4.21.2019

Bird Leads Celtics over Rick Barry, Rockets

Bird Leads Celtics over Rick Barry, Rockets

March 13, 1980

The Celtics placed seven men in double figures and got a superb offensive game from Larry Bird as they snapped their brief losing streak with a 121-105 victory over the Houston Rockets last night at the Garden. Boston never trailed after an early 13-2 spurt broke a 6-6 tie, and the home team got up by 24 points at 90-66 with 2:44 remaining in the third period. But Houston didn't quit, and with 3:27 left in the game the Celtics' lead had been sliced to eight at 106-98.



That's when Bird decided the game. He swished a soft 20-footer, drew a pair of free throws while posting up Rick Barry and then put the game out of sight with a three-point runner on an in-bounds play with 1:57 left to complete a 28-point, 13-rebound, 8-assist, 10-for-15 evening's work. The Celtic numbers were impressive all around, as Rick Robey broke out of his personal slump with 22 points and Gerald Henderson came through with a strong 14-point, 10-assist game.

The victory enabled the Celtics to sweep the season's series from the Rockets at 6-0. The more comfortable surroundings of the Garden obviously appealed to the Celtics, who cruised to a 64-49 halftime lead in a game played at their chosen pace. The Celtics expanded a 30-23 one-quarter lead to 19 on three occasions - the final time at 56-37 - before Houston began to attain parity. The big scorer for Boston was Robey, who utilized a combination of low-post moves and fast-break sprints to rack up 16 points in 17 minutes of playing time before getting a rest for the remainder of the half.

Houston led only at 4-2 as the Celtics took full advantage of nine Rocket turnovers in the first period to accumulate 15 fast-break points. The Rockets normally have a great deal of trouble handling the Celtic fast break, and this game proved no exception as the Celtics tacked on eight more fast-break points in the second period for a total of 23 in the first half.

The game was tied at 6-6 when Boston broke loose with a 13-2 spurt in the next 4:45. There were sequences during which Houston had trouble completing a simple pass unless it was a lateral delivery. There really was no pattern to the Rocket miscues; they just did not pass the ball well against a reasonably aggressive Celtic defense. Bird, who attempted three-pointers on three of his first four tries from the field, was in sharp passing form, piling up six first-half assists to go with 12 points. Larry also lost a minimum of three assists on missed layups or dropped passes. With any luck at all, he would have been in double figures in the assist department by halftime.

The Celtics also got the one thing they did not get the previous evening in Indianapolis - bench help. Pete Maravich threw in eight quick points on three long jumpers and a pair of free throws, while Dave Cowens made both his shots. Cowens, incidentally, was 2 for 2 on righthanders, which is not his normal modus operandi. Boston got the lead up quickly in the second period via an opening 12-2 salvo in which Robey ran like one of his race horses. He scored one brace of hoops on sprint-outs, taking successive passes from M.L. Carr and Bird. Cowens chipped in with a power righty hook, and following a Billy Paultz turnaround, Robey came back with a lefthanded hook from the corner that salvaged a broken play and gave the Celtics a 44-27 lead less than five minutes into the second period.

Rocket coach Del Harris searched for a combo that would get his team back into the game, and although he never really found it, he did get a 10-point second-quarter contribution from rookie guard Allen Leavell, the last two of whose points came on a lucky break (lucky for him, anyway) as time expired. Leavell was fouled on a hustling loose-ball foul play by Eric Fernsten, and those two free throws reduced Houston's halftime deficit to 15. Harris appeared to be highly agitated. He was tense before the game, and hardly had the affair begun when he asked to have a fan removed for a very mild remark. Later on he threatened Moses Malone with a fine during a timeout. The pressure of getting in the playoffs must be telling.

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