Anyone remember this game?
I sure do.
It was the first game I really thought the green had a chance to live up to their pre-season hype ('85 Bears defense, 70-win season, etc). To refresh, the Boston Celtics dismantled the Philadelphia 76ers 105-74 in Philadelphia, making the Celtics 5-0 for the season. While Paul Pierce scored a team-high 21 points, it was the Celtics bench that left fans with mouths agape.
Led by Rasheed Wallace, who scored 20 points on 6-8 shooting from 3, the bench poured in 62 points, helping turn an 8-point halftime lead into a runaway blow out. Shelden Williams, 5-8 from the field with 7 rebounds in 23 minutes, was +28 for the game. SHEL-DEN. SHEL-DEN.
Alas, it was just a tease, and a criminal one at that. Not long thereafter, various Celtics started getting injured, the team chemistry went into the crapper, and the team's heart was lost on a flight somewhere during a long road trip in January. Indeed, the same team that trashed Philly on the road in game #5 lost to Philly at home in game #25 and almost lost to them at home on another occasion, escaping with a 3-point victory.
But just as Celtics fans were filing out of the stadium, ready to call it quits on their championship aspirations in 2010, what Mike Gorman likes to call the Bench Brigade showed signs of life earlier this week, scoring 38 points against Detroit, almost single-handedly resuscitating the season in nine minutes of play over the course of quarter numbers three and four. For an encore, the bench tallied 46 points the following night against Charlotte, again looking more like a unit with an identity than the first team has for most of the season.
So it's only fitting that tonight Boston returns to Philadelphia, the place where it all began earlier this season. Can the Celtics continue their climb back to championship-level basketball or will their improved play this week prove to be just another tease in a season that ultimately leaves us disappointed?
Showing posts with label Philadelphia 76ers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philadelphia 76ers. Show all posts
4.04.2008
Cs Lose to Sixers, Fall to 64-14
The roar of the Spectrum crowd when the ball went cleanly through the hoop was worthy of the simultaneous winning of 10 seventh games, and why not? Good fans spend hundreds of dollars annually on season tickets just hoping to be a part of a human drama such as this.
It doesn't come any better. With four seconds left in yesterday's game, the 76ers were down by two (94-92), and Larry Bird, the league's best foul shooter, was on the line for two. He missed both. In basketball terms, this was clearly a miracle.
With three seconds left, Kevin McHale tied up a driving Charles Barkley for a jump ball at the foul line. And with no seconds left, Julius Erving picked up the ensuing tap, (which was basically controlled by Barkley) and threw in a half-set, half-jumper off his right ear with Danny Ainge about 10 inches from his face on the left wing to provide the deserving 76ers with a thrilling 95-94 victory over the Celtics in a game that had everything, both good and bad, an NBA contest has to offer.
"Barkley got more of the ball than I did, but it went where we wanted it to go," shrugged McHale. "That's exactly the shot we would want them to take."
It's almost as if the Celtics are incapable of losing in anything resembling a conventional manner. They have lost three times in the last 24 games and in each case they have given away a seemingly safe second-half lead and lost to a three-pointer. This time, their largesse involved the ceding of an 11-point (90-79) lead with 4:37 to play, not to mention a six-point (94-88) lead with 1:17 remaining. Let us waste no sympathy on a team that does that.
Erving's final heroics were fitting, for it was the Doctor who had brought the Sixers back from that minus-11 state. A Jerry Sichting jumper had just provided the visitors with that lead when Erving, a very ineffective performer most of the afternoon, stuck in a follow-up reverse layup. On the next Boston possession, Bird demonstrated how concerned he was by throwing up a sloppy runner rather than a decent shot. Erving came down and swished a three-pointer from the right wing that cut the lead to six, 90-84.
The Doc was fired up then, and his next move was to intercept a Bird entry pass and take it all the way. The momentum was clearly Philadelphia's.
Two baskets by Dennis Johnson (a fast-break layup on a Bird feed to make it 92-86 and a side-court jumper to create the 94-88 score with 1:17 left) appeared to have settled things, but the 76ers, whose effort throughout the afternoon was exemplary, were only beginning to fight.
Rookie Terry Catledge powered in a low-post three-point play, and when Bird tried to salvage a broken play with a spectacular pass underneath to what he thought was an unguarded McHale, Clemons Johnson stole the ball. Maurice Cheeks subsequently made one of two foul shots at the 41-second mark, and it was 94-92, Boston.
The Sixers caught no breaks on the ensuing possession, either, for when Sichting missed a makeable 18-footer, Barkley and Johnson "oopsed" the ball out of bounds to Boston with 20 seconds to play. Naturally, the Sixers were hoping for a steal or violation, but instead the worst conceivable scenario unfolded. Bobby Jones had to foul Bird at midcourt with seven seconds left.
The first one spun out and the second one rattled out, and Bird had no excuses. "It's all mental," he said. "You make 40 or 50 in a row and I guess you assume you're going to walk up and make 'em all. They was right on target; there's nothing you can do."
Astonished by their good fortune, the 76ers called time. When the ball was put into play, they cleared a side for Barkley (14 points, 14 rebounds), who took the ball to the hoop. McHale met him with two hands on the ball at waist level. Jump ball.
"Charles was confident he could get the tap," said coach Matt Guokas. "It was just a matter of which pocket to cover. Doc shot the ball, and from where I sat it looked good all the way."
