Lowly Warriors Top Celts

February 21, 1983

CELTICS HIT ROCK BOTTOM' WITH LOSS TO GOLDEN STATE

Larry Bird said it best. Moments after the Celtics were beaten by the Golden State Warriors Saturday night, Bird stood at his cubicle in the Oakland Coliseum visitors dressing room and announced, "Tonight we hit rock bottom. No doubt about it."

All of the Celtics were disgusted with themselves after an embarrassing, 115-109 whipping at the hands of the lowly Warriors.



Kevin McHale shook his head and said he had "no idea" how the Warriors were able to score 12 straight points and smoke the Celts with a 17-2 run in a four-minute stretch late in the game. Bill Fitch said the Warriors ran while the Celtics didn't. According to Tiny Archibald, Boston's transition game broke down.

As usual, Bird was to the point. "We areplaying pretty bad right now," he said after scoring 22 in the second half against the Warriors. "We're just not doing the things we did earlier in the season. We're not talkin' on defense. Tonight, the defense was horrendous. We let Mickey Johnson go coast to coast a couple of times at the end."

Johnson's 94-foot drives crushed the Celtics at a crucial juncture. Trailing most of the night, the Celtics used three straight baskets by Bird (who had a season-high seven turnovers) to take the lead, 96-91, with 6:08 left.

Then Johnson put his head down and blew past Boston defenders like Ingemar Stenmark schussing down the giant slalom. None of the Celtics switched off to take a charge. They just waved at Johnson.

A minute later, Johnson did it again, and the Warriors led for good, 97-96. Scoring on 14 of 16 possessions, they ran off streaks 12-0 and 17-2. It resembled the Detroit demolition in the Garden earlier this year when the Pistons humiliated the Celtics with a 31-6 stretch run to close out a 131-114 victory over the Green.

"We did some things that made them look good," Fitch said after the defeat in Oakland . . . We had the ball and a six-point lead and Gerald Henderson missed an ouside shot. We didn't back off at the right time. Then they got running and we didn't."

Bird added, "It seems like they got all the loose balls. Usually we get every loose ball, but tonight they got em."

The Celts are 1-2 on this West Coast trip and it's not going to get any easier. Boston's next game is Wednesday in Los Angeles against the NBA champion Lakers, who will be out to avenge a 110-95 beating they took in Boston Garden last month, while the Celtics will be seeking to avert a rare three-game losing streak. Since the arrival of Bill Fitch and Larry Bird in 1979, the Celtics have lost three in a row only once.

To those who are still bothering to count, yesterday's Philadelphia victory dropped the Celtics a full seven games behind the Sixers.

After Saturday night's loss, M.L. Carr said, "We want Robey. The Chief (Robert Parish) is getting tired, and in playoff time we're gonna need strong, healthy bodies. It's time for Rick." Robey has not played in eight straight games. Since hurting his back Jan. 8, he has played in only two of 19 games. His back is fine, but Fitch hasn't found a spot for him. Meanwhile, Parish (along with Bird, of course) is practically carrying the team. In the three West Coast games, Parish has averaged 32.3 points, 14.6 rebounds and 41.3 minutes. He is shooting 60 percent (70-116) in his last six games . . . Tiny Archibald's minutes are up, too. He's averaging 38.3 minutes in his last six games.

Quinn Buckner says there is a slight tear in his ankle, but hopes to play against the Lakers . . . Scott Wedman shot one for six against the Warriors and all of the misses were way off the mark . . . McHale is struggling slightly. He has been held under double figures in four of the last six games. He was held to less than 10 only twice in the first 25 games of the season. He's also shooting a weak 61 percent (14-23) from the foul line in the last six games . . . Cedric Maxwell has made only eight of 22 shots (36 percent) on the trip.