James!

Jeff Green starts off the highlight reel with a move worthy of, well, you know who...

"Big Game" Jeff Green?

Brian Scalabrine has taken less time than Darko Milicic in carving out a niche for himself in his new job at TV analyst for the Boston Celtics. His commentary gives a player's perspective as to what's happening on the floor without being full of cliches or locker-room lingo. His player comparisons are either dead on or close enough to provoke further thought.

Case in point:

Comparing Jeff Green to James Worthy.

AINGE SHOOTS SELF INTO CELTICS' PLANS

1984 NBA Finals

GAME 2

Larry v. Magic: Game-by-Game Summary

Larry v. Magic: Game-by-Game Media Coverage

Over? Hardly.

Boston guard Danny Ainge says the NBA Championship Series has only just begun as it heads into tomorrow afternoon's nationally televised Game 3 (Channel 10, 3:30) at the Forum.

Ainge certainly showed signs of coming back to life Thursday night, scoring 12 points and contributing five assists as the Celtics tied the best-of-seven series at one game apiece with a 124-121 overtime victory at the Boston Garden.

Ainge became an important factor in Boston's most recent success story, shooting 6-for-10 from the field and giving the Celtics perimeter firepower against a team that was whistled down for three zone violations in the first half.

''I kind of felt this was going to be a good night for me,'' Ainge said after the game. ''But you have that kind of feeling lots of nights and nothing happens.

''The Lakers have been giving us the outside shot in this series and I don't think they're going to change their game plan at this point. I guess that's why Scott Wedman and I got more time than usual.''

Ainge played 25 minutes. Wedman, a 6-7 shooting forward, played 18 minutes and was on the floor long enough to sink the Lakers with a 15-foot baseline jumper that was the deciding field goal in overtime.

Both players basked under an unfamiliar spotlight. Wedman, a one-time all-star with the Kansas City Kings, was acquired by the Celtics from Cleveland last January. He is making more than $800,000, but had not been worth anything close to that amount this season, playing in just one of three previous playoff games. Ainge is a highly publicized All-America guard from Brigham Young University who played a year of baseball with the Toronto Blue Jays before switching pro sports in 1982. He had been mediocre at best with Boston, losing his starting job this year after the Celtics acquired defensive whiz Dennis Johnson from the Phoenix Suns.

Ainge's biggest contribution to the Celtics' success before Game 2 against LA was the forearm blow he delivered to Darrell Walker in the Knicks' series.

Ainge was trying to stop Walker, a 6-4 rookie guard, from driving to the basket. Instead, he nearly started World War III, setting off a bench-clearing brawl at the Boston Garden. For that blow, Ainge was tagged with the unglamorous nickname, ''Danny Mainge,'' by the New York media.

''In the last few games I was just going to give DJ (Johnson) a rest,'' Ainge said. ''I didn't take any shots. I wasn't really in long enough to take any shots. I think what hapened to us in our previous few series was not good for us.

''Sunday's game woke us up to the fact that we should be running. And, of course, when we are running, it's to my advantage. When we're playing a halfcourt game, the ball is designed to go to our inside guys. I'm allowed to shoot off the break. If the shot is there, I'm going to take it.''

On the surface, Ainge looks too slow to play effectively in this series. But all six of his field goals came off fastbreaks, a good sign for ardent Celtics' fans. Ainge had four field goals when Boston built a 24-20 lead to 35-22 late in the first quarter. He had two more in the third period before retiring to the bench for the night when Jones started searching to find players with more size and quickness to cover Lakers guards Magic Johnson, Michael Cooper and Byron Scott.

''I always feel I can shoot,'' Ainge said. ''I hit my first couple and I was able to stay in there a little longer. He (Jones) didn't feel he had to go to anybody else.'

1984 NBA Finals: Celtics Bit Players Stop Showtime

1984 NBA Finals

GAME 2

Larry v. Magic: Game-by-Game Summary

Larry v. Magic: Game-by-Game Media Coverage

The bit players emerged from the shadows at Boston Garden and stopped the National Basketball Association's premier show.

That's one of the things that will be remembered about Game 2 of the championship series - a drama-drenched overtime game in which the Boston Celtics, teetering on the precipice, fought back for a 124-121 victory over the error-prone Los Angeles Lakers, thereby gaining a 1-1 split going into tomorrow afternoon's game on L.A.'s home court.