The game made up in emotion what it lacked in execution and artistry. Referees Darell Garretson and Mike Mathis were in an extreme let-'em-play mode, resulting in fierce board play and simmering tempers. Things came to a head in the last 25 seconds of the third period when Sedale Threatt and Ainge got into a jam. Threatt was deemed the aggressor and ejected. Ainge stayed around long enough to sink three technical foul shots (two on Threatt and one on a yapping Clemon Johnson) as Boston, which had led by a 48-47 score after being outhustled in the first half, took a 76-68 lead after three quarters.
With Bird (18 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists for triple-double No. 10 this season) asserting himself in the first 6 1/2 minutes, the lead went to 10 (88-78 and timeout, Philly), and eventually 11, at 90-79. And then the fun really started for the delirious Spectrum gathering of 17,941.
"It was our most satisfying win of the season," beamed Guokas.
Beating Boston without Moses Malone . . . stopping a 14-game Celtic winning streak . . . ruining Boston's chance to tie the all-time best record . . . watching Bird blow the two free throws to make it all possible . . .
Could any Sixer fan be forgiven for believing he or she had passed away and resurfaced in Hoop Heaven?
It doesn't come any better. With four seconds left in yesterday's game, the 76ers were down by two (94-92), and Larry Bird, the league's best foul shooter, was on the line for two. He missed both. In basketball terms, this was clearly a miracle.
With three seconds left, Kevin McHale tied up a driving Charles Barkley for a jump ball at the foul line. And with no seconds left, Julius Erving picked up the ensuing tap, (which was basically controlled by Barkley) and threw in a half-set, half-jumper off his right ear with Danny Ainge about 10 inches from his face on the left wing to provide the deserving 76ers with a thrilling 95-94 victory over the Celtics in a game that had everything, both good and bad, an NBA contest has to offer.
"Barkley got more of the ball than I did, but it went where we wanted it to go," shrugged McHale. "That's exactly the shot we would want them to take."
It's almost as if the Celtics are incapable of losing in anything resembling a conventional manner. They have lost three times in the last 24 games and in each case they have given away a seemingly safe second-half lead and lost to a three-pointer. This time, their largesse involved the ceding of an 11-point (90-79) lead with 4:37 to play, not to mention a six-point (94-88) lead with 1:17 remaining. Let us waste no sympathy on a team that does that.
Erving's final heroics were fitting, for it was the Doctor who had brought the Sixers back from that minus-11 state. A Jerry Sichting jumper had just provided the visitors with that lead when Erving, a very ineffective performer most of the afternoon, stuck in a follow-up reverse layup. On the next Boston possession, Bird demonstrated how concerned he was by throwing up a sloppy runner rather than a decent shot. Erving came down and swished a three-pointer from the right wing that cut the lead to six, 90-84.
The Doc was fired up then, and his next move was to intercept a Bird entry pass and take it all the way. The momentum was clearly Philadelphia's.
Two baskets by Dennis Johnson (a fast-break layup on a Bird feed to make it 92-86 and a side-court jumper to create the 94-88 score with 1:17 left) appeared to have settled things, but the 76ers, whose effort throughout the afternoon was exemplary, were only beginning to fight.
Rookie Terry Catledge powered in a low-post three-point play, and when Bird tried to salvage a broken play with a spectacular pass underneath to what he thought was an unguarded McHale, Clemons Johnson stole the ball. Maurice Cheeks subsequently made one of two foul shots at the 41-second mark, and it was 94-92, Boston.
The Sixers caught no breaks on the ensuing possession, either, for when Sichting missed a makeable 18-footer, Barkley and Johnson "oopsed" the ball out of bounds to Boston with 20 seconds to play. Naturally, the Sixers were hoping for a steal or violation, but instead the worst conceivable scenario unfolded. Bobby Jones had to foul Bird at midcourt with seven seconds left.
The first one spun out and the second one rattled out, and Bird had no excuses. "It's all mental," he said. "You make 40 or 50 in a row and I guess you assume you're going to walk up and make 'em all. They was right on target; there's nothing you can do."
Astonished by their good fortune, the 76ers called time. When the ball was put into play, they cleared a side for Barkley (14 points, 14 rebounds), who took the ball to the hoop. McHale met him with two hands on the ball at waist level. Jump ball.
"Charles was confident he could get the tap," said coach Matt Guokas. "It was just a matter of which pocket to cover. Doc shot the ball, and from where I sat it looked good all the way."
The game made up in emotion what it lacked in execution and artistry. Referees Darell Garretson and Mike Mathis were in an extreme let-'em-play mode, resulting in fierce board play and simmering tempers. Things came to a head in the last 25 seconds of the third period when Sedale Threatt and Ainge got into a jam. Threatt was deemed the aggressor and ejected. Ainge stayed around long enough to sink three technical foul shots (two on Threatt and one on a yapping Clemon Johnson) as Boston, which had led by a 48-47 score after being outhustled in the first half, took a 76-68 lead after three quarters.
With Bird (18 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists for triple-double No. 10 this season) asserting himself in the first 6 1/2 minutes, the lead went to 10 (88-78 and timeout, Philly), and eventually 11, at 90-79. And then the fun really started for the delirious Spectrum gathering of 17,941.
"It was our most satisfying win of the season," beamed Guokas.
