It's a Wrap

April 27, 1980

NO MORE GAMES . . . AND NO TITLE EITHER

No More Games.

There'll be none in Boston Garden, anyway, not until next October. Philadelphia put the struggling, squirming, Boston Celtics out of their collective misery yesterday afternoon with a take-no-prisoners 105-94 triumph that gave the streaking Sixers (who boast a 10-2 playoff record thus far) a 4-1 triumph in the Eastern Conference final.



The 76ers ended Boston's season by again stifling the Celtic offense. The Sixers have become a great - indeed, almost frightening - defensive team. They are playing with a purpose, and they are making a prophet of Julius Erving, who declared before this series began: "The Celtics paid the price all season, but we are ready to pay the price now."

It takes tremendous desire to play the sort of swarming defense the 76ers played in this series, and no one knew better than the Celtics themselves what had happened to their offense. "They played excellent basketball," said Chris Ford. "They deserved to beat us the way they played defense."

The 76ers totally controlled the last three games of this series. The latest that Boston led in any of the three was at 60-59, in Game 3. The Celtics' latest advantage in either of the last two games was 18-17 in the first period yesterday. "We never got a chance to exploit their weaknesses," said Dave Cowens. "We were always coming from behind, and we never had a chance to break them down."

There were two key junctures in yesterday's game. The first came in the final minute of the second quarter, when a Celtic run of eight uninterrupted points brought them within two at 54-52 with 57 seconds to play in the half. First, Darryl Dawkins (18 points, 9 rebounds) sank two free throws. On the subsequent Boston possession, Larry Bird (a frustrated 5-for-19 shooter) was nailed for an offensive foul. But that was a mild hurt compared with the carpenter's nail the Sixers were about to drive through Boston's heart. For when Caldwell Jones missed a jump shot with 16 seconds left, Maurice Cheeks somehow pulled down the rebound in a forest of white jerseys and brought the ball back out. Bobby Jones rewarded his little teammate's hustle with a corner jumper with one second left to send the Sixers into the locker room leading by a 58-52 score.

The next big sequence occurred in the third period. A beautiful Bird pass to Ford for a layup had pulled Boston within five, 70-65, at the 4:54 mark. Cowens then blocked a Dawkins shot, but the arrogant, omniscient Earl Strom, who had been attempting to control the game like some sort of Third World power from the start, called a foul on Cowens from his vantage point, 10 feet from midcourt and approximately 30 feet from the play. Dawkins sank both shots.

Cowens swung in for a hook. The shot missed, and there appeared to be contact. No call. Dawkins countered with a 15-foot baseline turnaround, and the Celtics called for a timeout. Cowens yelled one brief remark at Strom, who immediately hit him with a technical. Steve Mix (who may be the most productive short-term player in captivity) made the shot to give Philly a 75-65 lead. The Celtics would cut the lead below double figures only twice again, and the last such incursion was at 79-71 with 1:53 left in the third quarter. The final 14 minutes, in fact, were a pleasure cruise for the Sixers.

The 76ers won this game without much tangible help from their spiritual leader, the renowned Julius Erving. The Doctor never asserted himself in this one, but he didn't have to, not with the standout efforts being submitted by Lionel Hollins (24 points, 7 assists and positively brilliant defense), Bobby Jones (19 points in 18 minutes, including 6-for-6 first-half shooting) and Caldwell Jones, who was doing the defensive job on Bird. Dawkins also came through when most needed, scoring 11 points in the crucial third quarter.

There were two ties and 12 lead changes in the first 9:15, but the game slowly tilted toward the visitors during a seven-minute stretch of the second period, during which time the Sixers went from a 32-31 lead to a 54-44 advantage. The Sixers reached a defensive peak after the Celtics had scored twice to reduce a one-time 10-point deficit to six at 48-42.

Philly harassed the Celtics into three consecutive bad passes for turnovers, scoring on the first and third steals. It may have been as bad as the Celtics looked offensively all year. Bird's problems were only partly the result of the defense of Messrs. Jones and Jones. He also missed layups and open jumper that had nothing to do with defense. That was in addition to the shots he was scared out of, or the up-and-down violation.

Caldwell forced him into on one foul-line jumper. Cowens played his best offensive game of the series, but with Bird firing blanks, the Celtics still needed more. Fitch tried Pete Maravich, but it wasn't The Pistol's day (2 for 8). Perhaps the best Boston offense was generated by the quintet of Cowens, Bird, Cedric Maxwell, Tiny Archibald and Gerald Henderson, who created that second-quarter minus-two situation, but they were not seen together in the second half.

And so the most surprising, enervating season in Celtic history is over. The Great Overachievers went as far as their dedication and unity could carry them, and that was a lot farther than anyone ever dreamed they would go back in September. What Philadelphia did was reaffirm the oldest of NBA maxims, which is that defense wins in the playoffs. The Celtics were beaten by a good team playing its best ball. Should that be so hard to accept?