1985-1986 Boston Celtics - "Sweet-Sixteen"

boston the cradle of american independence yet a springtime tour of the freedom trail succumbs to a more patriotic city ritual again everybody this is johnny most i am off courtside here at the boston garden where the boston celtics and the houston rockets get ready for basketball battle in game number one of the world series of basketball the nba finals and i want to tell you both of these ball clubs at least talk ready two teams competed for basketball's greatest reward one sought its first crown while the other already possessed 15. another would be a confirmation of its greatness a glorious sweet 16. experience the building block of all champions yet the 85-86 season saw experience challenged by the vibrancy of youth like with xavier mcdaniel seattle's unanimous all-rookie forward the bench was no place for muscular charles oakley who stepped into the paint at 6 8 and made the inside game a bull market power of basketball came special delivery to utah as carl the mailman malone ran over all obstacles malone's fearsome bulb contrasted with washington's seven foot seven inch minute bowl bowl reshaped the nba skyline and became pro basketball's greatest calculated gamble there was no risk when it came to top pick patrick ewing the knicks center lived up to his lofty reputation and surprised nearly everyone with a diversified and mature offensive game ewing enlightened new york with his rookie of the year performance however his season was cut short by agonizing ailments as he shared a stark vision of the year's most compelling story the career threatening injury an athlete's darkest moment the pain is often excruciating the body is sent into shock and the mind is tormented by the uncertainty of the future severe injuries have always been an accepted consequence of pro basketball but never before had it claimed so many big names if you look at the basketball players of today most of them can run and jump as fast or faster than any football players and you get that type of mass going against each other you know something has to give some time after years of productivity many players suffer extreme depression as a career of good health is thrust into a state of helplessness at first i really couldn't deal with it because i wanted to get out and play so badly so i kind of stayed away from the team and watched them a little bit on television and finally i got into a situation where i could deal with it and i could come back and watch and cheer on from the bench and you know somewhat control myself from not wanting to play so much keep going who's now the enemy of fallen players hoping to atone for an instant of misfortune the road to recovery traveled a weary path called rehabilitation after a 64-game absence chicago's michael jordan hastened his return to play doubters were astonished by his opening round playoff performance against the celtics in game two jordan bewildered boston to break elgin baylor's single game scoring record michael on the drive across the lane turn around shot got it 63 for jordan a new nba record has been set in the boston garden for three games jordan humbled his competition but the same couldn't be said of his teammates as boston swept chicago by sidestepping jordan's heroics the celtics seem primed but bigger challenges lay ahead in atlanta was an upstart team led by a budding superstar dominique wilkins the mvp runner-up and scoring champ soared above the competition with unparalleled majesty i haven't quite had the sensation that he's had of getting up above the room as high as he does okay i missed it by a little bit but i would imagine that if you can do that that it's something else being up there and that might get me excited okay if i was up there excitement certainly wasn't lacking with the nba's coach of the year the frenetic fratello directed his young squad to the league's biggest turnaround and perhaps an nba record in enthusiasm one of the secrets was an eyeball to eyeball trust in 5-7 spud web basketball's most captivating new addition spud took on all comers with his unequal blend of quickness and leaping ability he was the perfect point guard for fratello's push it up philosophy and on the move spud was simply uncatchable behind spud atlanta beat detroit and look to continue their razzle dazzle against boston but a stifling celtic defense surrendered just one game and finished the series with a devastating 33-point route i thought they performed great for team i really did i wish that disappointed in our performance because i love this team they played hard gave whatever they had we were just a little bit short tonight atlanta's setting sun radiated confidence in boston the playoffs were an apparent breeze and smooth sailing continued in the eastern finals with two wins over the milwaukee bucks by game three the boston celtics were impressive winners in nine of ten playoff contests would milwaukee be the place for a letdown clearly the answer was no the celtics thrashed the bucks in waves inundating them with their brilliant team passing boston played with blackboard perfection and forced milwaukee to call on the injured sydney moncrie heroically mon creep pioneered a buck's rally to pull them even at 90 all but moncrief's effort was mirrored by boston's own miracle worker larry bird despite double coverage bird outwitted milwaukee for the remainder of game three then slammed the door in the final quarter of game four with four three-pointers by sweeping milwaukee boston's title drive seemed as relentless as a runaway freight train winning became an obsession a tribute to head coach k.c jones kc embodied the famed celtic dynasty with eight nba titles as a boston guard today he breathes that same inspiration to his players winning is is a real motivator you come back out and then you squint your eyes