Beating Boston without Moses Malone . . . stopping a 14-game Celtic winning streak . . . ruining Boston's chance to tie the all-time best record . . . watching Bird blow the two free throws to make it all possible . . .
Could any Sixer fan be forgiven for believing he or she had passed away and resurfaced in Hoop Heaven?
3.01.2008
Sixers down Suns
For those of you rooting for the Suns to rise and ultimately put the wood to the Fakers, you may want to temporize those feelings. Something's not right down there in Goldwater country.
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12.28.2007
Cs (21-6) LOSE THIRD GAME IN FIVE TRIES
December Swoon Continues, as Cs Fall to 21-6
On a night when Dennis Johnson got the heave-ho in the second quarter and Robert Parish handled every pass like a live grenade, the Celtics couldn't keep up with the much-malgined Philadelphia 76ers.
The Sixers blew open a tight ball game with eight straight points at the start of the fourth quarter and hung on for a 108-102 victory over the Celtics in the sold-out Spectrum last night.
DJ picked up two technicals from referee Bill Saar in the second quarter and Parish was riding the stationary bike most of the night, but give the Sixers some credit for Boston's fourth loss in eight tries. Maurice Cheeks was a demon for the full 48 minutes, and the still-dangerous Philadelphians deserved to win.
Boardwalk bards and parquet poets are mindful that the Sixers miss Andrew Toney (stress fracture), and it's obvious that Philadelphia will still be a formidable play-off foe.
There were 27 lead changes in the first three quarters, and Boston led, 84-83, after three.
K.C. Jones had two players who hadn't played all night - Rick Carlisle and Scott Wedman - on the floor early in the fourth. Smelling blood, the Sixers started swatting shots and erupted with eight straight points. Meanwhile, Boston missed nine straight shots and went more than four minutes without a point.
A jumper by Leon Wood gave the Sixers an eight-point lead with five minutes left. When Bird cut it to 98-94 with 4:16 left, the Sixers called time.
The Celts cut it to three with three minutes left, but Wood buried a jumper, Parish committed another turnover and Cheeks scored off the drive to make it 105-98 with 1:39 left.
When McHale came back with four straight points to cut it to 105-102 with 1:03 left, Philly called time.
The Sixers missed their first six shots of the game, including two blanks by Julius Erving, who was starting (for the fifth straight game) in the backcourt with Cheeks.
The Celtics tried to exploit the Charles Barkley-on-Parish mismatch, but Parish appeared to be playing underwater. Bill Walton replaced the stationary Chief with 7:28 left in the first quarter.
Kevin McHale (13 in the first) scored 11 points in eight minutes and Boston took a 23-18 lead on a jumper by Danny Ainge. The Sixers weren't running any plays and made only seven of their first 18 shots.
Cheeks and Erving paced and 8-2 Philly run, and the Sixers led briefly, but Walton and McHale powered the Celts to a 31-30 lead at the end of one. Bird, DJ and Parish each scored two points in the first 12 minutes.
Then came the Skylab incident. There was a short delay before the start of the second quarter because one of the Spectrum's overhead lights was hanging loose. A section of high-priced seats had to be evacuated while maintenance men rescued the dangling lantern.
Parish was back on the floor when play resumed. Play was sluggish at both ends, but it was close.
The first sparks flew with 3:57 left in the half when Johnson was tagged with an offensive foul, then picked up two technicals and an early shower from Saar. It was one of the fastest ejections on record, and the Celts weren't particularly happy about Saar's quick heave. It was DJ's second ejection of the season. He was tossed for fighting with Detroit's Bill Laimbeer in November. Sam Vincent replaced Johnson.
Bird found the range from the corners (10 in the second quarter), but neither team could build a lead. Two free throws by Erving gave the Sixers a 55-54 halftime edge. There were 20 lead changes in the second quarter.
Jerry Sichting started the second half in place of DJ and did a nice job. Bird and McHale continued to keep the C's afloat, but Parish was still standing around and a dunk by Moses Malone gave the Sixers a four-point lead and forced K.C. Jones to call time.
The Celts came alive after the pause. McHale blocked a couple of shots, Ainge hit a couple of jumpers, and a follow-up by Parish completed a 12-4 run that gave Boston a 73-69 lead. McHale shot the C's to a five-point lead, but the visitors settled for a 84-83 lead at the end of three.
On a night when Dennis Johnson got the heave-ho in the second quarter and Robert Parish handled every pass like a live grenade, the Celtics couldn't keep up with the much-malgined Philadelphia 76ers.
The Sixers blew open a tight ball game with eight straight points at the start of the fourth quarter and hung on for a 108-102 victory over the Celtics in the sold-out Spectrum last night.
DJ picked up two technicals from referee Bill Saar in the second quarter and Parish was riding the stationary bike most of the night, but give the Sixers some credit for Boston's fourth loss in eight tries. Maurice Cheeks was a demon for the full 48 minutes, and the still-dangerous Philadelphians deserved to win.
Boardwalk bards and parquet poets are mindful that the Sixers miss Andrew Toney (stress fracture), and it's obvious that Philadelphia will still be a formidable play-off foe.
There were 27 lead changes in the first three quarters, and Boston led, 84-83, after three.
K.C. Jones had two players who hadn't played all night - Rick Carlisle and Scott Wedman - on the floor early in the fourth. Smelling blood, the Sixers started swatting shots and erupted with eight straight points. Meanwhile, Boston missed nine straight shots and went more than four minutes without a point.
