November 29, 1984
CELTICS MELT DOWN ROCKETS, 110-100
Just another game? Sure . . . just like your high school reunion is just another dinner dance.
You always want to look good in front of those who knew you when, and the Celtics impressed their former mentor last night with a comeback 110-100 victory over Big Brother Bill Fitch's Rockets in the sold-out Summit.
The Celts have won eight straight, own a 13-1 record, and go to Cleveland with the knowledge that back-to-back victories over the comatose Cavs can establish this as the best start in the honorable history of the franchise.
"We're playing with a lot of confidence," said Robert Parish (17 points, 11 rebounds). "Our performance out there tonight speaks for itself. We showed them why we are champions."
There was nothing easy about this one. Boston had to overcome a 13-point first-half deficit, Sequoia Twins Ralph Sampson and Akeem Olajuwon, a raucous Texas crowd, and Houston's heretofore untarnished (8-0) home record.
Houston came out flying. En route to a 14-point, 11-assist half, John Lucas paced the Rockets to leads of 22-10 in the first and 48-35 in the second.
When Houston's lead peaked at 13 with 4:43 left in the first half, Boston's shock troops responded. Playing M.L. Carr at guard, Scott Wedman at forward and Cedric Maxwell on the 7-foot-4 Sampson, the Celts ripped off eight in a row: a Kevin McHale turnaround, two free throws by Carr, a McHale drive, and a fastbreak dunk by Maxwell off a behind-the-back feed from Carr. Fitch begged for time.
"The second unit gets the game ball," said K.C. Jones. "They helped us stay in it, then got us some points."
After the pause, Larry Bird (23 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists) and Dennis Johnson (18) returned to trim the margin to 60-58 by intermission.
Houston had nothing left in the second half. The Rockets shot 26 percent after intermission, hitting 6 of 23 shots in the third and 6 of 23 again in the fourth.
"We make a lot of errors that they don't make," admitted Fitch. "We don't react to game situations with the experience they do. They got up and really played some defense. They took us out of our running game and forced a lot of the mistakes we made."
When Maxwell (19 points) tied it at 70, the Celts were in the early stages of a game-winning 11:40 stretch in which they would hold Houston to two field goals and outscore the home team, 29-12.
After Akeem (18 rebounds) missed a follow-up dunk, Bird gave the Celts their first lead of the night (74-72 with 5:56 left in the third) with a fallback floater from eight feet. Boston never trailed again.
While the Rockets endured almost five minutes without a basket, hoops by Bird and Parish completed a 12-2 Celtic run which made it 78-72 with 3:30 remaining in the period.
Boston led, 80-78, after three. The Rockets made only one field goal in the final eight minutes of the quarter.
The big chill continued when Houston went without a field goal for the first three minutes of the fourth. As the Rockets unraveled, the Celts started to thump their chests. From 82-80, the Celts ripped off nine in a row with Bird and Parish on the bench.
Houston's frustration was boundless. Akeem dribbled off his foot out of bounds and Maxwell followed with a set shot from 18. Then Akeem threw up an airball and Carr scored off the break.
Trailing, 91-80, Fitch called time. Ralphie (26 points, 12 rebounds) finally broke the ice with a basket after the pause, but Bird was back in the game and he started to operate on Houston's youngsters. Perfect Bird passes to Parish and McHale made it 95-82 with 8:24 left.
Houston clawed to within seven, but DJ blowtorched the Rockets with six straight and it was 105-90 with 3:27 left. When Boston's lead peaked at 110-92, it was hard to remember that the Celts had trailed by 13 in the first half.
"This was more than just another game," said Carr. "We realize that the best start ever here was 14-1, and you know it's always good to play against your ex-coach and do well and let him know you're still working hard."
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