and you get that killer look in your on your face because this is a game you love and you hate losing and you love winning and you want no one coming in and beating you because it's a it's a terrible feeling if they do in his first year as coach k.c brought boston a title and good vibrations my friends head coach you know it was really crazy and it was fun because i never ever felt that i had had anything to say that i couldn't say to casey my favorite thing about casey is the person the man off the court a very unique guy on the eve of the nba finals kc was resonant with the sound of success in the west the question wasn't who but when when would the los angeles lakers eliminate the competition and defend their title after a record drugging of san antonio the lakers took on the dallas mavericks a rising team whiplashed by la's peak playoff form with a deep lineup and eons of experience the lakers were too much for the mavericks who left the forum with two agonizing losses motoring back to dallas for game three the mavericks adopted la's speedway offense a tactic that can offer more sins than blessings yet dallas remained close enough to force a decisive game-ending play aguirre drives misses it ball is free on the floor harper for three he got it he got it with three seconds to go derek harper has done it again suddenly an errant pass and a desperation shot had altered the series complexion sparked by a win and boisterous hometown support the mavs looked to tie the series their charge was led by captain mark aguirre the undersized forward replaced the fast break pace with darty moves playing the best ball of his five-year career aguirre became the series dominant player and put the pressure on la in game four now it was the lakers turn to win on the final play there it is it'll be skyhook time for the baseline not there two climactic plays rescued the mavs from elimination and squared the series it to all such dramatics were absent in los angeles as the mavericks returned to dallas trailing three games to two they yearned for two more sensational endings but the lakers wrote them out of the script by game six la's balanced attack had taken its toll on dallas as they wearily tried to keep pace laker leeds refused to crumble as magic johnson closed out the series but victory seemed more like escape as the lakers endured a nasty struggle on route to their fifth consecutive western finals in la calmer waters appeared to be ahead the lakers confidently prepared for the houston rockets a team of the future with a troubled history 17 of their last 20 meetings belonged to the lakers and game one offered few surprises the rockets fell to a spry 39 year old kareem abdul-jabbar they were also victimized by la's fast break arguably the most efficient in history the lakers won convincingly and were in high gear to be the first team in 17 years to repeat his champion one had to question the houston rockets staying power no doubt about it they're the world champs and they were the better ball club today if if we don't play better this thing will be over in a hurry in game two fitch's worst fears were coming true as magic johnson fine-tuned his show-stopping act again the ebb and flow was controlled by the lakers aggravating the pooling anger within akimolajawan unmercifully the seven foot center vented an overwhelming display of talent on every rebound on every fast break there was no escape from joakim's menacing spectre it was a tidal force that swallowed the lakers hole as the forum drowned in a series-tying outcome one man in just his second pro season brought l.a to its knees this was second nature to the nba's most intriguing phenomenon kim is uh it's not enough words in a language to describe what he can do hakeem elijah one is singularly the the most incredible athlete i've ever witnessed read about and seen in person akeem's great talents have afforded him a life of luxury but unlike other nba players his profession came by chance akeem emigrated from lagos nigeria to become a student at the university of houston unexpectedly he led the cougars to the final four three straight years and when i was coming to university i wasn't coming directly to play past me because you know i came here to go to school you know so i bought a round trip ticket just to come here and visit if i like it then i would stay if i don't i would go back home at 16 years of age akeem had never touched a basketball but his superb athletic skills encourage special training at houston's fondy rec center my first year you know in college i didn't play and i was just trying to land the game behind the system so they told me moses malone plays at this graduation center every summer so this summer we're going to take you there and play against them and by playing against moses you can't everybody get better that's what happened you pick up all my moves and stuff um know how to be strong onto the whole and he picked pick up the desire uh to be the best in the world uh he's showing that right now akeem is already today's best young center and his true potential may be years away america has been a charming fairy tale for a man of impeccable charm i just couldn't believe what has happened between the last six years to me i mean it was unbelievable sometimes just seems like a dream which i can't even believe is coming true in houston the biggest dream of all has been akim himself who spearheaded the drive to oust the lakers game three in the summit saw houston grab a 2-1 lead as akeem bolstered his 31 point series average teammate support also revealed a lackluster la defense by game four the high-flying lakers were caught in a mid-air stall we're not attacking we're all out of sync we're all out of position because we're not thinking we're not thinking at all we're just going through the motions up and down the court not