Shooting is off the wall

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Shooting is off the wall


By Dan Shaughnessy, Globe Columnist, 5/2/2003

hey were hotter than Buffalo Wings, hotter than Green Monster seats, hotter
than the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. They were hotter than the heat of
a thousand suns, hotter than the muzzle flash of Roland's Thompson Gun.



What's hotter than white heat? Celtic Green heat - that's what.

It was as if the hoop god rewarded them for their poise and good behavior
after Tuesday's overtime doughnut at Conseco Fieldhouse. The Celtics last
night became Villanova in the 1985 NCAA championship game. They were the
annointed ones, sent out to throw a perfect game on the heels of an
embarrassing OT shutout.

In the first half of last night's sixth and final playoff game against the
Indiana Pacers, the Celtics made 14 consecutive shots. No statistics exist,
but 14 straight must be a playoff record. After missing 14 of their final 15
shots in Tuesday's loss at Indiana, the Celtics made 16 of 19 first-half shots
and ran to a 40-17 lead en route to a 110-90 clincher over a team that was
universally favored prior to the series.

''I didn't know we made 14 in a row,'' said J.R. Bremer, who had 3 of the 14
shots. ''We were passing the ball well and it got contagious.''

Mark Blount, who made the last of the 14, said, ''We were just feeding off the
crowd, the energy in the Jungle was awesome. We just wanted to keep that
energy flowing in the game.''

So there will be more basketball in Boston this spring. Jim O'Brien's guys
advance to the second round and will play the Nets in a best-of-seven joust
that begins Monday in the arena off the Jersey Turnpike.

Do not expect the Celtics to shoot like they did last night. Ever again. No
team could do it. Vaunted Celtic snipers Bill Sharman, Sam Jones, and Larry
Bird never did it. This was a shooting performance for the ages, even by the
lofty standards of pro basketball's signature franchise.

Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker were just two of the Boston marksmen. Tony
Delk, Walter McCarty, Tony Battie, Bremer, and even Blount got into the act.
When Blount scored on a 4-foot turnaround with 10:20 left in the first half,
the Celtics had made 16 of 19 shots. They went more than 10 minutes without
missing.

Several of the green gods were on hand to witness the streak and none could
remember seeing anything like it in the NBA. Bob Cousy, Tom Heinsohn, Jo Jo
White, Cedric Maxwell, and M.L. Carr were all consulted at halftime and none
could recall a similar streak.

''Plus, it wasn't just one guy,'' said Cousy. ''You even had Mark Blount
contributing.''

The Celtics were shooting a modest 40 percent (2 for 5, both threes by
McCarty) and leading by only 3 points when Walker converted a driving hook to
start the run. Pierce was next with a layup, then a 19-footer.

Pierce's long-range missile was the first of nine consecutive successful shots
from 18 feet or farther. Delk drained three bombs in a little more than a
minute and a half, two of them for treys. Battie chipped in with an effortless
19-footer.

Bremer and Pierce finished the quarter with another flurry of jumpers, two by
Bremer, and it was 33-15 after one. Boston made its last 11 shots of the
quarter.

There was no end to the Pacer humiliation. Lefthander Bremer came out firing
and drained one from 18 feet to start the second quarter. Then came another
layup by Pierce and Blount's capper that made it 40-17. A miss by Bremer ended
the sensational streak.

''We wanted to come out and play well,'' said McCarty. ''It was a lot of fun.
The crowd was very energetic. We came out and got some good looks and a lot of
different guys contributed. We've got a lot of guys who can shoot the ball.

There was still a lot of basketball to be played, of course, and the Celtics
and their fans delighted in rubbing the Pacers' faces deep into the parquet
over the final 34 minutes. When things are going good, nobody rubs it in like
the Celtics. Ask the Sixers.

Indy's best bolt came in the first four minutes of the fourth when they cut it
to 13 with just under six minutes to play. Before you could say ''Reggie
Miller is finished,'' the Celtics shot back to a 19-point lead.

There would be no visitor comebacks on this night. The Celtics were simply too
hot.

Thanks,

Steve
sb@maine.rr.com

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