Celtics have Won 8 Straight (16 of 18 and 37 of 42)

March 25, 1986

Celtics have Won 8 Straight (16 of 18 and 37 of 42)

It happened in front of the Houston bench, so Bill Fitch & Co. had a ringside seat.

"The last time I saw anything fall that hard," said Fitch, "was when they tore down that hotel." He was speaking, of course, about the Madison, which was detonated one block from Fitch's old Boston residence.

But this was not an object. Rather, it was 88 inches of flesh, bones and blood named Ralph Sampson, who went up for a rebound and never had a chance to walk off the floor.

"It was the old undercut," said Fitch, "but it could very well have been one of our players who did it. It's one of those things that happens every now and then in basketball. Ralph had no way to protect himself."

"It's what every player fears," said Robert Parish, who stands a mere 84 inches. "Not centers, but guards and forwards, also."

Sampson was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital. He was first subjected to a neurological examination and then given X-rays for a possible back fracture. X-rays of the head and neck were negative, and Sampson was released late last night, according to an MGH spokeswoman.

But, at least for a while, the situation was very scary. "On the floor," said Celtics team doctor Thomas Silva, "he was unable to move his extremities. By the time he left the Garden and went to the hospital, he had regained some degree of motion and some sensation had returned to his lower right leg. Those are good signs, but we have to appreciate the significance to the fullest extent that (initially) he could not move his legs."

The Celtics have now won eight straight, 16 of 18, 37 of 42 and 23 straight at home . . . The magic number to clinch the best record in the Eastern Conference is 2, meaning that a victory over Milwaukee tomorrow night at the Garden will take care of that business. The magic number for the best record overall is 6 (Celtic wins or Laker losses in any combination) . . . Larry Bird dropped in two more three-pointers in three attempts, giving him 23 for his last 32 from home run territory. He had over 30 points (36) for the seventh time in his last nine games . . . Dennis Johnson shot 2 for 17, but made his statement with 12 assists . . . In the first 2:40 of the second half, each team had one illegal defense and one delay-of-game warning apiece . . . Bill Walton (7 rebounds in 18 minutes) sent the crowd into rapture and drew a prolonged standing ovation in the second quarter when he answered a nice Akeem Olajuwon rejection of Jerry Sichting by smashing a defensive rebound in finest Karch Karaly style 30 feet upcourt to start a fast break finished off by a Scott Wedman jumper . . . Wedman's 19 points represented his biggest offensive output since the return of Kevin McHale.