playing guys i mean stay tough q103 that's what it's about explosively the lakers returned to form taking advantage of their superior quickness they surged ahead for several second-half leads but houston held fast as la's cushion dwindled they looked to kareem for stability but the eager rockets responded by frustrating his every move once more the lakers were ambushed in texas it's over the houston rockets have won both games at the summit returning home the laker coaching staff scrambled for solutions their players tried to slumber off the effects of akim the dream and an impending nightmare however the lakers refused to quit in game five their play continued to dazzle and convinced many of an extended series yet they could not shake off the tenacious rockets and their final quarter run a fourth straight rockets win looked promising until akeem was ejected for fighting this act sparked a laker resurgence by a determined magic johnson when one second remained in regulation the lakers planned on an overtime with avakin but ralph sampson was hopped down the stretch and dropped the curtain on showtime one second on the clock samson a miraculous shot by ralph sampson off-balance has given the houston rockets the western conference championship and a trip to boston for the nba world title dramatically youth defeated experience but bill fitch knew of the great task that awaited in the boston garden it's a great place to visit but it's not a great place to go and play basketball they don't take any prisoners over there after a five-year absence the rockets re-emerged in the nba finals once more a championship path would lead them to the revered boston garden the garden reeks of tradition and you go in there and i think not only not only psychs up the fans and the celtics but i think it also kind of makes the other players a little leery of where they're playing and they not only have to beat the celtics they have to in a way beat the garden jinx the boston garden is boston celtic basketball that's it you don't get better than that i mean where else can you go in the nba and find anything like the boston garden nowhere do not build a new garden if you're going to build a new garden just renovate this one this is why we've got more flags than any other city in the country the boston garden is a curious mix void of modern conveniences but equipped with a brash personality ladies and gentlemen this is johnny most high above court system the lakers are not here magic is not here akeem is and he will do nothing the garden is also humbling as it weeps basketball's most cherished memories you know i love that place and i look at the banners each and every time each and every game and look at the retired numbers and look around and see red hour back sitting over there seeing all the other fans who've been there throughout the entire string of celtic championships and to realize that now i'm a part of that and all you know although we haven't won the championship yet you know we think we're going to by game time the gardens aging frame comes alive with the throbbing pulse of its fans their appetite is the nba finals wedded by the prospect of another title the series began predictably the rockets struggled with first game jitters and directed play to their tallest strength it was also no surprise that the celtic strategy was to do the same and attack houston's big man robert iso iso iso by using a double low post boston muscled the ball inside this grinding process paid off just five minutes into game one as ralph sampson picked up three quick fouls for the rest of the half samson would watch from the sidelines his absence erased houston's decided height advantage as well as team stability the rockets pressed to pick up the temple hoping to catch boston off guard instead it would be the rockets who were upended their quickened pace played into the hands of the celtics who thrived on critical matchups and houston's overplayed defense the celtics were in top form and showed no ill effects from an eight-day layoff almost effortlessly boston opened a comfortable second quarter lead 11 of boston's 15 championships began with opening game victories and houston looked like another victim until akeem took command the houston center proved too mobile too quick for boston defenders his powerful drives earned him the respect and room to unleash his tantalizing jump shot behind our keem's 25 points houston cut the celtics margin to just a basket by halftime and followed through in the third quarter akeem grew stronger and forged houston into the lead the celtics only recourse was to attack akim's lone weakness about two shot quiet 34 in the red on a push hakeem was charged with his fourth he remained in the game but seconds later he'd earn a fifth now a different rocket would sit on the bench and celtic fans were salivated the call went out to the most notorious band of desperados in the nba the celtic defense the celtics assumed every risk using an assortment of traps denying passing lanes intimidating shots soon forcing houston to make their own mistakes by the fourth quarter boston amassed a 15-point lead and they were determined not to ease up bill fitch's men were stumbling and danny ainge put them on the ropes ainge was a near role player when fitch coached in boston but today he stands as a celtic leader ainge recorded a superb second half and fittingly he would put houston down for the count boston's 112 100 victory demoralized the rockets and rewarded the celtics with some personal pride i feel that i didn't play very well when bill fitch was around and i feel that he didn't think i was a very good player at certain times and i want to prove to him that i can play well the thing about danny ainge he matured as basketball last year in the playoffs he was a good player but he wasn't really a type of player