PARISH SPARKS CELTICS' ROMP
It was the Rolling Stones vs. Menudo; the Supreme Court vs. a bunch of third-year law students. You've got to go with the graybeards, especially on Veterans Day.
In a match pitting the NBA's oldest team against the league's most inexperienced unit, the Celtics defeated the Indiana Pacers, 132-115, at Market Square Arena last night before a crowd of 13,876. Boston's time-tested soldiers blew it open early, let the youngsters climb back, then pulled away down the stretch. It was tied three times, but the Celtics never trailed.
In yet another triumphant return to his Hoosier hoop holy land, Larry Bird led Boston with 29 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals. Bird, who is to Indiana what Elvis Presley was to Memphis, hit his first six shots and scored 13 points in the first six minutes (a 104-point pace) before cooling off.
Indiana Bird was never without help. Dennis Johnson pumped in 24, Robert Parish (8 of 10, 18 points) got hot after halftime, and Danny Ainge (nine assists) scored 10 of his 18 in the fourth when the Pacers finally wilted.
Indiana's roster contains five rookies and a total of 14 years of NBA experience. George Irvine, the Pacers' 36-year-old rookie coach, said, "Our guys need to learn the league. We have to learn about each other. It takes some time. Tonight we didn't come out aggressively. Some of our players could be in awe the first time they play against Larry Bird."
Rookie forward Tony Brown certainly seemed awed in the first quarter. Brown's previous pro experience was with the Ohio Mixers of the Continental Basketball Assn. He survived a Walter Mitty free agent camp this summer and won a starting spot when Clark Kellogg injured his knee. Brown was assigned to Bird in the first quarter last night and watched almost helplessly as Bird pumped in six straight, including a three-pointer.
The Celtics led, 22-16, when Bird finally missed, but a bushel of Pacer turnovers enabled them to push their lead to 16 (37-21) before the quarter ended.
Led by rookie guard Vern Fleming (11 in the period), the Pacers opened the second quarter with a 17-5 burst and closed the gap to 42-40. The Celtics lost all direction on offense and stood still while Indiana scored 40 points in 12 minutes.
Celtic coach K.C. Jones noted, "We were reveling in how well we were doing and played a lousy second quarter."
Herb Williams (20 points) and Kellogg (10 rebounds) kept the pressure on in the third period and Indiana tied it for the third time at 69-69 on a Williams hook shot. Then Parish and Cedric Maxwell (16 points, seven assists) led an 11-0 charge and it was lights out for the home team. The Pacers (now 1-7) were on their way to a fifth consecutive defeat.
"We were just going through the motions for a couple of minutes and that gave them a lot of confidence," said Parish, who scored eight in the third. "But we've been together for four or five years and down the stretch we have a lot of confidence. We don't look to any one guy and that makes it tough for the other team."
"We're a little more experienced," added Maxwell. "We know what to do under the pressure situations. They were more or less playing on emotion, but experience takes over and generally wins."
Boston led by 11 after three and opened a 20-point lead (130-110) in the final period. The Celtics canned 13 of 22 shots (59 percent) in the fourth quarter, and Ainge was on target every time the Pacers threatened.
"It's not that I just decided to start taking shots," said Ainge. "They just started doubling up and guys started to find me open. Fortunately, I was able to hit the shots."
The victory raised the Celtics' record to 6-1 and lifted them back into sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division. They face the Knicks tomorrow night in Boston Garden.
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