Acie Earl Drops 40 on C's

April 13, 1996

Soon after last night's epic battle between lottery dwellers began, the task for the Celtics crystallized: Hold Acie Earl below triple figures, and this one was theirs.

Though the C's quest was noble, it was far from easy. The last time the Celts effectively stopped Earl was when they pawned him off on these Raptors in last June's expansion dispersal.

This time the C's had to weather Acie's 40-point storm before they could claim a 136-108 victory over the Toronto neophytes.

"It was Acie's revenge," said Rick Fox of the man the Celtics chose No. 19 overall in the 1993 draft. "The Raptors didn't win, but Acie got his revenge."

Earl blew away his previous career-high of 16 points and equaled the franchise's one-game record (set by Tracy Murray), while pulling in 12 rebounds in 44 minutes.

Putting it in even better perspective, Acie came within 26 points of his 1994-95 season total.

As M.L. Carr walked by in the hallway, Dino Radja held a final box score in his hand and asked his coach, "Why we can't get someone like this No. 55."

Carr took it all in good humor, saying of the player (and the contract) he gladly jettisoned, "Boy do I know talent."

The Celtics, led by Dana Barros (24 points), Fox (22) and Greg Minor (21) pulled away with a 19-2 run early in the third quarter that turned a nine-point game into a rout.

Both clubs are dogged by injuries, with Eric Williams (sore left knee) joining Radja and Eric Montross on the Celtic sideline.

But Toronto, missing rookie phenom Damon Stoudamire, Sharone Wright, Zan Tabak and Carlos Rogers, was far less equipped to deal with the decimation.

As Celtic guard Dee Brown put it, "That was an ugly game and Acie's got an ugly game, so this was his type of game."

Even Earl admitted things were atypical.

"It definitely felt strange," he said. "That's not really me. But it's only one game."

CELTIC NOTES: Williams said before the game he suffered his injury Tuesday against the Knicks on a missed dunk attempt. That means he could sit with Radja (sprained left ankle) in civilian clothing on the C's bench and discuss the merit of slamming.

Radja was injured while executing a fast-break jam over Charlotte's Pete Myers.

Despite being hurt in New York, Williams played 18 minutes against Washington the next night. He had four points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Last night he left the arena and went to a hospital for tests.

Earl still has two years left on the contract he signed when still a Celtic.