we could depend on him every game he was never one on a consistent basis like he was this year or last year in the playoffs we're not afraid to give the ball to danny ainge in any circumstances anymore i think when i first came here an attitude that i had was it was almost i felt guilty shooting the ball being surrounded by all those all-stars and that type of attitude i think that since then i've adjusted to take that to my advantage i'm playing with these all-stars i can afford to take a couple bad shots and they're going to still cover me ainge became a celtic after a brief baseball career now five years later he finally feels at home in boston hi ash how you doing where am i supposed to pick all you guys up or what hey tanner we've got a lot of friends who are from the west that have moved out here you get a lot of relocation so that's nice but i think what helps us like new england the best is that danny's a celtic i mean when you're a celtic you pretty much have it made boston recognized age as a firebrand but his combative style prompted the visiting press to write some unflattering copy i get really mad i've said danny i'm calling that guy up and telling him that he can't be saying those kind of things and danny begs me not to i think sometimes things that are said on tv um it bothers michelle because she knows me and she knows that i'm not ever going to go out and start a fight with anybody but on the other hand she knows that if somebody got me i'm not gonna i'm not gonna just back away either i think it has more to do with my style of play um people misinterpret as being dirty and cheap i i just think i play hard you know i i feel that my teammates and my coaches appreciate me and uh my opponents don't appreciate me and that's okay i mean that's the way i want it i don't want i don't want the players i'm playing against like to play against me isn't jerry's and i see indifference to the opposition has promoted boston's winning ways an intensity rooted in the celtic training room let the playoffs go on ray's tape jobs get tighter and tighter the last game your foot is like a state but you're really ready to play because it hurts so much you want to kill people so that's really the secret particularly me that's really the key that seldom is playing very aggressive is that your feet hurt so bad from ray my last game was ray so fired up that was one of the reasons i collared kurt rambis my foot hurt so bad i couldn't help it i'm just kidding babe intensity also underscored houston's game preparations rockets like samson and elijah one sought retribution for college careers without a title i went to final four three years in a row i didn't win it i rapped played four years in college you didn't win it so we both wanted it so bad so we have to do whatever it takes for us to get it game two posed a strong test to the rocket's resolve after a season of growth they were in need of finding themselves in the finals larry bird was adding to the identity crisis one rocket missing in action had been ralph sampson who began to show signs of his all-star talents that burning emotion intensity was fueled by samson who gave boston their first taste of a twin tower offense the rockets began to accelerate then got a little pedal-headed rocket mistakes led to a streak of frustration each passing error bred impatience houston was letting the game slip away all they needed was a little composure but against the celtics these transgressions can prove to be fatal by the third quarter houston's high expectations had gone flat houston's ragged execution poor little resemblance to boston's precision attack their assault was anchored by an array of brilliant passing boston systematically found the open man and staged a poetic tribute to teamwork in the middle of it all was larry bird who tallied 31 points and several extraordinary assists in one half bird and company gave the young rockets a lifetime of experience houston's attempt to tie the series was a complete washout title hopes depended on a win in the boston garden but instead houston became boston's 40th consecutive home court victim i really have some compassion for our ball club because i know they want to look better i know they can play better and it's embarrassing to be in a championship series and have one team dominate you the way boston dominated tonight celtic domination was attributed to larry bird who virtually will the game in boston's favor we got beat a number of times in the first two games after we had the home court advantage and that just keeps on coming back in your mind so game two was very important when i stepped on the court that night there's no question in my mind that if we lose that basketball game is going because i lost it i was going to take every shot that meant something i was going to try to make every pass and i was going to try to make every steal larry kind of leads us and it's a lot easier to play like that because you know he kind of sets the tone and um it's similar to like you know a flock of geese you know if you have one leader the rest of the keys kind of follow in and larry bird is really our leader larry he holds down a lot of his talent to benefit the team a lot too and but if you ever see him on that night when he just feels like come to shooting it sometimes he gets in the fourth quarter and three or four minutes ago and everybody will come and say okay larry it's time to take over you know that's the greatest feel in the world here you're playing with uh some of the best players in the game and here they come to you and say okay it's time to take over take over the game and uh that's a heck of a feeling knowing what to do before everybody else knows what to do and that's the type of speed he has and that's what makes him the fastest player in the league there's something within me that just says