Parish Subpar in Loss to Philly

December 13, 1984

76ERS EDGE CELTICS AT THE WIRE, 110-107

Before you decide to cancel Christmas, or strip your "Lets's get it back to back" sticker off your car, remember that it's only December, the Celtics are 19-3, and games of true consequence won't be played until your 1984 tax return is due.



That said, it should be easier to stomach last night's 110-107 Celtic loss to the Sixers in the backboard jungle of Broad Street.

Playing in a spotlight normally reserved for coronations, Victory Tours and Heisman Award presentations, the Celts and Sixers staged one of their 48- minute masterpiece theaters. It wasn't decided until Danny Ainge and Larry Bird each missed three-point attempts in the closing seconds.

Let the record show that on the heels of Nov. 9's celebrated brawl in Boston Garden, there was little ugliness in Philadelphia last night. Spectrum security didn't need help from Hell's Angels, Frank Rizzo or Charles Bronson to guard the Boston bench. Kevin McHale and Moses Malone (33 points) tangled briefly late in the third, but the only punches of the night were tossed by a man dressed as Santa Claus. Santa tangle with a couple of spectators as McHale and Malone lined up for a jump ball with one second left in the game. Malone won the tap, Santa was ejected, and the Celts were losers.

The Celts trailed by 16, but rode the shooting of Dennis Johnson (22) to pull within three at intermission. The biggest spread of the second half was five points.

Boston shot 62 percent in the third quarter and trailed by one (86-85) after three.

Bird (34), who was booed all night long, torched Philly early in the fourth and scored on a reverse layup to give the Celtics a 101-98 lead with 3:57 left.

Billy Cunningham called time and put Andrew Toney back in the game. Good move, Billy. The Boston Strangler immediately scored off a drive and rebounded a Bird miss. A follow-up by Charles Barkley (17 points, 12 rebounds) gave Philly a 102-101 lead.

The lead changed hands on the next six possessions. Boston's final lead came when Ainge buried one from the left corner to make it 107-106 with 1:45 left.

Toney put the Sixers ahead for good with a jumper, then Malone rebounded a Robert Parish hook. Parish (4-14) wore the goat horns the rest of the way.

After two misses by Maurice Cheeks, Parish stepped to the line and butchered a pair of free throws. With 35 seconds left, he rebounded his second miss, then missed a 12-footer. Barkley got the rebound and was grabbed by McHale at the other end with 11 seconds left. Barkley made both to set the final score at 110-107. The Celts called time, but Bird and Ainge couldn't hit from the three-point range.

It looked like a Sixer blowout in the first quarter. Philadelphia shot 55 percent (16-29), outrebounded the Celts, 20-12, and took advantage of Boston's 38 percent (10-26) shooting to assume a 16-point lead. Philly led, 37-23, after one, but Johnson hit five straight shots in the second period, the Celts canned 13 of 17 and roared back to within three (59-56) by halftime.

It was 7-7 when Philadelphia took control of the first quarter. Parish picked up two quick fouls, Cheeks beat Ainge to the basket and Julius Erving atoned for his abysmal showing in Boston Garden last month. A 24-10 run by the Sixers gave Philadelphia a 33-17 lead with 1:42 left in the first.

Bird couldn't do anything at the start. His shots were either way off target or blocked. The Sixer fans loved it. They booed every time he touched the ball. It was much like the treatment Ainge got in Milwaukee after Don Nelson's verbal blasts two years ago.

Erving, Malone and Cheeks each scored eight for Philly in the first 12 minutes.

After missing his first five shots, DJ hit his final jumper of the first quarter. It was a harbinger for the Celts. DJ hit five of five in the second and sparked Boston's comeback.

Down, 53-41, with four minutes left in the half, DJ got the Celtics going with a three-point play, then followed with a jumper. Cheeks answered with a jumper, but Bird canned one off a pick, Parish rebounded a Barkley miss and Cedric Maxwell scored from inside to cut it to 55-50. The Celts kept plugging and Bird buried his final shot of the half to bring the Celts to within three.