Celts, in a championship season, once trailed 75-31 at halftime

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/thunder-dominate-first-half-rout-031954400--nba.html

Interesting little tidbit in this article on tonight's OKC/Bobcats game where the Thunder led at one point by an unheard of score of 79-25. Show me another game where one team has at least three times the points as their opponent in the second half of a game. I've never seen one. Score was 64-24 at the half.

Anyway, article points out that franchise's record halftime lead (when they were the Sonics) was actually 44 when they once led Boston 75-31 at intermission. In Boston! And during a championship season no less ('67-68). Amazing.

Hard to believe.

Here is the Box score of that Celtics game you mentioned...

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196711230BOS.html

beat

beat wrote:Here is the Box score of that Celtics game you mentioned...

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196711230BOS.html

beat

Boxscores back then certainly didn't include much info. They listed missed free throws over missed field goal attempts. And in that boxscore the numbers don't even add up. It says the Celtics shot 20 of 35 on FT's but add it up and it's 19 of 33. I checked it because I was curious how they missed 15 FT's and was looking at who missed them. Pretty sloppy.

[quote="steve3344"]

beat wrote:Boxscores back then certainly didn't include much info. They listed missed free throws over missed field goal attempts. And in that boxscore the numbers don't even add up. It says the Celtics shot 20 of 35 on FT's but add it up and it's 19 of 33. I checked it because I was curious how they missed 15 FT's and was looking at who missed them. Pretty sloppy.

Yeah, Bailey Howell's line has some interesting math -- (9x2) + 4 = 2. It was actually 22, which makes me think the box score was full of errors by the person who transcribed the box score info from the wire feed or whatever they used in those days (maybe somebody just called the stats in). But back in those days, pro basketball was a struggling enterprise and down the totem pole of priorities on the sports page.

The blatant errors in the box score shows why basketball-reference.com doesn't have anything other than final scores available in their database for those early years.

Outside,

Some teams would have melted under that first half onslaught. But the Celtics outscored the Sonics, 75-58, in the second half. It was obviously far too little too late. But it does reflect that, even in a terrible loss, the team never quit.

Sam

Sam,

Yep, I definitely noticed the third quarter score -- 49-26 Celtics. It would interesting to know what was said in the locker room at halftime. Or, given the nature of the Celtic teams during that era, whether anything needed to be said at all.

Hey-they weren't very accurate either! Check out Bailey Howell's stats!

Rosalie

The game list for that season lists it as being played on a neutral court. It was played in Philly, a fierce rival of Boston especially in '67 and '68 so I doubt it was much of a neutral crowd. Lots of Philly fans had a good time rooting against the Celtics. But more Boston fans than Seattle fans would have made the trek from those towns. Never saw one, but games on neutral courts back in the day would probably have had odd crowds, with fans of both teams plus fans of that city's team booing their rival. It was listed as a doubleheader and Philly beat the San Diego Rockets either before or after so Sixer fans obviously had a party watching Boston drop one in the standings to them. Philly won the division that year going 62-20 but the Celts got the bigger prize and won it all after beating Philly 4-3 in the East Finals.

Anyone see a game on a neutral court? Probably Sam did...

Spectrum lost it's roof sometime around then......

beat

They had doubleheaders then too. 2 games 4 teams.


beat

Steve, sometimes the doubleheaders included a Globetrotters game rather than two NBA games. I saw only one neutral court doubleheader away from Boston but many in Boston. Although they sounded enticing, my experience was that the first game (which never involved the home team) was often sparsely attended. In those days, I believe game attendees were fans of the home team rather than spectators looking for the biggest bang for the buck.

But those ticket-holders who came to only the second game apparently didn't realize that Celtics players would invariably sit down near the floor, watching and commenting on the initial game. Given that ushers were so lax in restricting the best seats for ticket-holders, this was a golden opportunity for a fan to sit near the Celtics, listen to their comments, and occasionally interact with them. Unless a fan abused the privilege, the team members didn't seem to mind—except for Russell.

Sam