DJ's Desperation 3 Helps Sonics Sink Celts on Super Bowl Sunday

January 21, 1980

It was the kind of game that made fans feel a sense of smugness for having shelled out the money to see it; that made winning players proud to have hung in there and losers proud to have participated; and that made CBS wonder how it came to be that in showing it prior to the Super Bowl the network had managed to serve the chateaubriand before the goose livers, as it were.

It was a basketball game played at the highest level, and if you don't understand how a game in which the two participants combined to shoot a collective 42 percent from the floor could be labeled "great," then it's obvious you're heading for a failing grade in Hoopology 101. For the 108-106 double-overtime Seattle conquest of the Celtics before an enraptured capacity Garden gathering of 15,320 yesterday afternoon was nothing less than an affirmation of two things - the first being that the NBA at its best is basketball at its best, the second being that nobody should accuse the SuperSonics of overstating the case if they choose to warm up to "We Are The Champions."

One golden moment in this game will never be forgotten. It came with one second left in regulation time when Dennis Johnson, the third option on a desperation play, drilled in game-tying three-point field goal from in front of the press table (into which he tumbled after releasing the shot). That miracle shot negated a Boston comeback that had begun with a stumbling Celtic team trailing, 76-70 (7:52 left), a resurgence that had been fueled by a pair of Chris Ford three-pointers (he had five in the game), and that had been culminated with a free throw by Larry Bird, the victim of a loose-ball foul with three seconds to play and the Celtics leading by an 86-84 score.

Dave Cowens (16 points, 12 rebounds and more of that great defense) had put Boston ahead for the first time since 56-54 with an 18-foot jumper with 13 seconds left, and on the subsequent Seattle possession it was Cowens who switched out to force Gus Williams (29 points) into a wild air ball from the lane. Lonnie Shelton fouled Bird in the ensuing struggle for the ball. But Bird missed the first shot and made the second, allowing the Sonics to stay alive by virtue of the three-point rule.

The Boston strategy was to foul the first available Seattle player as soon as the ball came in. On the first pass-in from midcourt, an aggressive Cowens came up to knock the ball out of bounds as one second ticked off the clock. "Isn't that something?" said Bill Fitch. "Cowens makes a hustle play and that beats us. If he lets the man catch the ball and then fouls him, we're home. But he tries to do things right all the time."

Given a reprieve, the Sonics again threw the ball in. There was momentary indecision involving Tiny Archibald and M.L. Carr on a switch, leaving Johnson open on the right flank. "The play was designed to go to one of the three guards," DJ explained. "Gus was being pressured. Freddy (Brown) wasn't open. We ran the play the way it was diagrammed on the board. M.L. and Tiny were closest to me, but not close enough. It felt good on the release."

Said Jack Sikma: "I was on the block on Dennis' side. I thought, It's got a chance.' The thing just dove into the basket."

Though the best play of the day, it was hardly the only significant one. In the first overtime, Williams made another shot the Sonics had to have. Ford's fourth three-pointer with 17 seconds remaining had given Boston a 97-95 edge, so Gus casually strolled downcourt and threw in a top-of-the-key turnaround to tie it up for the 17th time. Then there were Ford's two bombs and a long shot by Carr which got the Celtics, who only led for 7:36 of the 53 minutes, into the game once again.

Seattle had led at the quarter (22-20), half (42-39) and three-quarter (70-62) marks during this defensively oriented struggle. Though the Celtics were reluctant to admit it, they appeared to be worn down by the second OT, which began ominously when Father Time (aka Paul Silas, a devastating 13- rebound contributor) kept alive an offensive rebound and Williams got two free throws on a third effort. The Celtics would never tie or lead in the second OT, and their last real chance (unless you count a clock-beating three- point miss by Ford at 106-103 with 53 seconds left) to stay in it came when Bird threw away a fast-break pass at 101-99 and Williams converted on the Seattle transition.

The Sonics simply appeared to have more strength left to work on defense, run their offense and bang the boards (where they had a comfy 63-49 individual margin) during the second OT, and their 11-2 edge in second-chance points during the fourth period and the OTs confirms that view.

None of this demeans Boston, which now trails the 76ers by one game in the Atlantic Division and stands 1-5 in matches against Philly, LA and Seattle. The Celtics played hard and they made honest mistakes against a great team. But two Sunday toughies in a row is rough on the coach. "It's like analyzing a funeral," Fitch lamented. "It's like saying to someone in the family, Are you crying big tears or little tears today?' "

"A game of ifs," said Ford. "Yes," agreed Silas, "if DJ doesn't make that shot, it's history."