Celtics into the locker room holding a 54-53 lead. But the man they could all thank for that advantage was another old-timer by the name of Don Chaney.

There is little doubt that the entrance of The Duck into the game with 10:09 remaining in the half saved the Celtics from certain disaster. They had been floundering since holding early leads of 5-0 (this on another Chris Ford three-pointer, one of two for him in the half) and 7-2. New Jersey had been more aggressive in every way, and Boston just couldn't seem to get anything going. In addition, Mike Newlin was doing a basic number on Ford, and when the former dashed through the pack for a layup which gave New Jersey a 33-27 lead (and which raised his point total to 13 at the time), coach Bill Fitch made an emergency call for Chaney.

His presence set the tone for an aggressive Celtic defense which eventually grabbed a lead at 50-49, Boston's first such state of affairs since 25-23. Chaney was vital at both ends, in fact, moving well without the ball on offense (seven points), hounding people on defense, and, in general, acting a little like he's passed this way before.

A run of six straight points rescued the Celtics from a 41-34 deficit and got them back in the game. Chaney highlighted this spurt with a tough layup on a nice Cowens feed, an outright theft of the ball from Ed Jordan on an inbounds pass for a totally uncontested layup, a Chaney-induced offensive foul on Jordan (followed, alas, by a three-second call on Maxwell) and, finally, a Chaney steal of a pass and subsequent feed to Maxwell for a thundering stuff. That made it 41-40, NJ.

Newlin, who was hot from the start, led all first-half scorers with 19 points. But the big surprise was the offensive lift supplied by starting center George Johnson, a noted bricklayer who stuck in no fewer than four jumpers (to go with a patented sweeping hook) in a rare offensive display. Jan van Breda Kohlff also played his usual cerebral game for New Jersey.

The Celtics just wouldn't have been anywhere at all without their bench people in this one. Playing their third game in three nights (as was New Jersey), Boston needed some help from the subs, and they got it from Rick Robey (2 for 2) in a brief appearance), M.L. Carr (six points and his usual hustle), Chaney and Gerald Henderson.

The Kid executed a beautiful give-and-go play with Cowens, artfully slipping a left-handed reverse layup, and he also banked in an up-fake three point play, complementing his good offense with a sensational defensive job. Neither Robert Smith nor Ed Jordan, undoubtedly 2 of the 10 quickest players in the league, could get by Henderson, and both tried very hard. In one memorable sequence Henderson first cleanly stuffed a Jordan jumper and then kept him from advancing anywhwere when he got the ball back. But Newlin threw in a desperation off-balance, leaning clock-beater to thwart the whole exercise.

A completely implausible sequence in the final 23 seconds, culminating in two Carr free throws with two seconds left, sent the teams into overtime tied at 104.

Carr arrived at the line after referees Jack Madden and Tom Nunez allowed an unknown Celtic to grab Mike Newlin by the throat on an inbounds pass with seven seconds to play. The ball was advanced upcourt, and Carr was fouled en route to the basket.

Newlin, who scored 46 points in the regulation play, had put New Jersey ahead with two foul shots at the 23-second mark, a hintzy-chintzy call by Nunez sending him to the line.