C's Fend Off Mavs

November 13, 1982

CELTICS FEND OFF MAVS, 118-110

If the Celtics haven't gotten the message by now, they'll never get it. There isn't any team in the NBA that is going to let them talk their way to a championship, and that includes the Dallas Mavericks.



It might not have seemed that way in the second period when Boston led by 18 points with 2:25 seconds left before halftime. But most of the 15,320 at the Garden last night will tell you the Celtics were lucky to escape with a 118-110 victory and their dignity intact.

Boston actually fell behind once in the third quarter, 72-71, and had only a one-point lead, 103-102, with six minutes to play. But Larry Bird and Robert Parish led a fourth-quarter surge, and Boston had its sixth victory in eight starts.

The Celtics had been just itching to blow somebody out this year. Well, by the time second-year pros Mark Aguirre and Rolando Blackman (21 points each) finished with them, the Celtics had to feel fortunate to walk away with a victory.

Boston did get a 26-point night from Larry Bird. He hit two baskets and Danny Ainge one as the Celtics pushed a one-point lead to five at 109-105. Then Robert Parish was immense, sinking two straight jumpers from the top of the key and finishing off a delicious fast break with a layup that put the game out of reach at 115-105.

No, the Celtics won't put this game in the highlight film.

"You can't take anything away from Dallas," said Bird. "We stopped doing the things that had been successful for us in the first half, and our 18-point lead disappeared in a hurry. That did a lot for Dallas' confidence, and they're the type of team that if they can keep the game close, they can hurt you with their offense and their ability to set picks."

The Celtics grabbed the early momentum. Rick Robey, who earlier yesterday agreed to a contract extension, started at center in place of Parish, who missed yesterday's practice. Naturally, the emphasis was the inside game, and Boston quickly muscled its way to a 29-17 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Three quick baskets pushed the Celtics' lead to 18 points, 43-29, and it was still an 18-point bulge, 53-35, when the Mavericks began to blow their horns. The 10-2 stretch so infuriated Fitch that he called time with 17 seconds left in the half to set up a play that failed. Boston led at halftime, 57-47.

Things quickly worsened for the Celtics in the third quarter as Dallas scored the first six points, including one on a technical foul shot assessed against Bird. With less than four minutes gone in the period, Fitch and referee Jake O'Donnell exchanged pleasantries, and Fitch was ejected.

K.C. Jones took over, and a 65-62 lead was wiped out in the next few minutes. A three-point play by Blackman gave Dallas the lead at 72-71, and the crowd began to wonder if the Celtics' fourth-quarter swoon had started early.

But if they did, they were wrong. For, while Dallas was patiently executing its offense and staying close, the Celtics were also regrouping. Dallas never got the lead. The best shot they had was with about 6 1/2 minutes left. Reserve Kelvin Ransey stole an inbound pass, and the ball went to teammate Jimmy Spanarkel, who appeared to have an easy layup that would have given Dallas the lead at 102-101.

But Spanarkel blew the unmolested shot, and when Gerald Henderson hit an 18-footer from the top of the key the next time up the floor, Boston had regained the lead and the momentum. Bird and Ainge heated up, then Parish took over, and that was that.