Suddenly, the title series that was simplistically labeled as a contest between the Lakers' Magic Johnson and the Celtics' Larry Bird has taken on a new dimension.

Johnson, dribbling away almost all of the last 13 seconds of regulation time before setting up a shot by Bob McAdoo that failed to beat the buzzer, turns out to be a human being, after all.

Bird, shooting only 8 for 22 from the floor, turns out to be human, too.

The nature of this beast has changed drastically, not only because of the failings of Bird and Johnson, but because of the rise of guys like Scott Wedman. And Gerald Henderson. And Danny Ainge.

So going into Game 3, it might be well to forget Bird for a while if you can. And forget some of the other more prominent Celtics - Kevin McHale, Dennis Johnson, Cedric Maxwell.

Instead, look to the shadows, from where the real heroes of Game 2 came, and consider the possibility that this entire best-of-seven show could come down to plays made by people like the rarely used Wedman, whose 14-foot jump shot with 14 seconds left in overtime gave Boston the game, or Henderson, whose steal and layup at the end of regulation and three-point play in overtime helped doom the Lakers.

Or it might come down to another defensive play by Robert Parish, whose relative invisibility in Game 1 had prompted one Boston newspaper to ask sarcastically: "Is Parish Burning?"

Apparently he is not, as he demonstrated in the final seconds of overtime Thursday, when he stripped McAdoo of the ball to preserve Boston's victory.

Or what about Ainge, who hit his shots in clusters and who almost single handedly kept the Celtics from folding in the face of the onrushing Lakers in the fourth period?

L.A. coach Pat Riley, for one, is convinced that that was no mirage out there on the parquet floor.

Before his team's flight here yesterday, he was asked about Wedman.

"I've always respected Scott," he said. "He's a smart, veteran player. He sat most of the year, but he had the presence of mind and the attitude to give his team help when called upon. A lot of guys can't do that.

"We doubled on Bird to make him give up the ball," said Riley, discussing the play on which Wedman hit his game-winning basket. "We made the next guy (Henderson) give it up. Finally, it went to Wedman, and he buried it."

And Ainge?

For the third-year guard out of Brigham Young, this has been a difficult season. He lost his starting job under the new regime of coach K. C. Jones, saw his shot disappear and saw his playing time vanish to next to nothing.

Yet he pumped in six field goals Thursday, the first four coming in a first half in which the Celts rocketed to a pair of 13-point leads. He hit his other two field goals - the second coming on a lean-in flyer off a fast break - in the waning moments of regulation, when Boston was on the edge of defeat.

"I always feel I can shoot," Ainge said before the Celtics' practice yesterday afternoon. "I hit my first couple, so I was able to stay in there a little longer. He (Jones) didn't feel he had to go to anybody else."

And Parish?

After his dismal Game 1, he not only made the game-clinching steal, he shot 9 for 14 from the floor.

1984 NBA Finals: Ainge Decides to Crash the Party

1984 NBA Finals

GAME 2

Larry v. Magic: Game-by-Game Summary

Larry v. Magic: Game-by-Game Media Coverage

A Wall Street type thinker might not consider either Danny Ainge or Scott Wedman prudent long-term investments, but for at least one playoff game the Celtics were able to forget about how much more they have always expected from either of these two oft-frustrated athletes.

The fact is that without their contributions last night the Celtics could not have defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, by any score. There has been perpetual yelping during the last several years over the Celtics' desperate need for some outside shooting to balance their famed inside game. In this vital 124-121 overtime triumph over LA, Messrs. Ainge and Wedman provided that marksmanship.

Ainge bunched his six field goals in two key Celtic runs, the first four coming in the first half and the other two at the end of the third period, after the Lakers had taken their first lead of the night. Most were in transitions, beautiful stop-and-poppers that passed softly through the net. It was the Danny Ainge of the UCLA massacre, as well as the Danny Ainge for whom the Celtics went to trial with the Toronto Blue Jays, the Danny Ainge in whom they have invested a lot of money.

Wedman, whose year-and-a-half Celtic tenure has been extremely unsatisfying for all parties, added five field goals, including the biggest of the game, a 13-footer from the left baseline with 14 seconds remaining in OT that merely gave Boston the victory.

Wedman was one half of an offense-defense shuttle with Cedric Maxwell at the time, and when he received the ball he didn't hesitate. "We had played great defense," said LA coach Pat Riley. "We had doubled on (Larry) Bird to make him give up the ball. We made the next guy (Gerald Henderson) give it up. Finally it went to Wedman, and he buried it.

