May 21, 1985
Things that would be quickly forgotten during the regular season become magnified during a seven-game NBA playoff series. It's all a part of analysis paralysis and familiarity breeding contempt.
Elbows in the stomach, taunting towels from the sideline and dramatic dunks in your face are tougher to take when you've been looking at the same elbow, towel and dunker for more than a week.
All of which explains why the Celtics are talking trash again. They heaped praise and respect on the Philadelphia 76ers while winning three straight, but Sunday's 115-104 Philadelphia victory in the Spectrum cut Boston's series lead to 3-1 and left a sour taste in the Celtics' ever-moving mouths.
"They did some things in the end that fired us up," Cedric Maxwell said Sunday.
After practice yesterday, M.L. Carr elaborated: "No. 1, there was the time when Charles Barkley knocked Max to the floor. They scored, he got the ball out of the net and threw the ball on Max. Then there was the time Julius (Erving) dragged DJ (Dennis Johnson) down. It was something that, if I'd done it, there would have been headlines across the country. Then when Kevin (McHale) tried to foul Moses (Malone) at the end and Moses put the ball in his face. And the finale . . . holding the ball at the end and then giving us a smack in the face (Erving's emphatic driving stuff with 18 seconds left).
"We'll remember," said Carr. "We talked about it on the way home. K.C. (Jones) won't have to worry about emotional pep talks."
The Celtics also had strong reactions to a statement Erving made after Game 4. On Sunday, Erving said, "Over the past five years, we've played them three times in a row where one team had a 3-1 series lead. Each time the series ended up being tied, 3-3 - including this one.
"Doc's crazy," said Celtic guard Danny Ainge.
"He also said they'd beat us twice down there," noted McHale. "That goes to show you what his predictions are worth."
Carr said, "It will not go 3-3. Doc said they were four or five points better than us on any court, too."
The Celtics would like to avoid a return trip to the Spectrum and will strive to avert another slow start tomorrow night.
The Sixers have raced to big first-quarter leads in each of the last three games. Philly led, 28-20, at the end of one in Games 2 and 3 and took a 31-16 lead at the end of the first period Sunday.
"We're probably just confident we're gonna win," explained Maxwell. "I don't think we're too intimidated. If anything, we're taking it too easy right now."
"All we've got to do is rebound a little better and try to run a little more," added Larry Bird, who was held to 14 points and had eight turnovers Sunday. "We were letting 'em have too many easy baskets."
In Game 4, Barkley had 10 rebounds in the first quarter. It was the first time he'd started in the series, but all of the Celtics were certain they'd see the Round Mound at the center circle again tomorrow night.
"We got into bad habits against Cleveland and Detroit," said Jones. "It has been the same pattern here. We get 13 points down or 10 points down. We have to come out more aggressive."
"We just didn't come out physically or mentally ready to play," said DJ. "The only thing we can do is be a little more prepared. On Sunday, we did tend to sit back and wait for everybody else to make our start."
Bird thinks the home court will make a lot of difference. Boston has won all seven playoff games this spring and 10 straight over two years. Since being swept by the Bucks two years ago, the Celtics have won 19 of 20 playoff games at Boston Garden, losing only Game 1 to Los Angeles last year.
"We haven't lost a playoff game at home in a long time," said Bird, "and we still got three games left and two at home, so we're in pretty good shape."
"We know we got to get one more to win, and we want to get that on Wednesday," added McHale.
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