10.14.2018

Celtics Return Favor, Defeat Cowens and Bucks

November 15, 1982

Celtics Defeat Cowens, Bucks

It was a perfect time to cave in. Playing without Tiny Archibald, the Celtics had blown a 16-point lead and trailed by four with 7:25 remaining as 11,052 Brewtown loyalists roared with the kind of cheer that made Milwaukee famous.



Then, with painful memories of blown leads in losses to Philadelphia and Milwaukee dancing in their heads, the Celtics dug in and clawed to a 100-98 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, the NBA champions of middle America.

Bill Fitch: "One of the toughest things in sport is to have a lead and lose it in front of a hostile crowd on the road. It's tough to come back from there. Poise is so important in a situation like that. That's what I liked about tonight. The way we responded to the difference we ran into."

Robert Parish started the comeback, scoring on an offensive rebound to cut it to 94-92. Three minutes later, after a series of turnovers and offensive fouls, Parish grabbed a Junior Bridgeman (17 points) miss and Cedric Maxwell was fouled by Dave Cowens at the other end. Max made both to tie it with 3:31 left.

After Cowens threw the ball away, Larry Bird converted a drive down the middle to put the Celtics back in the lead with 2:57 left. Then Gerald Henderson grabbed a rebound at the Bucks' end and Parish followed up a Quinn Buckner miss, to complete an 8-0 run by the Celtics and give Boston a 98-94 lead with 2:29 left.

Bridgeman and Bob Lanier hit baskets to tie it, and it was still 98-98 when redoubtable Sidney Moncrief (10 assists, 22 points) was called for traveling (his only turnover of the night) with 30 seconds to play. The Celtics called time and with 0:15 showing, Max took a pass from Bird and was fouled by Lanier. Max made the first of two, Phil Ford missed a jumper at the other end and Parish was fouled with two seconds left. He made one and stole Steve Mix' inbounds pass to seal the victory.

Bird (20 points, 14 rebounds) said: "The last play was supposed to be me, but when you're double-teamed, you got to go to somebody who's open. Max was, and he made one of the two."

Quinn Buckner, who had 8 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds in his Milwaukee homecoming,noted, "We weren't able to keep things going, but this is a team of character. What you can't do is lose your poise when they come back at you like that. You've got to do the things necessary to stifle them."

The Celtics did most things right in the first half. The score was tied six times in the first quarter, but Kevin McHale scored 11 points in four minutes and led a 15-7 surge which pushed the Celtics to a 33-25 lead early in the second period. A Rick Robey hook with 1:26 left in the half made it 59-43 and put the finishing touch on Boston's best half of the year. Boston shot 54 percent and outrebounded the Bucks, 28-20, in that half.

Danny Ainge (7-for-8, 16 points) was having his best game of the year, and with 6:16 left in the third period, the Celtics still held a comfortable, 73-60 lead. But Alton Lister (you can stop laughing, the man scored 14 points in 24 minutes) led the Bucks on an 11-0 tear and the Celtics were in trouble the rest of the way.

That the Celtics were able to hang on without Mr. Archibald (sprained right thumb) was significant. "When the Bucks applied pressure," observed Fitch, "we kept looking for Tiny, and he was a couple of thousand miles away."

In Tiny's place, Buckner and Henderson handled the ball down the stretch. "Things went a lot smoother because we have Quinn now," said Bird.

Cowens, the man who delivered Buckner to Boston, scored 8 points and had 8 rebounds in 27 minutes, but the Celtics had their first victory in Milwaukee since October 1980, and nobody was complaining about the trade.

No comments: