Bird, Fernsten Lead C's to Win

February 1, 1980

One player is known to every basketball fan in America. The other player has fans asking "Who the hell is this guy?" when he trots onto the floor for layups. The one thing each has in common is that his teammates value him as a significant member of this team.

It's easy to talk about a Larry Bird, whose 24 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and sensational third-quarter heroics made the evening worthwhile for a partisan crowd of 19,035 at the Capital Centre last night. Anybody watching his or her first basketball game could see that he was the best player on the floor, that he was, in fact, a consummate baskeball player. The obvious hero of the Celtics' 119-103 triumph over the once-proud Bullets was Larry Bird.

But nobody made his teammates happier last night than Eric Fernsten, the quiet, likeable guy with the West Point posture and uncertain future. He earned his salary (which is undoubtedly less than one-tenth of Bird's) with his best Celtic performance in a 25-minute, 11-point stint without which the big victory could never have been recorded.

Fernsten entered the game early. Rick Robey picked up his second foul with 1:36 left in the first quarter and the score 26-25, Washington. Celtic coach Bill Fitch wasn't fooling around. Remembering that Fernsten had made a key contribution in Chicago two nights before, Fitch unhesitatingly called upon the slender third-string center and asked him to go against man mountain Westley (Unseld).

"That first half was the most I've played in that tempo," Fernsten explained. "Bill pulled me late in the half and said, You didn't go to the offensive boards the last three time downcourt.' I told him I was tired. But I felt pretty good. I got up at 6 o'clock this morning and ran the stairs in my building so I had decent wind."

His teammates want him to succeed very badly, and they all believe he has a place on this team. "Every player on this team can play," said Cedric Maxwell. "Eric just needed a chance, and now with Dave out he's getting it. He gives me fits in practice. What you're seeing now is the real Eric Fernsten."

Fernsten believes his recent playing time is finally enabling him to prove that he belongs in the league. "Bill has faith in me, and I hope I'm not embarrassing him," he said. "I'm trying to learn every time out, and I believe that if you don't improve, you don't belong here."

To Chris Ford, Fernsten's big game demonstrates what this Celtic club is all about. "It was the same old story tonight," he said. "This is a complete team. I don't think people in the outside know the full feeling we have here. Everyone has confidence in everyone else. The guys believe in each other so much."

The Bullets, the NBA champions once-removed, are becoming the antithesis to Boston. No, they're not San Diego yet, but the Bullets haven't lost 13 home games by not demonstrating that when a team hangs with them, they will crumble.

They were a sadly disorganized club, with Elvin Hayes commiting two offensive fouls by elbowing Maxwell late in the third quarter on two possessions to foul out of the game before the fourth quarter began, with Kevin Porter scrambling around with no connection to any of his mates and with the team's second half highlight being Greg Ballard's three meaningless three- pointers in the final quarter.

Once the Celtics, led by Bird (10 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists in the third quarter), broke open the game with a 27-7 run in the third period, there was naught but Showtime, and even that was dominated by Gerald Henderson and Ford, not a Bullet.

A team had met a bunch of guys wearing the same uniform. The most exciting player to enter the league in 10 years had joined with a European expatriate to make the Celtics a winner. What else do you need to know about this Boston club?