Nique Goes for 21 & 18 in Farewell Performance

Nique Goes for 21 & 18 in Farewell Performance

May 6, 1995

He promised himself there would be nothing left when the game was over. It had been a painful season for Dominique Wilkins, more painful than anyone could ever imagine, and he had one last chance to erase all the hurt, and the disappointment, and the shattered expectations.

His winding journey in Celtic green and white briefly flashed before him in the third quarter, with Orlando up by 8 points and starting to pull away.

The thought was clear: Don't end it like this. Don't end it with a whimper with time left on the clock.

"I wanted to show the young guys what a little hustle and pride would do," said Wilkins. "A veteran shows those things, and the other guys usually follow suit.

"It has been a long year for me, but this is what I play for. This is what I live for."

When M.L. Carr trumpeted the signing of Wilkins to a three-year, $ 11 million deal last summer, he promised that the future Hall of Famer, the Human Highlight Film, would strap this ball club on his back when the going got tough and show his teammates how to persevere.

The fans, the players, the front office waited. And waited. Half a season went by, and still Wilkins did not deliver. He was a malcontent, a has-been, a frustrated athlete who struggled to deal with his own mortality.

But last night, in that third quarter, when the game was perilously close to slipping away, Wilkins hoisted the boys in green and offered them a ride. When Sherm Douglas' floater rolled off the rim, Wilkins was there to haul in the rebound for a second chance. When Wilkins pulled up short on his own trey, he barreled toward the hole to retrieve his mistake, and was given two free throws for his effort.

And when the ball swung around the perimeter and landed in his hands at the top of the 3-point circle, Wilkins did what he always used to do, when he was a superstar in Atlanta, the most beloved sports figure in his city: He calmly swished a trey.

It was a magical third quarter for 'Nique. He scored 10 straight points, he grabbed seven rebounds, he brought his team back from near death to within a point.

In all his years with the Hawks, Dominique Wilkins never hauled in 18 rebounds (8 of them offensive) during a playoff game. Last night that was the kind of work he did for the Celtics.

"I told Jan Volk and M.L. before the series started my goal was to get between 8 and 10 rebounds a night," said Wilkins. "They said, 'Hey, great, but six or seven would be fine.' But I wanted to give them more."

It was not his job in the fourth quarter, when Douglas grabbed the offensive reins and began hoisting up improbable, yet successful, threes. This was part of the learning process for Wilkins - he would not always be the one to get the call - and he did not disrupt the offense by forcing his shots.

Yet the ball ended up in his hands with 16 seconds left and the Celtics down 2, 93-91. A Penny Hardaway turnover sent him off on the break, and Dennis Scott fouled him to slow him down.

Wilkins had two free throws. Two hits would tie. A miss would leave Boston down by 1.

"I've been in that position so many times," Wilkins said. "I knew the first one was going down. The second one went in, rolled around and came out. I wouldn't say I was shocked . . . well, yes. I guess I will say I was shocked."

He was asked what he would remember most about this game - the 21 points and 18 boards, or the one lousy free throw that didn't drop?

"What I'll remember most is the emotion in this game," Wilkins answered. "If we had played this hard and with this much confidence during the regular season, we would have won 50-plus games. No question."

The Celtics did not win 50 games. They won 35, and Wilkins was saddled with much of the blame for that. His public squabble with coach Chris Ford was a major disruption. His shooting was a disappointment. Two months ago, it looked as though the relationship between the coach and the team captain could never be salvaged.

"Chris Ford showed a lot of faith in me," Wilkins declared last night. "He pumped me up during this whole playoff series, even when I wasn't doing well. He kept telling me, 'Carry us through, carry us through.'

"It worked out. It all worked out in the end."

After the 95-92 loss to the Magic that eliminated Boston from the postseason, Ford was asked about the performance of Wilkins. His tired eyes quickly sparked.

" 'Nique really delivered in this series," said Ford. "He played his heart out. He really showed me something. He showed me he was willing to do whatever it took."

There was talk when things were sour that Wilkins would exercise his option at the end of this season and peddle his wares elsewhere. Financially, it would have been suicide for Wilkins to make that decision, but at one point, he was unhappy enough to consider it.

Not anymore.

"This is where I want to be," he said last night. "That's the bottom line.

"It was a hard year. I had to sit down and assess myself as a player. I had to remind myself, ' 'Nique, this is an adjustment for you. You've got to work yourself into the system.' I've done that, especially over the second half of the season.

"My whole career, I played in one situation. I was used to playing one way. It's taken some time, but I understand what they want from me now."

This is not a storybook ending, because when the expansion draft is held sometime in June, Wilkins will be unprotected. He likely won't be selected by either Canadian team, and the Celtics will have no choice but to retain him.

That's the business end of the Dominique Wilkins story. The emotional end? It was bittersweet last night, but the hurt was gone. Nobody booed No. 12 in your program. Nobody called him a bum.

All Dominique Wilkins heard were cheers, and for the first time since he wore that green and white jersey, Boston Garden felt like home.