C's Run Amok, Win 137-103

November 27, 1982

CELTICS RUN AMOK, 137-103

All the bad things you've heard about the NBA came to the Garden last night. Individually, they are one-on-one play, sloppy defense, disparity, missing persons and mismanagement. Collectively, they are the Utah Jazz, a study in discord.



In 48 minutes of garbage time that left 15,320 wondering how the Jazz have won four games this season, the Celtics administered a savage beating, trouncing Utah, 137-103. It was the kind of evening better spent watching "Love Boat" reruns or bleeding your radiators.

Larry Bird led the Celtics with 28 points and Robert Parish added 26, but by the end of three quarters (the Celtics outscored Utah, 38-24, in the third), it was 103-78, and the only question remaining was whether Charles Bradley might strangle himself on one of the championship banners above the Celtics' basket.

The lead peaked with 1:05 left when Darren Tillis (remember him?) connected on a turnaround after rebounding a missed free throw by Bradley. That made it 137-99.

Look at it this way: If the Celtics hadn't scored in the fourth quarter, it would have gone into overtime.

"They manhandled us," acknowledged Utah coach Frank Layden, the unfortunate soul in charge of this motley bunch. "A team like that we can handle for a while, but we can't get into a game where people are knocking people around. They started running and wore us down."

Utah, outrebounded, 62-42, was led by Adrian Dantley's 29 points. The Jazz didn't have the services of John Drew (drug rehabilitation) or Dominique Wilkins, the man they dealt in exchange for Drew, Freeman Williams and $1 million. Wilkins is soaring and scoring for the Atlanta Hawks these days. Meanwhile, Drew, Williams and the million bucks combined for only four points last night.

For Boston, it was showtime - the Celtics' seventh straight victory, a season-high point total and Boston's first legitimate blowout, unless you want to count an 18-point victory over Houston.

"This shows we can put people away," said M.L. Carr. "When we run like that it's not only fun to play, it's fun to watch."

It went back and fourth for the first four minutes. Dantley, Darrell Griffith (16 points) and Rickey Green scored on the run and Utah held a 14-11 lead with 8:16 left in the first quarter. From there, Bird, (14 in the quarter, 28 on the night) led an 11-2 surge that put the Celtics up, 22-16.

Tiny Archibald scored 11 in the second period and the Celts led, 65-54, at halftime. In the third quarter, Boston exploded, outscoring the Jazz, 38-24, and bolting to a 103-78 lead. The Celtics hit 16 of 27 shots (59 percent) in that period, and Bird and Parish (26 in 25 minutes) scored 12 each.

"We haven't had that killer instinct in the past when we had the lead," said Bill Fitch. "We really put it away in the third quarter and we handn't been doing that. That's what really pleased me . . . The guys didn't let down. They played good basketball with the lead. A lot of good things come out of a game like this."

In the fourth quarter, Celtics fans got a rare look at Tillis (he appeared with 6:17 left), not to mention 7-foot-4 Mark Eaton, Utah's and the league's tallest player. Each managed one basket and one block, but the man everybody was watching was Bradley. Mr. B barreled into the Celtics bench to save a loose ball, dunked gingerly to put the Celtics up by 30 (127-97) and said hello to the rats in the rafters catching a Rick Robey feed for an easy basket off an out-of-bounds play.

Any drama or excitement had to come from within. There was not much competition from the visiting team.

"It's good to beat people," summed Kevin McHale, "but I'd rather play in a two-point game and I'm sure the fans would rather watch a two-point game."