A jumper by Leon Wood gave the Sixers an eight-point lead with five minutes left. When Bird cut it to 98-94 with 4:16 left, the Sixers called time.
The Celts cut it to three with three minutes left, but Wood buried a jumper, Parish committed another turnover and Cheeks scored off the drive to make it 105-98 with 1:39 left.
When McHale came back with four straight points to cut it to 105-102 with 1:03 left, Philly called time.
The Sixers missed their first six shots of the game, including two blanks by Julius Erving, who was starting (for the fifth straight game) in the backcourt with Cheeks.
The Celtics tried to exploit the Charles Barkley-on-Parish mismatch, but Parish appeared to be playing underwater. Bill Walton replaced the stationary Chief with 7:28 left in the first quarter.
Kevin McHale (13 in the first) scored 11 points in eight minutes and Boston took a 23-18 lead on a jumper by Danny Ainge. The Sixers weren't running any plays and made only seven of their first 18 shots.
Cheeks and Erving paced and 8-2 Philly run, and the Sixers led briefly, but Walton and McHale powered the Celts to a 31-30 lead at the end of one. Bird, DJ and Parish each scored two points in the first 12 minutes.
Then came the Skylab incident. There was a short delay before the start of the second quarter because one of the Spectrum's overhead lights was hanging loose. A section of high-priced seats had to be evacuated while maintenance men rescued the dangling lantern.
Parish was back on the floor when play resumed. Play was sluggish at both ends, but it was close.
The first sparks flew with 3:57 left in the half when Johnson was tagged with an offensive foul, then picked up two technicals and an early shower from Saar. It was one of the fastest ejections on record, and the Celts weren't particularly happy about Saar's quick heave. It was DJ's second ejection of the season. He was tossed for fighting with Detroit's Bill Laimbeer in November. Sam Vincent replaced Johnson.
Bird found the range from the corners (10 in the second quarter), but neither team could build a lead. Two free throws by Erving gave the Sixers a 55-54 halftime edge. There were 20 lead changes in the second quarter.
Jerry Sichting started the second half in place of DJ and did a nice job. Bird and McHale continued to keep the C's afloat, but Parish was still standing around and a dunk by Moses Malone gave the Sixers a four-point lead and forced K.C. Jones to call time.
The Celts came alive after the pause. McHale blocked a couple of shots, Ainge hit a couple of jumpers, and a follow-up by Parish completed a 12-4 run that gave Boston a 73-69 lead. McHale shot the C's to a five-point lead, but the visitors settled for a 84-83 lead at the end of three.
12.03.2007
Remembering the 1983 Celtics-Sixers Brawl
It was one of those nights when the Celtics wished they still had Rick Robey. Less than four minutes into what should have been a harmless exhibition game, there had already been two bench-clearing fights and Dennis Johnson must have been wondering what he'd gotten into here. Certainly the Phoenix Suns never went through anything like this during the exhibition season.
The fireworks started with 9:37 left in the first quarter when Maxwell and Malone got into a scuffle underneath the Sixers' basket. Max came up with a loose ball and was pushed by Malone. Maxwell backed off and fired the ball off Malone's shoulder. Malone went for Maxwell and the pair collapsed to the floor.
Predictably, the benches emptied and when order was restored, Max was smiling and Malone was snarling. Malone was tagged with a personal foul and Maxwell picked up a technical.
A minute later, Marc Iavaroni grabbed Maxwell under the Celtics' basket while both were going for a rebound. A foul was called elsewhere and Robert Parish stepped to the line. Larry Bird and Iavaroni were jawing at the foul line and after Parish's second free throw went in, Bird and Iavaroni were toe- to-toe, slugging it out.
This time it got out of hand. Both benches emptied and Bird, who was being restrained by K.C. Jones and a couple of teammates, wanted more of Iavaroni. At one point he lunged forward and hacked at Cunningham. Cunningham got hot and had to be restrained. Billy C's sports coat was in tatters after the skirmish.
When it appeared that things had calmed, scab referees Ralph Lembo and Jesse Hall informed both sides that Bird and Iavaroni had been ejected. Next thing you know, Auerbach (from Loge 1, Row 6, Seat 1) was screaming at the officials. Recognizing the old "get-their-star-out-of-the-game-with-a-cheap- shot" trick, Auerbach came out, crossed the court and implored the officials to let Bird back in.
Sensing that he might lose to a higher god, Cunningham tried to stop Auerbach, then jawed with Red and the officials. The scene got sillier when Malone and Auerbach started screaming at each other.
Finally, Iavaroni and Bird exited, a police detail was summoned to sit behind the Philadelphia bench and the game resumed with the Celtics leading, 11-7, with 8:20 left in the period. The rest of the half was pretty tame and the Bird-less Celtics went into the locker room with a 50-46 lead.
In the third quarter, Henderson was ejected for punching Philly rookie Sedale Threatt. "The guy hit me with an elbow in the throat," said Henderson. "There was no call, and I'm sorry, but I had to hit the guy."
Henderson got the heave and Cunningham picked up a technical foul for grabbing the basketball and refusing to give it back.
"After the Henderson punch," said Maxwell, "I thought it might be the first game in NBA history to be called because of violence."