hey you if you're going to be the best you got to work at it and i'm not afraid to work especially something i love to do after a third straight mvp season bird had his sights on another championship banner larry is a great basketball player he keeps getting better and better and when that little picture machine starts going off he's in a world of his own and uh there isn't anybody in the world it's going to stop him and uh when he gets going like that it's awesome but houston's objective was to bury bird not to praise him we're down two two zero until we can come back because we're going to play three games in houston and we're going to take it one at a time until we can beat him three straight in houston without any question houston a city perfectly suited for its hometown rockets its 150-year history bears the soul of rebellion its modern veneer suggests the winds of change to be on the leading edge has always been houston's trademark and the nba finals presented a new challenge the rockets five-year plan was two years ahead of schedule and they could win a title by beating the old guard at their own game east met west and the press prepared for basketball summit meeting game three of the nba finals and the houston rockets looked to turn the tide after two losses in the steamy boston gardens the houston rockets return a convenient audio condition to the summit to houston texas the rockets own the nba's second best popcorn record and during the playoffs they're undefeated in youtube the summit is also the site of the 1981 championship series in which the boston celtics endured two tough battles on their way to the nba title home court security served the rockets from the opening tap houston appeared stronger and smoother than they did in the boston garden houston was now looking like the western conference champions yet the rockets were still under the spell of larry bird who kept his team within three points at halftime houston's trance then deepened in the third quarter as they hypnotically threw the ball away as in games one and two the rockets suffered a third quarter jinx and committed six consecutive turnovers down by two games and trailing in a third houston's survival depended on an immediate rally accepting the challenge for samson and elijahuan alias the twin towers the most destructive tandem in the nba for the first time in the finals the twin towers were playing as a cohesive unit houston was particularly encouraged by the play of samson who used his 7-4 frame to its maximum potential with 22 rebounds and 24 points ralph sampson vindicated himself from previous criticism the craft of boston's front line tried to defuse tower power and hold on to its 11-point lead but the celtics grew cautious as passive plays initiated rocket fast breaks like samson's outlet to mitchell wiggins wiggins late fourth quarter basket helped houston grab a one-point advantage and force the celtics to spice up their own game the lead see-sawed back to the celtics now less than a minute from a possible three-game lead but like a cornered alley cat houston scratched and clawed its way into the clear houston had believed by the slimmest of margins and needed one more defensive stand the celtics spotted robert parish on a mismatch but his shot was ruled dead no infraction was called as play was stopped by an inadvertent whistle a jump ball was ruled and the tap was controlled by samson houston could now wrap things up akin could only convert on one of two free throws and boston had a five second chance to steal the game but a tenacious houston defense forced boston into a critical mistake robert parish was lured over the sideline thus ensuring the rockets their first win of the series the rockets came through when they had to as did their captain ralph sampson well you saw i think probably uh what the the world will see more of as he comes of age even as a schoolboy samson's career was expressed in the future tense 300 colleges saw samson as a building block with virginia coming out the winner he'd be a three-time player of the year and the temptation to turn pro blossomed each spring the pressure was always the same do you come out or do you stay and i would always go back and i asked my mother and father you know do you need anything or can we can we make it or you know what do you think even though we didn't have that much money i said you know we we'll manage this far and we you know we will continue to be okay and you you do what you want to do samson elected to savor a college career and graduate on time again he became a building block this time with the nba rockets now with a more demanding schedule sampson's personal retreat is back home i look forward to seeing my mom and dad and sisters anytime i can when they come visit here or when i go back home and you know it's a close net community where you know if i get back everybody knows it and i got a lot of friends there and we all get to get together and talk a little bit about the season and and whatever have you and you know my mom expects me to come back soon as the season you come when you come home you know when you when you're leaving we treat ralph as ralph not as a basketball player when he gets back to virginia he will be ralph if and even though i'm not working there if there needs to be something done in the house ralph will do it just like the girls samson may be considered tomorrow's promise but he finds contentment in today's accomplishments basketball is a fun sport and i think i've achieved a lot of things in it and i want to achieve a lot more and i'm having fun doing it and as long as i'm having fun and i'll continue to play the rockets fortunes sharply contrasted with the houston economy two-thirds of the oil wells were silent and property values were withering away these grim times found solace in rocket mania future