WEDMAN'S 11-11 PERFORMANCE HELPS C'S BURY L'S

June 11, 1985

WEDMAN'S 11-11 PERFORMANCE IN GAME 1 HELPS C'S BURY L'S

Greg Kite scored seven points. Hit three of five shots. Played 10minutes. An afterthought backup center who had spent so much time on the bench during his two-year career with the Celtics that he qualified as a human splinter. Greg Kite.

"Just say it wasn't our day," moaned Magic Johnson, Los Angeles' normally effervescent superhero. "When Greg Kite comes out and can hit three left- handed hooks, you know . . . Incredible. Just incredible."

Translation: Celtics 148, Lakers 114.

Incredible wasn't the word for it. Unprecedented was. Because nobody could have known that the ninth overall renewal - and second straight - of the NBA's longest-running championship serial would open with such record-shattering force.

In obliterating the most potent offensive team in NBA annals, the host Celtics virtually rewrote play-off history. They scored the most points ever in a championship game. They scored the most points ever (79) in a championship first half. Their halftime spread (30) was the largest ever, as was their overall number of field goals (61). Their shooting (60.8 percent) was the most accurate of all time. Their total assists (43) and margin of victory came within one of tying title standards.

Individually, sixth man Scott Wedman surpassed all play-off marksmen with an 11-for-11 shooting performance. And Wedman didn't even begin firing until the score was 52-29 in the second quarter, which in itself constituted yet another, unofficial championship milestone: earliest garbage time ever.

Wedman and Kevin McHale shared scoring honors with 26 points. Robert Parish (18 points, 8 rebounds) made 38-year-old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (12 and 3) look like a senior citizen as The Chief outraced The Goggled One up and down the court, establishing Boston's frenetic tempo.

Taxing credulity further, the Celtics whipped the whippets who were supposed to run them into the ground - or at least the parquet. The defending champions were considered no match for the lightning Lakers, though LA had dropped eight finals to Boston, including the seven-game 1984 classic. "We thought we were a running team last year," said coach K.C. Jones, "until LA got here in that first game (a 115-109 Laker win) and we all got pneumonia because they were going by us so fast."

The latest edition of the Lakers had done nothing to dispel that blurry image. They set a regular-season shooting record (54.5 percent) and simply turned the tempo up a notch (55.7 percent) in the play-offs, during which they flashdanced past Phoenix, Portland and Denver. In those series, LA won 11 of 13 games, running its overall streak to 31 of 35, and averaged 131.2 points. So when the Lakers visited the Garden sweatshop on an 84-degree afternoon for the championship opener, they were rated series favorites. Even LA coach Pat Riley, a man of perspective, couldn't contain his enthusiasm: "This could be the greatest team in Laker history."

Ah, but not so fast, you LA speed demons. "We never got our fast break going," said Laker reserve and former Celtic Bob McAdoo after the Boston bombardment, "because we spent the day pulling the ball out of the nets. Our game is the quick transition. But they turned the tables on us. That was our game they played."

To the hilt. The Celtics pounded LA from the start: "We came out of the corner like Marvin Hagler," said Jones. Boston blazed from a 9-8 deficit to a 26-12 advantage, forcing Riley to call a timeout. By then, three of the Lakers' most reliable shooters - Byron Scott, James Worthy and Jabbar - were a collective 1 for 14 from the floor.

Meanwhile, guard Danny Ainge was scorching Scott with a 7-for-9, 15-point first period on his way to a 19-point afternoon that served as a yardstick for his teammates. "Once one guy starts to hit," said Larry Bird (19 points), "it catches on."

All Scott could do was catch cold against Ainge. The LA guard entered the series on a 57-percent shooting spree, including a 65-percent decimation of Denver. But in the Boston opener, he got throttled (5 for 14).

In general, the Lakers, who shot a dismal 40 percent, stood by as the Celtics kept connecting in the steamy Garden. "It wasn't too hot," Riley said. "The only heat came from that cannon they kept shooting."

That was torridly evident at the start of the second quarter, when the Celtics buried the Lakers with an 11-for-12 roll, good for a 63-34 cushion. After that, it was all gravy.

"They had their day,," said Riley. "Now our reaction has to be: 'OK, enough's enough.'"