"I've always respected Scott," Riley continued. "He's a smart veteran player. He sat most of the year, but he had the presence of mind and the attitude to give his team help when caled upon. A lot of guys can't do that."

It was the precise sort of contribution envisioned when the Celtics acquired Wedman from the Cavaliers a year ago January. It's not as if Wedman, a one-time All-Star, was some sort of NBA secret weapon.

"We wondered what the Celtics were doing at the time," said Jamaal Wilkes. "Bird hadn't yet signed his new deal, so possibly they wanted Scott as some kind of insurance. That's pretty heavy insurance."

This is true. Wedman was making over $800,000 when he came here, and that's serious money (even if a lot of it is being paid by the other team) for a man who can't scare up too many minutes of playing time on a team with Bird, Maxwell and Kevin McHale at the forward slot.

As for Ainge, this has not exactly been the Year of the (Ex)-Cougar, either. It was assumed in some circles that Ainge would benefit greatly by the Celtics' coaching change, but instead he lost his starting job - however ceremonial it was - and played no larger role under K.C. Jones than he had under Bill Fitch. His playoff function has been that of a subordinate who gives regulars a quick blow.

But when he entered the game last night he was ready. He connected on his first three shots as the Celtics were expanding their lead to as many as 13 (33-20, 35-22), as he stayed on the floor long enough to stick in another second-period jumper. It was a scene reminiscent of the famous Milwaukee Game 2 of a year ago when he went insane during the first half.

It's obvious Ainge feels his big problem is simply playing time. "I always feel I can shoot," he said with a shrug. "Tonight I hit my first couple so I was able to stay in there a little longer. He (K.C.) didn't feel he had to go to anybody else."

Of course, every player who has ever lived feels his only need is some more "PT." And there are always people moaning about Wedman's lack of playing time.

"Yes," said Riley, "they found something to do with him at a very appropriate time, didn't they?"

1984 NBA Finals: Wedman Saves Celtics from Date with Finals Futility

1984 NBA Finals

GAME 2

Larry v. Magic: Game-by-Game Summary

Larry v. Magic: Game-by-Game Media Coverage

Just when the Boston Celtics were on the verge of making NBA history -- for futility -- reserve forward Scott Wedman came to the rescue Thursday night.

Wedman hit a 12-foot baseline jumper with 14 seconds left in overtime to lift the Celtics to a 124-121 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, tying the NBA championship series at 1-1.

Boston narrowly avoided becoming the first team in the 37-year history of the NBA finals to lose the first two games at home. Games 3 and 4 of the best-of-seven series will be played Sunday and Wednesday at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif.

Wedman, who doubled his regular-season average with 10 points, gave the Celtics a 122-121 lead with his clutch basket.

"It was a double-pick with Larry Bird on one side and myself on the other," Wedman said. "I was open for the shot and it felt good when I let it go."

The Lakers were unable to get off a final shot, turning the ball over twice in the closing seconds, the last time when Boston center Robert Parish slapped the ball away from Bob McAdoo with six seconds left.

Bird, who finished with 27 points, added two free throws with two seconds remaining for the final margin.

Boston guard Gerald Henderson had forced the overtime session when he stole a James Worthy pass with 13 seconds left in regulation and drove in for an uncontested layup to tie the score at 113.

"Anytime you're in that situation, you have to go for the steal," Henderson said. "We had to have that steal. We had to have something at that point, and Worthy just lofted the ball."

Los Angeles took the ball out at midcourt after a timeout, but Magic Johnson dribbled away the last nine seconds without getting off a shot.

Johnson scored four of the Lakers' first five points in overtime to give Los Angeles a 118-115 lead. Henderson then took a lead pass from Bird and converted a three-point play to tie the score with 2:15 left.

After the teams exchanged baskets, McAdoo hit a 12-foot jumper with 1:25 remaining to give the Lakers their last lead, 121-120.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar missed a sky hook with 26 seconds left that would have given the Lakers a three-point lead, and Wedman followed with his game-winning shot.

Worthy paced the Lakers with 29 points and Johnson added 27.

Celtics' Coach K.C. Jones was relieved to get out of Boston with a split.

"We got ourselves in trouble, we let our momentum slide, but we had heroic efforts from different people," Jones said. "That's what 'team' is all about."