is here the future is now we're proud of houston and uh we're proud of our rockets the people here in houston are so hungry for a winner uh that it's just contagious rockets koozies two for three bucks i got one for eight two for sixteen three twenty four how many do you need houston's hard hit dollar was well invested in their basketball team the rockets were the city's best therapy to uplift sagging hopes rocky it's crazy i mean everyone is thrilled to death that the rockets are here at the championship hoping to get it and we're right behind them you know when i go to grocery store things like that there's always people coming up to me saying good job and good luck and things like that they're really excited and they're behind us 100. looking for a series tie rocket mania thundered in game four ralph sampson's 21 first half points gave houston an advantage at intermission until their customary third quarter slide a quick celtic burst punctured rocket momentum and houston needed to stop the leak defense is a common denominator among all great great players and championship teams and if you're going to get there defense is going to do it in a sport fashion by offensive artistry defense is a discipline of exacting measure mitchell wiggins and rodney mcrae were two rockets attuned to its rigid demands they frustrated celtic rhythm with unglamorous but essential play their timely scoring also validated bill fitch's master plan wiggins and mcrae were unsung heroes willing to stand in the shadow of the twin towers now they were the pair who revitalized the rockets a game of scintillating give and tape was condensed into the fourth quarter neither team gained more than a three-point advantage as boston stood firm by its grit and composure larry bird was given the freedom to create and use his splendid court vision he often found robert parish and dennis johnson who paced the celtic story houston countered with its inside dominance restoring the chemistry that melted the champion lakers now it was being rammed down the celtics throats pressure mounted in the summit but bird and bill walton had the antidote walton re-entered a tied game with 2 39 remaining and distracted houston's bird watching defense danny and the walton walton halls and back out the bird three point a town a three-point field on the lowry bird a 101 edge made houston think in terms of three but a heads-up rodney mcrae paired the lead to a point houston threatened to tie the series the rocket's job was to allow boston just one shot opportunities and they failed only once all right dj fake starts to go go driving in lays it up no good walk the flying rebound later that what up bye bye powwow he just went in there took the ball away and put up a reverse layup time still remained for a comeback but houston panicked the rockets squandered their final four possessions putting their perfect playoff home court record to rest the 106 103 victory put boston within a game of the title the outcome was ensured by the hustle of bill walton a resurrected player and the embodiment of a winner i was teasing my saying you know i can't believe i idolized you because i bust you every day in practice i said you know i said who'd you play against back then as a cornerstone of ucla's championship dynasty bill walton is among the greatest college players ever he followed his predecessor kareem abdul-jabbar as a franchise maker and drew attention to his colorful lifestyle walton brought portland a title in 1977 and a year later was named the league's mvp i had a very successful collegiate career and a successful early pro career uh then all of a sudden things uh sort of fell apart with uh with a lot of injuries walton's prime slip by as he played just 14 games in four seasons he wallowed with the last place clippers until a call to red hour back put him back on the winning track i looked into his eyes and i saw a fierce pride and fierce determination he came in town a few days early and the first place that he stopped was at my house and that said a lot about the person you know he wanted to make sure that i didn't feel threatened make sure that he's going to be received very well walton appears as an ideal celtic grateful for another chance in the finals from being told that i would i would be lucky to even walk walk without a limp uh to be back in the nba finals i mean it's just as a tremendous accomplishment by game five life under the microscope was beginning to show its strain i think only i haven't been asked is i'm ready to go on vacation am i having a good time how much did larry bird weigh a birth how's my ribs no that's not it would you like to start tonight greg you know about uh probably my eyebrows or something conditioned to the media circus was bill fitch houston's philosophic head coach coaching is important if i didn't feel it was important i probably wouldn't like being a coach but i learned a long time ago that the players and uh what they do together and how well they perform together that's when where the ball game is going to be won you know you got a five or a two so you can go into it off the dribble and keep the guy concentrating on you so you got a chance to drive a little bit fitch started with the expansion cavaliers where his workaholic habits lifted cleveland to respectability you can learn from losing his walls from winning and there i've always said though you don't have to lose quite as often as you do with an expansion team to learn the lessons you have to learn but cleveland was was a good experience from the standpoint of building a bulk club and actually learning the ins and outs of the nba in 1979 fitch moved to boston he built the celtics current nucleus and in two seasons took them from the seller to a title you're one rebound away from letting a smile on my shirt if i ever have another player like larry