The fireworks started with 9:37 left in the first quarter when Maxwell and Malone got into a scuffle underneath the Sixers' basket. Max came up with a loose ball and was pushed by Malone. Maxwell backed off and fired the ball off Malone's shoulder. Malone went for Maxwell and the pair collapsed to the floor.
Predictably, the benches emptied and when order was restored, Max was smiling and Malone was snarling. Malone was tagged with a personal foul and Maxwell picked up a technical.
A minute later, Marc Iavaroni grabbed Maxwell under the Celtics' basket while both were going for a rebound. A foul was called elsewhere and Robert Parish stepped to the line. Larry Bird and Iavaroni were jawing at the foul line and after Parish's second free throw went in, Bird and Iavaroni were toe- to-toe, slugging it out.
This time it got out of hand. Both benches emptied and Bird, who was being restrained by K.C. Jones and a couple of teammates, wanted more of Iavaroni. At one point he lunged forward and hacked at Cunningham. Cunningham got hot and had to be restrained. Billy C's sports coat was in tatters after the skirmish.
When it appeared that things had calmed, scab referees Ralph Lembo and Jesse Hall informed both sides that Bird and Iavaroni had been ejected. Next thing you know, Auerbach (from Loge 1, Row 6, Seat 1) was screaming at the officials. Recognizing the old "get-their-star-out-of-the-game-with-a-cheap- shot" trick, Auerbach came out, crossed the court and implored the officials to let Bird back in.
Sensing that he might lose to a higher god, Cunningham tried to stop Auerbach, then jawed with Red and the officials. The scene got sillier when Malone and Auerbach started screaming at each other.
Finally, Iavaroni and Bird exited, a police detail was summoned to sit behind the Philadelphia bench and the game resumed with the Celtics leading, 11-7, with 8:20 left in the period. The rest of the half was pretty tame and the Bird-less Celtics went into the locker room with a 50-46 lead.
In the third quarter, Henderson was ejected for punching Philly rookie Sedale Threatt. "The guy hit me with an elbow in the throat," said Henderson. "There was no call, and I'm sorry, but I had to hit the guy."
Henderson got the heave and Cunningham picked up a technical foul for grabbing the basketball and refusing to give it back.
"After the Henderson punch," said Maxwell, "I thought it might be the first game in NBA history to be called because of violence."
Red Reacts to the 1983 Celtics-Sixers Brawl
It was very simple; every time I looked up, Cunningham's in the middle of the floor and they're doing a job on our guys and the refs are doing nothing about it. So I got mad. That's all; I got mad."- Red Auerbach
This was right out of Syracuse or Fort Wayne, circa 1955: The Celtics and a hated rival in a free-for-all with Red Auerbach in the middle, taunting the enemy's big man by taking off his glasses and saying, "Go ahead, hit me you big SOB."
Oh, the fires still burn deep and white hot . . . do they ever.
Sixty-five years old, at an age when the only battle in life could be with his Social Security check, and there's the Redhead padding across the Garden floor, walking right up to Moses himself, all 6 feet 10 of him.
Head to head, man to man, curse to curse, the calendar and the difference in reach be damned.
Exhibition game? It makes no difference, Auerbach explains, because "they come out there with their starting lineup and they think they're going to bury us." It was an exhibition game, certainly, but it was a game against the Sixers and there are no exhibition games against the Sixers.
"First, they knock Maxwell down," Auerbach goes on, "and then that other guy (Marc Iavaroni) is doing a job on Bird and all that kind of stuff is going on. I couldn't help it; I just got mad."
Auerbach, for his part, was ticketed for $2500 by league vice president of operations Scotty Stirling. "I'm going to appeal," said Auerbach. "I tried to get Stirling on the phone all day. He was ducking me. That bothers me because the Celtics pay as much of his salary as any other team does."
Also fined were Boston's Larry Bird ($2000) and Gerald Henderson ($500), and Marc Iavaroni of Philadelphia ($1000).
"They don't fine (Moses) Malone anything, and he starts the whole thing," said Auerbach. "Philly instigated everything that happened Sunday night and they get away with it. All the league office saw was the retaliation."
In his announcement, Stirling said: "Auerbach's actions were embarrassing and intolerable. A general manager has no place on the court at any time during at NBA game."
"I went down there (on the court) to stop Philly from taking over the game," said Auerbach. "I do not blame the referees for what happened. They were new guys and Philly was trying to take advantage of the situation.
Red had been always like that, of course.
Old Celtic Bob Brannum was at practice yesterday and he remembered the game 32 years ago when the Celtics slipped into Davenport, Iowa, with Chuck Cooper, the NBA's first black player, and St. Louis' Mel Hutchens was at the cutting edge with his comments.
Words led to words, Auerbach and Hawks' coach Doxie Moore met on the court "and Doxie coldcocked him," Brannum recalled. "Just gave him a shot out of the blue."
"Yeah," said Auerbach, "Moore sucker-punched me but he didn't knock me down."
Or that famous bout 25 years ago, K.C. Jones recalled, when Auerbach and St. Louis owner Ben Kerner went at each other.
"It was a playoff game, back in 1958," the Celtics' coach recalled, "and it happened before a game - they had an argument about something - then they went after each other and they were swinging. I remember this about Red; he didn't back down."
But all that was a long time ago, when Auerbach was a toddling youth of 40, and the last sight Jones expected to see Sunday night was Auerbach stepping down from the stands and joining the many-sided fray.
