Warriors Halt Celtics Streak (80-81)

January 3, 1981

WARRIORS HALT CELTICS' STREAK

OAKLAND

The Streak is dead at 12, and not without reason.

Unable to generate any consistent offense for the second consecutive evening, the Celtics were beaten by the Golden State Warriors, 121-106, before a delighted crowd of 13,239 at the Oakland Coliseum last night.

Losing a game is one thing, but history of sorts was made in this one. Larry Bird shot 0 for 9 from the floor and never made a trip to the line. Since canning a three-pointer with 2:31 left in the first quarter of Thursday's San Diego game, Mr. Bird has gone 0 for 18 from the floor. Gulp.

Golden State earned this game from every conceivable standpoint. They led at the quarter (34-29), half (63-57) and three-quarter (90-77) marks, and when the Celtics made one important run at them in the fourth period, the young Warriors held on.

When Robert Parish rolled in for an uncontested stuff with 4:44 to play, the Celtics had crept within four at 100-96. Moreover, Bernard King, the game's high scorer with 28 points, had already fouled out. Boston appeared to be in good shape.

But they would come no closer. Scoring their next five points from the line, Golden State kept Boston at arm's length until a running followup stuff of a John Lucas miss by rookie Larry Smith gave the Warriors a 107-98 lead with 2:32 left. Boston never quit, but when scramble time began they could not cut into the margin.

The victory was Golden State's fourth straight. For Boston, it was their first loss on the road in eight games, their first loss on this trip and their first loss, period, since Dec. 7, when they dropped a 113-103 decision in Hartford to Washington. As for Bird, his performance was his all-time worst, outdoing a four-point showing against KC last year, as well as a 1-for-15 shooting day against New Jersey in the Garden.

Being down six points when Larry Bird had not scored a point was not exactly the worst state of affairs, and that's where the Celtics were as the Warriors assumed a 63-57 halftime advantage on a Purvis Short jumper at the buzzer.

The Celtics stumbled throughout the second period after falling behind by a 34-29 score after one quarter, and if it weren't for the stellar play of Kevin McHale, the Celtics might have been out of this game early.

McHale dumped in 15 points and had 6 rebounds in the second period, keeping the Celtics in the game with his tough inside play. The Celtics certainly needed the offensive lift, what with Bird extending his horrendous shooting slump to 0 for 14 by missing all five attempts in the first half.

The Warriors were sent off to their first-period advantage by the strong play of King, who had 13 points on 6 for 6 first-quarter shooting. Short was the next killer, sticking in 14 points after entering the game with 4:28 left in the first period. And doing a solid two-way job for the entire first half was Joe Barry Carroll, who had 13 points to go along with some inside imtimidation.

The Celtics got very little of anything from Parish, meanwhile, after he picked up three personal fouls within 35 seconds of the seventh minute of period one. Rick Robey replaced him and managed to score nine points despite some free-throw shooting difficulty.

Golden State's new rebounding strength was evident throughout the half, as several times the Warriors kept the ball alive for as many as three shots.

Boston had one good second-period spurt, regaining the lead at 54-53 on two Chris Ford free throws with 2:30 remaining. But the Warriors finished the half strongly, first running off six straight points and then getting that needed lift just before the buzzer on Short's rainbow jumper.