C's Emerge Victorious behind Bird (33, 12, 6, 2)

February 10, 1983

BIRD TAKES CHARGE, KNICK STREAK ENDS

The Celtics have posted a Dead End sign for winning streaks at the Boston Garden. Last month here, they stopped the New Jersey Nets' string of 11 straight, winning by 25 points; then they ended the Los Angeles Lakers' streak at seven, winning by 15. Tonight they stopped the Knicks' streak at five with a 106-96 triumph.



By stopping New York, the Celtics extended a streak of sorts - they have beaten the Knicks here 14th straight times since a loss in December 1976.

In losing for only the second time in the last 10 games, the Knicks ran into a Larry Bird performance that Coach Hubie Brown called "absolutely awesome." Then with a smile, the coach added, "It was very enjoyable watching him play, and I don't say that about opponents very often."

Bird Gets 33 Points

For 43 minutes the performance was vintage Bird, as he scored, passed, rebounded, filled the lanes on defense and got the Knicks matched against him in foul trouble. He finished with 33 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and two steals.

Sixteen of his points came in the first half, but the Knicks kept coming back from deficits of up to 10. In the third period, Bird had 15 points as he missed only one shot in seven attempts. He made bank shots, and scored off the fast break and from various spots. He hurt the Knicks most when he scored 7 points in 55 seconds, thwarting their hopes of victory.

With the Celtics ahead, 72-63, Bird scored two free throws. Twentyseven seconds later, he added a 3-pointer, a 25-foot shot from the top of the key. Then he made a 20-foot fall-away jumper. That made it 79-65. When the fourth period began, the Knicks were down by 83-67.

For the last 8:20 of the third period, the Knicks were outscored, 26-12. Bird made 12 of his first 16 shots en route to a 13-for-20 game performance. "I lost my concentration the fourth period," he said. "I got it going pretty good," he added, "but I wasn't alone. When we get our inside and outside game going, it makes us pretty tough to beat.

"First they were playing me for the drive. After I drove a couple of times, they backed off on me and I started going over the top."

Orr Helps Knicks

With Bernard King sidelined for the 14th straight game because of a sprained ankle, Louis Orr was matched against Bird at the start. Orr hit 6 quick points that helped the Knicks to a 20-15 lead, but he also picked two quick fouls.

Then Sly Williams went against Bird and he got into foul trouble. After that, Len Robinson tried guarding him, but wound up adding to his foul problems. The trio committed 15 fouls against him.

"He was real tough," said Orr, "because he was hitting his jumper in range when we tried to play him close. He was getting me off balance with his head fakes."

Williams said: "He was already in the shooting groove when I got to him. He had an unbelievable night." Williams scored 19 points, including 11 in a row at the start of the fourth quarter that helped bring the Knicks back from an 18-point deficit. But he fouled out midway in the final period.

"Our transition game didn't give us anything," Brown said of the Knick performance. "We scored only 16 points off it. We missed Trent Tucker because he gives us a perimeter game. We had to go power tonight, and we can't do that against a team like the Celtics. And you can't shoot 43 percent in this building and hope to win."

Tucker missed the game because of the flu. The Celtics played without Quinn Buckner, their playmaker, who sprained an ankle Tuesday night against the Washington Bullets. While Bill Cartwright continued his scoring with 24 points to give him 284 points in the last 14 games, the Knicks got only 10 points each from their starting backcourt of Paul Westphal and Ed Sherod. They shot eight for 22.