"In all the years I've seen the Celtics play," said Jones, "I've never seen anything like (Sunday) night. And then I see Red." One moment Jones is in a swirl of bodies and the next he sees Auerbach, sport coat open, stepping purposefully across the floor. "I didn't expect that one; I looked around and here comes Red flying out there like a mad rooster . . . shouting, the arms flailing. I think he was having fun."
"You're trying to establish an edge because there's a team that comes onto your home court and they're announced as world champions," Auerbch said. "They're your arch-rival and they're trying to defend what you're trying to win back."
It was Bird's being tossed out of the game and Malone remaining that blew the fuse for Auerbach. "I got mad at what I saw," said Auerbach. "I've got a lot of respect for (76er coach) Billy Cunningham - he's one of the greatest coaches the league has had - but he was out there getting his players all steamed up. And when Larry got thrown out, that was enough."
Not surprisingly, the view from Philadelphia was a tad different.
"Obviously, the Celtics went about this with midseason intensity," said 76er general manager Pat Williams. "They're determined to establish themselves early as a team to be reckoned with. The way last year ended really stunned them. Billy (Cunningham) played it like an exhibition; Boston didn't and that's their problem."
Owner Harold Katz of the Sixers said the fault was entirely the Celtics'.
"Those incidents were uncalled for," said Katz. "You can't touch the Celtics' players in Boston Garden, apparently that's the new rule. This wasn't the seventh game of the playoffs, this was an exhibition game. And if nothing happens to the Celtics, I'll run down onto the court the next time. I've never seen it done before . . . I mean, the man was sitting in the stands and he ran onto the court."
Katz is close to the truth of the matter but not close enough. Auerbach is 65 but the fires still burn deep and hot.
The man is more than special; he is one in a million.
This was right out of Syracuse or Fort Wayne, circa 1955: The Celtics and a hated rival in a free-for-all with Red Auerbach in the middle, taunting the enemy's big man by taking off his glasses and saying, "Go ahead, hit me you big SOB."
Oh, the fires still burn deep and white hot . . . do they ever.
Sixty-five years old, at an age when the only battle in life could be with his Social Security check, and there's the Redhead padding across the Garden floor, walking right up to Moses himself, all 6 feet 10 of him.
Head to head, man to man, curse to curse, the calendar and the difference in reach be damned.
Exhibition game? It makes no difference, Auerbach explains, because "they come out there with their starting lineup and they think they're going to bury us." It was an exhibition game, certainly, but it was a game against the Sixers and there are no exhibition games against the Sixers.
"First, they knock Maxwell down," Auerbach goes on, "and then that other guy (Marc Iavaroni) is doing a job on Bird and all that kind of stuff is going on. I couldn't help it; I just got mad."
Auerbach, for his part, was ticketed for $2500 by league vice president of operations Scotty Stirling. "I'm going to appeal," said Auerbach. "I tried to get Stirling on the phone all day. He was ducking me. That bothers me because the Celtics pay as much of his salary as any other team does."
Also fined were Boston's Larry Bird ($2000) and Gerald Henderson ($500), and Marc Iavaroni of Philadelphia ($1000).
"They don't fine (Moses) Malone anything, and he starts the whole thing," said Auerbach. "Philly instigated everything that happened Sunday night and they get away with it. All the league office saw was the retaliation."
In his announcement, Stirling said: "Auerbach's actions were embarrassing and intolerable. A general manager has no place on the court at any time during at NBA game."
"I went down there (on the court) to stop Philly from taking over the game," said Auerbach. "I do not blame the referees for what happened. They were new guys and Philly was trying to take advantage of the situation.
Red had been always like that, of course.
Old Celtic Bob Brannum was at practice yesterday and he remembered the game 32 years ago when the Celtics slipped into Davenport, Iowa, with Chuck Cooper, the NBA's first black player, and St. Louis' Mel Hutchens was at the cutting edge with his comments.
Words led to words, Auerbach and Hawks' coach Doxie Moore met on the court "and Doxie coldcocked him," Brannum recalled. "Just gave him a shot out of the blue."
"Yeah," said Auerbach, "Moore sucker-punched me but he didn't knock me down."
Or that famous bout 25 years ago, K.C. Jones recalled, when Auerbach and St. Louis owner Ben Kerner went at each other.
"It was a playoff game, back in 1958," the Celtics' coach recalled, "and it happened before a game - they had an argument about something - then they went after each other and they were swinging. I remember this about Red; he didn't back down."
But all that was a long time ago, when Auerbach was a toddling youth of 40, and the last sight Jones expected to see Sunday night was Auerbach stepping down from the stands and joining the many-sided fray.
"In all the years I've seen the Celtics play," said Jones, "I've never seen anything like (Sunday) night. And then I see Red." One moment Jones is in a swirl of bodies and the next he sees Auerbach, sport coat open, stepping purposefully across the floor. "I didn't expect that one; I looked around and here comes Red flying out there like a mad rooster . . . shouting, the arms flailing. I think he was having fun."
"You're trying to establish an edge because there's a team that comes onto your home court and they're announced as world champions," Auerbch said. "They're your arch-rival and they're trying to defend what you're trying to win back."
It was Bird's being tossed out of the game and Malone remaining that blew the fuse for Auerbach. "I got mad at what I saw," said Auerbach. "I've got a lot of respect for (76er coach) Billy Cunningham - he's one of the greatest coaches the league has had - but he was out there getting his players all steamed up. And when Larry got thrown out, that was enough."