Unlike the first game, the Celtics broke quickly from the gate. They jumped to a 7-0 lead, reversing the early minutes of Game 1, when Los Angeles took a 22-7 lead en route to a 115-109 victory.

Johnson, who had 14 of Los Angeles' 26 first-quarter points, hit four consecutive long jumpers to cut Boston's lead to 13-10. But Danny Ainge, who had played only two minutes Sunday without scoring, came off the bench to hit three long jumpers in an 11-2 stretch that gave the Celtics a 33-20 lead.

Boston maintained a comfortable advantage for most of the half, using a 17-4 edge in free-throw attempts build a 57-44 lead with 4:32 remaining.

The Lakers finally got their fast break working at that point. Worthy had nine points and Jamaal Wilkes six during a 15-4 run that cut their deficit to 61-59 at halftime. Worthy made four layups and Wilkes hit two corner jumpers during the spurt.

Worthy had 11 points in the third quarter, when Los Angeles shot 68 percent. The Lakers took their first lead of the game when Jabbar, who had 20 points, hit a pair of sky hooks to finish a 7-0 spurt that put Los Angeles ahead, 66-65, with 9:26 left in the period.

Late in the fourth quarter, Abdul-Jabbar completed a three-point play to score his 4,000th career playoff point.

Parish hit a long baseline jumper to give Boston a 101-97 lead, and the teams swapped baskets until Bird hit three of four free throws with 1:30 left to give the Celtics a 111-108 advantage.

Worthy tied the score on a driving three-point play and Johnson added two foul shots with 35 seconds remaining to give the Lakers a 113-111 advantage. After a Henderson jumper fell short, Kevin McHale was fouled by McAdoo on an offensive rebound with 20 seconds left.

McHale missed both free-throw attempts, setting the stage for Henderson's steal of Worthy's looping cross-court pass.

The Celtics' victory marked the ninth consecutive time in NBA history that a home team lost the opening game of a championship series and followed with a victory in Game 2.

1984 NBA Finals: Riley Starts James Worthy at the Two-Guard

1984 NBA Finals

GAME 1

Larry v. Magic: Game-by-Game Summary

Larry v. Magic: Game-by-Game Media Coverage

In an effort to counter the Celtics' huge front line, the Lakers' Pat Riley countered with a backcourt of Magic Johnson and the 6-9 James Worthy against the Celtics' starting backcourt of Gerald Henderson, 6-2, and Dennis Johnson, 6-4.

Surprise in Johnson's Eyes

"I would have to say that threw them off a little," Michael Cooper said. "I saw the surprise in D. J.'s eyes when he saw James on him."

K. C. Jones, the Celtic coach, has to find a way when the series resume in Boston on Thursday night of preventing the Lakers from dictating the defensive alignments the way they did Sunday.

Worthy, normally the reserve small forward, did not learn until Saturday night at a team meeting that he would be making his second straight playoff start.

"I'm goal-oriented and I've learned to let destiny takes its course," said Worthy, who scored 20 points in the Lakers' 115-109 victory. "I got a little taste of playing defensively in the backcourt in the Kansas City and Dallas playoff series against Eddie Johnson and Rolando Blackman. I was there to help out defensively. I can see how Magic and I can present some matchup problems for other teams."

There is no mold that fits the 23- year-old Worthy, who left the University of North Carolina after his junior year to become the first pick in the 1982 draft and sign a seven-year contract with the Lakers worth a reported $3.5 million.

Size, Speed and Ability

At 219 pounds, he has the size of a power forward, the speed of a small forward on the fast break and the sledge-hammer dunking ability of a center.

Probably one of Worthy's biggest assets is his strength. Once he gets position, he has an array of quick moves, both right- and left-handed.

"There are so many ways James helps out and can hurt opposing teams," said Jamaal Wilkes, the Laker forward. "The combination of his speed and quickness makes him virtually impossible to stop when he goes one-on-one. He gets inside like a power forward, moves like a small forward and can handle the ball as though he was a third guard. He's going to be a force in this league. You can tell by the way opposing teams are starting to double-team him as often as they do Kareem Abdul-Jabbar." While Worthy said after the Sunday game that "the only statistic I'm interested in is winning as many championships as I can," in the Celtic dressing room, Dennis Johnson said, "we're going to have to find a way to cope with their matchups."