May 19, 1985
CELTICS BATTER SIXERS IN GAME 3
PHILADELPHIA
It is every Sixer-hater's dream come true. The Celtics are playing their best basketball of the season at the precise moment when it matters most, while Philly flounders in a Steinbrenner-like seizure of panic and pity.
The Green Team made it 3-0 with a 105-94 victory in the dreaded Spectrum yesterday. Game 4 is today at 1 p.m. (Ch. 7) and Cedric Maxwell noted, "Charles Barkley said they'd all be in the Bahamas if they lost Game 3. Well, boys, he said it, not us."
Game 3 will be remembered as the day when Larry Bird found his shooting eye (11 of 19 for 26 points), Robert Parish had another big day on the boards (14 rebounds), Danny Ainge (17 points) drilled the crucial baskets against his former tormentors, and Ray Williams (10 points) led the Pine Brothers when Boston's bench got the call. The Celtics had great ball movement, came up with every stray rebound and played relentless team defense. Philly has yet to score 100 points in the series.
Meanwhile, the Sixers are showing all the signs of the May malaise that gripped the Celtics two springs ago. Owner Harold Katz is talking about acquiring Clark Kellogg, Philly's guards are shaken by a coach-induced crisis of confidence, and revered captain Julius Erving is ripping his coach and showing sad signs that his career is nearly over. The Doctor's Game 3 line was five points on 1-for-10 shooting in 29 minutes. He was yanked in the middle of crunch time. It was like watching the final days of Elvis Presley.
"I didn't feel like I played a confident game," admitted Erving. " . . . Everybody in this room should be upset, including Billy Cunningham."
The Celtics, meanwhile, are playing with an outrageous confidence. They seem to feel there is nothing they can't do. As a result, the much-awaited matchup between these Eastern giants has taken a lopsided turn. Tell the Los Angeles Lakers to keep on running and gunning. The Celtics will be waiting for them again this year.
Things seemed relatively normal at the start yesterday. Grover Washington Jr. (Philadelphia's answer to Bo Winiker) performed the national anthem, and Andrew Toney was still in the Sixers' starting lineup despite Billy Cunningham's threats of using Clint Richardson. Toney made his first shot, and the front-running Philly crowd went wild.
The first six minutes produced a 12-12 score, prompting one courtside pundit to note, "The Lakers would have 24 points by now."
Barkley came in and gave the Sixers a big lift. He sparked a 10-2 run that pushed the home team to a 22-14 lead. Philly's biggest lead was 26-16. The Sixers led, 28-20, after one, thanks to a 21-12 rebounding dominance and Boston's six turnovers.
"We played pretty well after the first quarter," said Bird, who jammed his right index finger in the opening period and had it well-iced after the game. "We played great defense throughout the game and let the offense take care of itself."
Boston roared out of the blocks with a 13-2 run at the start of the second. The inimitable Ray-Ray orchestrated the surge with a basket off a cut down the lane, a tap-in, a pretty back-door feed to Bird and a turnaround jumper that gave the Celtics a 33-30 lead. Barkley and Moses Malone (16 rebounds) brought Philly back, but Bird nailed a couple of three-pointers, and a buzzer-beating followup by Maxwell gave Boston a 48-47 halftime lead.
The third quarter was no less ferocious. Cunningham decided to start Barkley after halftime, but the Round Mound couldn't stop Boston's 8-2 run at the start of the third. K.C. Jones had the shock troops on the floor at the end of the period and they refused to yield the lead. Ray-Ray hit a pair of jumpers and Kevin McHale fended off Malone. A couple of bombs by Ainge and a buzzer-beater by Scott Wedman gave the Celtics a 79-74 lead at the end of three.
Boston led all the way in the fourth. The Celtics grabbed an eight-point lead and held it thanks to three baskets by Bird. When the Sixers finally had a chance to cut it to four, Erving missed an easy shot, Bird rebounded and hit a jumper over the Doctor to make it 90-82 with 7:36 left. Philly called time.
Maurice Cheeks (5 for 13) and Erving missed shots after the timeout. With Boston leading by eight and 6:30 showing, Barkley replaced Erving. It was a sad moment.
Barkley stole the ball and Bobby Jones hit a jumper. Then something from the stands crashed into the paint at the Celtic end and time was called. A fast-break basket by Toney (after a DJ miss) cut it to four and Philly had a chance to cut it to two, but a Toney pass was stolen by Parish. The Chief drained a turnaround at the other end and it was 92-86 with five minutes left.
"We played a lot better than they did in the fourth quarter," said Maxwell. "They were running on empty. No one really wanted to take the shots - except Barkley."
A Barkley drive cut it to four, but Ainge answered with two free throws. Then Barkley traveled in the lane, Bird was fouled following his own miss and hit both to make it 96-88 with 3:23 left. Erving replaced Jones.
After Malone cut it to six with a pair of free throws, Ainge made a huge play - rebounding a Parish turnaround. The Celtics called time.
Then Bird took what heart was left from the Sixers, hitting a banker off a drive around the Doc. When DJ rebounded a Malone miss and buried a shot-clock- beating jumper from the left corner, it was 100-92. Then Ainge rebounded a Cheeks miss and drilled another bomb to give the Celtics a 10-point lead with 1:17 left. Folks started filing out of the Spectrum.
On Friday, the estimable Erving had stated, "On both courts, I think we're four to five points better." The quote was plastered on the Celtics' locker- room wall.
No comments:
Post a Comment