December 4, 1982
BUCKS BOUNCE CELTICS
Somebody forgot to tell the Milwaukee Bucks that they didn't have a chance. Without input from the large, talented and injured duo of Robert Lanier and David Cowens, the Bucks beat their Boston cousins, 115-112, in an imitation playoff game at the Mecca last night.
Marques Johnson burned Boston with 28 points (10 in the final quarter), Sidney Moncrief threw down his usual 25 and Alton Lister, who could become a genuine villian if we saw him often enough, contributed 11 points and eight rebounds as the Bucks were able to substitute heart and quickness in place of height and depth.
For the Celtics, it was the second time in the last three games that they found themselves outplayed by an undermanned opponent. Playing without Kelly Tripucka and Kent Benson, the Detroit Pistons (tonight's foe) whipped Boston in Hartford Tuesday, 123-116.
Last night was different. There was nothing embarrassing about Boston's game. The Celtics shot 53 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Bucks, 45-39. Kevin McHale, given a three-inch advantage over whomever guarded him all night, came through with a career-high 30 points, Robert Parish added 23, and Quinn Buckner had 10 points and nine assists.
How close was it? There were 17 lead changes, 18 ties and the largest margin of the game was six points. Boston's last lead was 112-111, but with 1:04 left, Johnson hit a nice baseline hook over McHale to put the Bucks on top for good.
After Johnson's hoop, McHale missed an easy shot and, when the Celtics got the ball back, Buckner missed a shot off a drive and Lister grabbed the rebound after a couple of tap-in tries failed. With 36 seconds left, Lister went to the line and missed two. Buckner tapped the second miss to Parish, and the Celtics called time with 32 seconds left.
The Celtics set up Parish on the right, but the big man's shot missed and Johnson grabbed the rebound. For all practical purposes, that was it. Moncrief made a couple of free throws with :05 showing and the Celtics set up athree- point try, but Bird bowled into Johnson crossing midcourt with the ball, and the Celtics made no effort to send the Bucks to the line in the final two seconds.
"Can you get more out of a team than the way we played tonight?" Milwaukee coach Don Nelson asked rhetorically. "When we blew our lead, we didn't panic. We didn't go to pieces. They took full advantage of the mismatches underneath, but we tried to take advantage of our quickness on the other end. I've had other wins I'm proud of, but this really rates high."
The Bucks led, 35-34, after one and 62-58 at the half. Milwaukee shot a nosebleed 76 percent (16-21) in the opening 24 minutes and outrebounded the Celtics, 10-8.
With 1:31 left in the half, Cedric Maxwell was tossed from the game, picking up two technical fouls from referee Earl Strom. Max didn't leave without one last silent protest. Before exiting, he made an obscene gesture at Strom.
The Celtics outscored the Bucks, 32-26, in the third and led, 90-88, after three. McHale was devastating in the quarter. It was like watching a hockey team on a power play.
Every time down, the Celtics posted McHale low and he worked for a turnaround jumper. He humiliated Johnson, then 6-foot-5 rookie Paul Pressey. In addition to scoring 30, he finished the game with five blocked shots and six rebounds.
"He was our Bird tonight," said coach Bill Fitch.
Meanwhile, Bird struggled. Coming off a four-game heat wave in which he averaged 31 points and shot 64 percent, Bird scored a season-low 15 points and committed six turnovers. As always, he manged to contribute heavily, however. He led all rebounders with 14 and dished off nine assists.
It was Sir Marques who ruled the fourth. With the score tied at 100, he scored six straight to create the largest margin of the game with 5:35 left. The Celtics were down, 110-105, when Fitch called time with 3:20 left. Buckner led the Celtics on a 7-0 run, but once the Celtics got to 112 with 1:42 left, Boston was through scoring for the night.
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