Bird Drops 45 against Suns

February 14, 1980

He had what?" inquired Alvan Adams. "Forty-five? I would have said 28."

Said Sun coach John MacLeod: "I don't know what else you would want the man to do. That was a hellacious 45, but when you're making six or seven three-pointers (actually, it was three), it adds up in a hurry." "Larry Bird," kidded Paul Westphal. "I think he's going to be a player some day."

The wild, wild game was over. The Suns were basking in their 135-134 comeback triumph over the Celtics, who, in turn, were quietly cursing themselves and officials Ed Rush and Jess Kersey, who killed them earlier in the fourth quarter, when they had called seven fouls on Boston in the first 2:58. The amazing thing about this was that it was the Suns who were coming from behind, not Boston. Teams leading by 11 points usually
don't out foul the other team by a 7-0 margin in three minutes of play. Oh well.

Yup, the game was over, and the Suns had won, but Topic A had been Mr. Bird, who had shot 19 for 32 (3 for 5 on three-point field  goals), had grabbed 13 rebounds and who had demonstrated to the sellout crowd of 12,660 that he was every bit the player they had been led to believe. He might even have had more points had he not been suffering from an excessive case of the polites in the first quarter, when he  threw the ball away three times by passing when he should have shot. He had good shooting rhythm from the start, and if ever there was justification for a man to take 40 shots, this was the night. By making those three three-pointers, he increased his long-range streak to 9 for his last 13, 15 for his last 24 and 28 for his last 48 three-pointers over a 27-game stretch. Not bad shooting for a man 6-foot-9.

Bird confided that the 45 points was the most he ever remembered scoring in a losing cause . . . Truck Robinson (24 point, 11 rebounds) had a very big second half for the Suns. It appears he has inherited from Paul Silas the right to remain the longest in the three-second zone without fear of retribution . . . Alvan Adams had 20 points (8 for 11), but couldn't contain the Celtics' Rick Robey underneath . . . Fast break totals: Boston had 36 and Phoenix 23 . . . Second-chance points: Boston had 31, Phoenix 15. It's
hard to imagine losing under those circumstances.

Pete Maravich played 13 minutes (2 for 6, one assist). He had defensive problems, but he won't claim this as one of his greatest nights, due to missed layups that prevented him from scoring 10 . . . It was only the second game this season in which the Suns have directly benefited from the three-point shot . . . John MacLeod on the third quarter Boston run of 16 unanswered points that put his team in a minus-11 hole: "They were strong at both ends. It was picture-perfect basketball." . . . Maxwell made two great cross-court passes to men for open jumpers in addition to scoring 12 third-quarter points, five of which came on the offensive boards, where he bagged 9 of his 25 . . . The Celtics play the Trail Blazers tomorrow night in a televised affair at the Portland Coliseum, beginning at 11 p.m.