C's Beat Pesky Cavs

December 2, 1984

CELTICS DOWN CAVS

It was supposed to be like Christie Brinkley vs. Olive Oyl in a wet T-shirt contest. It was supposed to be like Eric Sevareid in a floor debate with Fred Flintstone.

It was too predictable: One team bound for glory, the other bound and gory. The Celtics have been playing their best ball in three years and are talking about winning back-to-back championships. The Cleveland Cavaliers are shooting for an NIT bid.



So what happened? What else? The 2-14 Cavaliers threw a huge scare into the high-flying Celtics before the Celts were able to stretch their winning streak to nine games with a come-from-behind 110-104 victory. Boston improved its slate to 14-1 and will attempt to break a franchise record (for best start) against these same Cavaliers at the Garden tonight.

The pesky Cavs led by as many as 15 in the first half, by 10 at intermission and by 3 after three. It was tied, 104-104, with 1:16 left when Danny Ainge hit two free throws, then stole a John Bagley pass to set up two free throws by Robert Parish that made it 108-104 with 43 seconds left. Then Cleveland guard Johnny Davis lost the ball while driving the lane, and the Celts were finally home free.

"We were right there, definitely in the ballgame," said a disappointed Bagley (19 points). "We just made a couple of bad decisions down the stretch. Ainge did a good defensive job. I tried to get it around him, but I kind of forced it."

Playing without World B. Free (groin pull) and Lonnie Shelton (knee), Cleveland outhustled the lethargic Celtics for the first 24 minutes.

"In the first half, we didn't do nothing," said Dennis Johnson, who finished with 11 points after tossing a shutout in the first half. "We imitated the Boston Celtics. Overconfidence was probably the only factor."

Parish (26 points and 16 rebounds) had success taking it to the basket against Cleveland's rotund rookie Mel Turpin (14 points) in the early going, but Boston wasn't able to keep the Cavs off the offensive boards. Bagley had four rebounds in the first period. Need we say more?

After the Celtics took a 20-16 lead on a pair of Ainge jumpers, Cleveland outscored Boston, 16-3, starting with eight straight.

Two free throws by the immortal Jeff Cook made it 32-23 with 35 seconds left in the quarter. It marked Cleveland's highest-scoring first quarter of the season.

Boston's first-half ineptitude was boundless. After a missed layup by Ainge, the Cavs took a 13-point lead on another basket by Cook. It was 50-37 when K.C. Jones called his troops in for another spanking.

Nothing worked. Rick Carlisle turned it over, Quinn Buckner missed a layup and a Davis fastbreak layup made it 56-41. Boston's only answer was Bird, who had 12 in the second period, most of them over Phil Hubbard (12 points, 10 rebounds).

The Celts clawed back after halftime. Bird kept firing from everywhere, while DJ and Cedric Maxwell started showing signs of life. A jumper by Bird cut the Cav lead to two, but Paul Thompson (15), Bagley and Cook kept the Cavs ahead for the rest of the third. Max missed a wide-open layup before the buzzer, and Cleveland led, 84-81, after three.

DJ opened the final period with four straight points to give the Celts an 85-84 lead. Believe it or not, it was Boston's first lead since 20-18.

Led by Mel Turpin, the courageous Cavs scored the next six to take a 90-85 lead. Even though the Cavs played the rest of the game without star Roy Hinson (fouled out with 3:29 left), Boston wasn't able to create any breathing space until the final minute.

"I guess we just didn't believe they could beat us," summed DJ.