bird uh then how can you be so well blessed and to have them as a friend is even a bigger blessing and to have had robert parrish and kevin mchale and their rookie years of celtics to have danny ainge come from baseball and go through what he did and watch him develop i enjoy those things i don't let it get in the way of the love and the attraction i have for my own ball club at this time but on the brink of elimination there was no place for celtic endearment especially amidst the deadly stare of boston's top assassin this is a voodoo thing is supposed to make you rich that's why the green has to do with money and they dress these things up like if they could dress this up with a good little gold hair and a 33 on it voodoo may explain game five's unusual turn of events bird was exercised to a mortal 17 points while ralph sampson played like a man possessed by the second quarter samson's rack was fully unleashed ralph sampson became a towering inferno and the central figure in a bench clearing brawl he was ejected for battling jerry seaston a boston reserve standing 15 inches shorter samson's early exit looked like an ominous predude for all the rockets desperate times demand desperate measures and jim peterson was the solution throughout the playoffs peterson had teamed splendidly with a keem elijah one now he asserted himself as houston's third tower the determined peterson threw around his bulb and undercut the celtics with 12 rebounds boston's other problem came from above they encountered a squadron of rocket ball spotters led by akeem's record tying eight block shots shorn of samson's might the rockets launched a more reckless attack with a rejuvenated fast break houston grabbed control by halftime and refused to wilt in the third quarter by opening up a 25-point lead houston forced boston to surrender boston's demise most satisfied robert reed five years ago reed saw the celtics win the title on his home court and now guaranteed there wouldn't be a repeat performance with a 111 96 win reed led houston stride for a sixth game he showed us he had a lot of character he said they had to win game five down there and we wasn't going to be partying in the arena and he came out and had a great basketball game they lost ralph sampson with no question robert reed is really the leader of that team we put a banner up saying that we are midwest division champions we put in a banner up since we're western conference champions and we want to put a ban up says nba champions regardless of the outcome a title would be decided in boston a city that takes exception to what seems rightfully theirs watch this the rockets are gonna fall green lettuce here we're gonna kill here houston go this is ralph sampson right here big old ralphie boy and we got all the chemo right here there you go akimo it's all over foul this is what the celtics gonna do to the houston the visiting rockets returned to the most uncomfortable guest house in sports the gallows awaited ralph sampson the villain of game five's melee but samson could not allow the garden scorn to get the best of him never before had he been closer to the honor of being called champions samson became the immediate prey of kevin mchale as boston's long-armed gunslinger mchale bagged 21 first half points and advised houston to run for cover however the cold steel will of akeem elijah would not be denied elijah on led an 11-point rocket spur and his three consecutive steals suggested he had bill walton's number yet the big redhead remained in kc's lineup and flexed his veteran muscle walton helped to turn the tide for the celtics as did another former playoff mvp dennis johnson summoning his great defensive skills dennis johnson blanketed houston's best outside threat he dogged robert reed like a bloodhound and then threw him off the championship center dennis johnson is the best basketball player i've ever played with it's the biggest thrill i've ever had playing with the individual and i'm very proud to be a be a team member dj's because he's made me a great basketball player games because the way he plays and dj's probably more intense about winning than i am he just goes about a little bit differently few men can match johnson's reputation as a great money player with a season-long quest within reach boston turned to just one man to bring home the gold larry bird played with extra zest perhaps avenging last year's title loss in game number six he now looked to hoist another flag to the garden's banner studded roof picked it up goes in a three-point landing he said here i want to put a pen in the balloon right now by the middle of the fourth quarter houston hadn't a chance they swinging around the walk on the right side off the glass makes it a 28-point race pandemonium losing this guard pandemonium right now the game clock was of no significance as the boston garden bellowed a tone of finality after posting the league's best record and a near-perfect market home the basketball world was finally swathed in a cloak of green and white the nba could boast its most familiar announcement the boston celtics were the world champions painfully the young rockets accepted the promise of tomorrow as they sat in basketball's most hallowed hall special tribute be fitted celtic captain larry bird not once did he falter nor his intensity diminish he was boston's guiding light and the finals unanimous choice as mvp 15 times had celtic fans stormed the parquet floor 15 times had they raised their fists high but number 16 just might be the sweetest one yet sixteen candles make a lovely life as your eyes tonight make your wish come true is forever

Channel: liamleahy

Views: 391,745

Rating: 4.817987 out of 5

Keywords: Celtics, Boston, NBA, NBA TV (TV Network), Basketball (Invention)

Id: dlhTJ2L4W0w

Length: 60min 15sec (3615 seconds)

Published: Thu May 02 2013