Not surprisingly, the view from Philadelphia was a tad different.
"Obviously, the Celtics went about this with midseason intensity," said 76er general manager Pat Williams. "They're determined to establish themselves early as a team to be reckoned with. The way last year ended really stunned them. Billy (Cunningham) played it like an exhibition; Boston didn't and that's their problem."
Owner Harold Katz of the Sixers said the fault was entirely the Celtics'.
"Those incidents were uncalled for," said Katz. "You can't touch the Celtics' players in Boston Garden, apparently that's the new rule. This wasn't the seventh game of the playoffs, this was an exhibition game. And if nothing happens to the Celtics, I'll run down onto the court the next time. I've never seen it done before . . . I mean, the man was sitting in the stands and he ran onto the court."
Katz is close to the truth of the matter but not close enough. Auerbach is 65 but the fires still burn deep and hot.
The man is more than special; he is one in a million.
11.27.2007
1986 Cs Dump Philly, Move to 12-2
McHale Continues to Dominate in Starting Role
PHILADELPHIA This was a night when the Celtics finally missed M.L. Carr and Cedric Maxwell. After they toyed with the once-great Philadelphia 76ers for 48 minutes, there was no one around to admit the embarrassing ease with which this game was won.
The gracious Celtics said all of the polite, cautious things after beating the Sixers, 98-91, in the Spectrum. But the silent sellout and thousands of couch potatoes watching at home know that the Sixers never had a chance. The Celts have an unthinkable six-game lead on the Sixers before 1985's first turkey has been carved.
The bored Bostonians let Philly back in this game three times, and trailed by eight with 10 minutes left before pushing the red button and vaporizing the Sixers down the stretch. The Celts outrebounded Philly, 19-8, and held the home team to 15 points in the final period. The result was a lengthy, postgame, closed-door meeting in the Philadelphia locker room. The Sixers are 6-8 going into tonight's game at New Jersey.
Maybe things will change when Andrew Toney (broken foot) comes back. Maybe the Sixers can turn it around with a few more team meetings. Maybe Julius Erving and Bobby Jones will find a Coccoon pool to swim in. Maybe owner Harold Katz will fire coach Matt Guokas and hire Billy Martin. Something must happen before Boston-Philadelphia games are again played with "tastes great" vs. "less filling" intensity.
After 38 minutes of sleepy hollow, the Celts finally went to work early in the final quarter. Sloppy play (24 Boston turnoers) and a failed attempt to use five subs simultaneously had the Celts in an eight-point hole (84-76) with 10 minutes left.
Boston went to work with a methodical 12-0 run. Kevin McHale (20 points, 13 rebounds) started the drive with two straight hoops. McHale blocked a shot by Charles (The Fridge) Barkley, then scored two more after a basket by Scott Wedman. Then Larry Bird rebounded a Sedale Threatt miss, and Wedman (playing guard) put the Celts ahead with a jumper. A basket by Bird completed the dirty dozen and made it 88-84 with 5:32 left.
Philly cut it to one twice, but the Sixers' heart and soul (Barkley) was on the bench so that 6-foot-8-inch Terry Catledge could guard one of Boston's big men. The Sixers missed him.
Four free throws by Bird and Robert Parish gave the Celts a 94-89 lead with two minutes left. When Danny Ainge pulled down a Maurice Cheeks miss, Boston called time. A 94-89 lead, plus possession of the ball with 1:35 left, should have been safe.
Erving cut it to three after Cheeks blocked a Dennis Johnson shot, but McHale came back and drove left past a flatfooted Moses Malone to make it 96-91 with 58 seconds left. Philly called time once more, but the sold-out Spectrum was already emptying.
Guokas decided to try Malone on McHale at the start - but that left the 6-6 Barkley looking up at 7-foot Parish. McHale still scored eight points in the first quarter.
The initial period was sloppy. Boston committed eight turnovers, Philadelphia nine. It was 10-10 after 4 1/2 minutes. Then the Celtics broke it open with six-minute, 18-6 run which featured some sparkling two-way play by Ainge, and the usual inside dominance of McHale and Parish. Meanwhile, the Sixers were bumping into each other on offense, and Boston led, 28-16, with 1:24 left in the quarter. Sixer fans were giving some thought to moves the Phillies might be making at the baseball winter meetings.
A cocky K.C. Jones started Rick Carlisle, Jerry Sichting, Wedman, Greg Kite and Bill Walton at the start of the second. The Celts call this "the green team" because they wear green jerseys in practice. It took three minutes for the Sixers to cut Boston's lead to four points. Jones summoned all five subs to the bench and went with four starters, plus Sam Vincent.
Bird warmed up from the perimeteter, Vincent pushed the ball up the floor, and the Celts were soon ahead by 10 again. However, in the final four minutes of the half, the low-intensity Celts watched Erving and Co. fight back into the game again. Long jumpers by Doc and Sedale Threatt made it 50-50 at intermission. A severe tongue-lashing was due in the Celtic locker room.
Jones must have told the troops to get the ball to Parish. The Chief went to work on Barkley early in the third, scoring eight points in 4:15. DJ also came out on target, but it wasn't enough to put the Celts back in the comfort zone.
Barkley started going to the basket, and soon the Sixers had their first lead (57-56) since 6-4.
