Bill Walton Returns to the Gah-den
Of all the ghosts that haunt Boston Garden, very few return in human form to bedevil the Celtics. Bill Walton did last night, and for one half it looked as if he had cast an unbreakable spell over his long-time rivals.
But the halo over the head of the former UCLA star got tilted in the second half. Thus Boston was able to rebound from a 12-point deficit and make the San Diego Clippers its fifth straight victim, 120-110. It was the 15th victory in the last 17 games for the Celtics.
The mere presence of the 6-foot-11 Walton for the first time in the Garden since January 1977 was enough to assure the 99th Garden sellout crowd of a fun evening. And he did not disappoint the fans, despite playing 39 minutes with a sore left foot. It was especially true in the first half when his 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists only began to tell the story.
Who would have suspected that, with a one-legged Walton as the centerpiece, San Diego would come up with as aggressive a defense as you'll ever see against the Celtics? After trailing, 31-26, the Clippers went on a 31-15 tear with astonishing ease, holding the Celtics to nine points in the first 9:30 of the period. San Diego led at halftime, 56-48.
But the bubble burst at the start of the third quarter when Boston ran off a 9-3 spurt. The floodgates opened, and in came Larry Bird and Cedric Maxwell, who had 30 and 28 points respectively.
The Celtics pulled into a tie at 73-73 and led by one point after three quarters, 83-82. After an early 10-3 spurt, the Clippers found themselves down by eight points and never recovered.
Terry Cummings did his best to make a game of it, scoring 8 of his 28 points in the final period before fouling out. But by this time, Walton had run out of gas and was operating at half speed. Against the Celtics, that's like walking, and after letting San Diego get to within four points three times, the last at 99-95, Boston went on a 9-2 tear that put the game out of reach.
The 10-point victory might not make a Celtics highlight film. But nobody at the Garden is going to soon forget how simple the game looked as Walton and friends executed in the second quarter.
Walton's quickness and leaping ability made him an intimidator and a deterrent to the Celtics' normally efficient inside game. The fast break suffered, and Boston shot only 33 percent in the period (6 for 18).
It was still a 38-37 Boston lead with 9:03 left in the second period when the tide suddenly changed. Two quick baskets by Jerome Whitehead and Cummings gave San Diego the lead at 41-38 with 7:49 left. Walton, who had been on the bench, returned, San Diego went on a 9-2 surge and suddenly Boston trailed, 50-40.
With 2:30 to play, Maxwell ended a 3-minute Celtics dry spell and the lead dropped to 50-42. But in an instant, Walton hit a sweeping hook shot and San Diego was off to a 56-48 lead at halftime.
"They played as good a defense in the second quarter as can be played against us," said Celtics coach Bill Fitch, trying to explain how San Diego could shut down his high-rolling team. "They did exactly the right things. They pressured the ball, then cut off the passing lanes on the fast break. They weren't giving us second and third shots."
Fortunately for Fitch, the Clippers play in the Pacific Division and thus can't keep track of all the goodies in the Celtics' bag of tricks. Boston went to its wide-open offense, opening the floor and creating better ball movement than it had in the first half.
San Diego didn't adjust quickly enough, and it turned Maxwell loose inside, and Bird on the outside. Boston rolled off 72 points in the second half, and without full mobility, Walton couldn't quite keep up. He had only 1 point, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in the second half. Most important, he had no blocked shots, and you can't beat the Celtics once they start having extra chances at the basket.
"Blocking shots is mostly a matter of timing," suggested Celtics guard Gerry Henderson, who came off the bench to add 12 points. "Bill was around the ball but couldn't quite get to it. He had trouble moving up and down the court. But everything else in his game was there."
Fitch said Walton's first-half success forced drastic measures.
"We went to an offense they hadn't seen," said Fitch, "and we got better results. Maxwell played as well for us tonight as he has since he's been back. We started him in the second half and he did a great job."
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