Miracle Milt's our man

[Hironaka <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

C's try Miracle at NBA lottery
by Mark Cofman
Friday, May 18, 2001
http://www.bostonherald.com/sport/basketball/cs05182001.htm

Considering they have just 11 chances out of 1,000 to win one of the
first three picks in the draft, the Celtics have decided to play some
percentages of their own. They'll send Milt Palacio to NBA Studios in
Secaucus, N.J., on Sunday to represent the team at the lottery drawing.

Not far down the New Jersey Turnpike at Continental Airlines Arena,
Palacio hit one of the more unlikely shots in Celtics' history Dec. 28.
While he was falling to the floor some 40 feet from the basket after an
equally unlikely steal, Palacio heaved a desperation shot as the buzzer
sounded. The ball swished through the net for a 3-pointer, giving the
Celtics a 112-111 victory over the New Jersey Nets and earning Palacio
the nickname ``Miracle Milt.''

The following day at Celtics practice, general manager Chris Wallace
called Palacio's basket a one-in-a-million shot. Against those odds,
Wallace must figure the Celtics' chances of hitting the jackpot at the
lottery don't appear so bleak after all. Enter Palacio, who will fly in
from Los Angeles to take part in the ping-pong ball drawing that takes
place in a back room.

Wallace will represent the Celtics in the TV studio for the nationally
televised event, which will air at halftime of Sunday's playoff game
that tips off at 5:30 p.m.