The Celts regained the lead on four points by Parish. After Cheeks cut it to 62-61, Boston ran off eight straight: a jumper by DJ, an inside job by Parish and a transition jumper by Bird, and a Parish dunk over Barkley after a Philadelphia timeout. Boston led, 70-61, with 4:35 left in the third.
The Celts should have been en route to an easy win, but Boston's generosity was boundless. Jones went back to his second unit, and the green team was bounced around by Barkley and Philly's other four starters in a quarter- closing 15-4 run which gave Philadelphia a 76-74 lead at the end of three.
11.25.2007
1986 Cs Move to 10-2 with Win Over Sixers
McHale Leads Way
Sixers owner Harold Katz sounds like Boss Steinbrenner, Andrew Toney is in a cast, and we're told that Julius Erving and Bobby Jones have reserved a summer place on Golden Pond.
There is no season-long first-place chase, and tickets for Celtics -Sixers games don't command three-digit sums on the street anymore. The Philadelphia 76ers are just another .500 ball club this morning and have a worse record than the Atlanta Hawks.
Let's face it: It's still never easy for the Celts when the Sixers come to town, but some of the thrill is gone. Boston beat Philadelphia, 110-103, last night, but a once-cherished victory over the Sixers is now little different than a win over the Pistons or Bucks.
Kevin McHale (32 points, 11 rebounds), who was taught to respect his elders, said, "Probably people have better talent than them now, because of their age and injuries . . . but they still know how to win."
The good Doctor (21 points) exhibited his usual dignity, saying, "This is not a feeling I am used to or would like to get used to . . . But we'll eventually turn a corner. We are not a laughingstock team. You could see respect in their eyes. They know they have to play hard against us or they're gonna get beat."
Boston beat the Sixers without help from Dennis Johnson (attending his grandmother's funeral), and on a night when Larry Bird could only muster 11 points. Bird (5 for 16 from the floor) was on the bench for almost nine consecutive minutes when the Celts took the lead for keeps.
McHale (32 points) and Robert Parish (20 points, 12 rebounds) made up for the missing persons. McHale took Charles (Refrigerator) Barkley and the rest of Philly's little big men into the torture chamber, while the Chief (seven offensive rebounds) beat Moses Malone on the boards. Meanwhile, whiz kids Rick Carlisle and Sam Vincent gave a pleasant glimpse of Backcourt Future.
There was never a threat of a blowout. The Celts trailed for a good part of the evening, and it was 87-87 with seven minutes left when Boston took control with a 10-0 run.
Danny Ainge (18) started it with a shot-clock-beating backboard rattler from out top. Then McHale stole a Maurice Cheeks pass and Parish hit a pair of free throws. After Cheeks missed a free throw (awarded for an illegal defense on the Celts) and a jumper, Parish rebounded and Ainge hit a bomb at the other end. Doc picked up a rebounding foul after a Sedale Threatt miss, and Bird set up Parish for two more free throws. Jerry Sichting rebounded a Barkley (1 for 7) miss, and Bird scored on a baseline drive to make it 97-87 with 4:43 left. The Sixers called time.
Threatt cut it to six with a pair of jumpers, but McHale turned an offensive rebound into two free throws, and Boston led, 99-91, with 3:16 left.
Cheeks scored six straight for the Sixers, cutting Boston's lead to four (103-99). K.C. Jones called time with 1:20 left.
After the pause, McHale put a Bird miss back in, then blocked a shot by Cheeks. Bird rebounded and threw a touchdown bomb to Ainge to make it 107-99 with 57 seconds left. Ball game.
There was nothing especially clinical about the first 43 minutes. Proving that it's far easier to make layups than 18-foot jumpers, the Celts raced to a 10-2 lead. McHale torched Barkley, while Parish repeatedly went over flatfooted Moses for easy follow-ups. Boston had seven offensive rebounds (five by Parish) in the first five minutes. If the Celts hadn't started out shooting 5 for 16, they could have opened up a huge first-quarter lead.
Then the Celts went cold and the opportunistic Sixers fought back. Malone (21 points) went to the boards and Erving drove to the basket. Ainge missed three jumpers and one layup, Bird couldn't hit the ocean (those two were 0 for 9 in the quarter), and Sichting wiped out a row of photographers with an errant fast-break pass. The Celts seemed lost without DJ, scoring only one non-layup in the quarter. Vincent rescued Ainge with 1:04 left in the first. It was easily Sam's earliest appearance of the season.
Carlisle joined Vincent in the backcourt for the start of the second. They would be on the court again when the Celts turned the corner in the second half.
Cheeks and Malone led the Sixers to a seven-point lead (50-43), and Philadelphia settled for 56-51 at the half. Bird, Sichting and Ainge made three of 18 shots in the first two periods.
Ainge recovered with three buckets to start the third period. The Celts clawed back and regained the lead with a 7-0 drive - capped when Carlisle stole an offensive rebound and fed to Scott Wedman (12 points) for a second- chance jumper. Boston led, 82-78, at the end of three.
Bird and Parish were on the pine at the start of the fourth when Vincent and Carlisle teamed to run Boston's lead to 86-78, forcing a Philadelphia timeout.
After Bird finally reappeared, Philly fought back into it and tied the game on a line-drive jumper by Malone with 7:10 left. Then came the game-breaking Boston run.
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