Sunday, May 3rd, 2009 at 10:59 pm  |  24 responses

Celtics/Bulls Game 7 Recap

Then and now.

Then…

by Andrew Beck

It was 25 years ago…June of 1984…Game 7—Magic versus Bird, Celtics versus Lakers, Jabbar vs. Parrish, Max, McHale and Worthy, DJ, Coop and Scott.

Game 7—this is for all the marbles—the championship. This was prime time. Win and the banner goes to the rafters, numbers are retired, legends built. Lose and in Boston no one remembers your name. Game 7 in the confines of a raucous, sweaty, crowed Boston Garden. CBS had the games then and it seemed like Sunday afternoons and Celtic Games 7’s were an annual event. There was that ugly parquet floor with dead spots that only the Celtics knew, referees who managed to swallow their whistles when a call was needed and seemingly always a Celtic win. Game 7s always went the Green’s way.

Michael (Jordan—in case you didn’t know) was starting his show down in Chapel Hill in 84—it was Larry and Magic that owned the NBA scene. Black and White, Green and Purple—Celtics and Lakers. It don’t get much better than that. Game 7 was the highlight of a long, hard fought series. You remember Rambis getting neck tied by McHale. Bird and Kareem elbow to elbow, Worthy choking some foul shots in LA and then killing them with jumpers and fast break dunks on the end of Magic’s sweet looks. And of course Kareem sky hooking his way past Parrish and McHale—all ending up where it was supposed to.

A Game 7 in the Garden.

By now the story is told. The Lakers needed a police escort to get from their hotel to the Garden. Maxwell told his teammates to jump on his back because he was ready to carry them. And he did. He finished with 24 points, 8 and 8. Bird had 20 points and 12 rebounds, Parish added 14 points and 16 rebounds, and DJ hit for 22 points. Game 7 where those that can do, wCare for a ride?here those that can’t go home….

Now…

by Sammy Newman-Beck

Game 7… Boston vs. Chicago. Young PG vs. Young PG. UConn guard vs. UConn guard. Young up and comers vs. former NBA champs. This is Game 7 in Boston. This is Game 7 with no KG. This Game 7 with a win shows the strength of the Celtics. With a loss, this Game 7 could mean the slow demise of a one-year wonder. Without KG, this Game 7 is for all the marbles. This is the championship, this first round Game 7, No. 7 vs. No. 2 matchup. For Boston, this is everything.

En Route…

As I head to the Garden as a reporter, I cannot not help but feel excited. I am a born Bostonian. Am I biased, yes, without a doubt. Do I want Boston to win, of course. Am I confident, not completely, but somewhere as my father wrote in his statement above mine, Game 7 is where it is supposed to be—in Boston, in the city where fans live and die by sports on a day-to-day basis.

Game 7 belongs here.

As I spoke to one front office NBA friend the questions loomed: Can Ray do anything else after putting up 51? His response? No. Can Pierce play a complete game, and not just show up in the 4th? Will Eddie House hit jumpers and will Doc make the right substitutions. This is Game 7. Where those that can do, and those that can’t… Yeah, you know the rest.

The Game…

The game started off as the previous games had and by now you all know the outcome. Back and forth, lead changes and ties. But it was at the 6:33 mark in the 2nd quarter where as a Boston fan viewer and more-so studenIt's round 1, but hey...t of the game, I realized Boston was going to win. It was at the 6:33 mark when due to some Starbury defense on BG that the Celtics forced the Bulls into a 24 second violation. It was then where I thought in my head, That looked like the Celtics defense with Kevin Garnett! The Green then went on a 16-2 run. Boston ended up winning that 2nd quarter 29-11 and took a 14-point lead into half.

At that point, with another half left to play I knew the game was over. At that point, in Game 7, in Boston I knew. This is what Game 7 is supposed to be. This Game 7 after all is said and done felt like the right ending. It was one year ago when the Celtics went seven games to against team they shouldn’t have (Atlanta) and after this Game 7, I felt the same way—Boston was supposed to win. Boston wins Game 7s. This was a No. 2 vs. No. 7, defending champs vs. newcomers.

For some odd reason, after all was said and done and I left the TD Banknorth Garden last night, I felt like this is what we all knew was going to happen. For some reason there’s an aura about this veteran squad. There’s something about Pierce and Ray still having to prove themselves, there’s a sense of adoration for Scal, Eddie and even newly acquired Starbury, there’s something about Game 7’s in Boston. Who knows what it is, but in Boston, this is where Game 7 should be.

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  • http://slamonline.com/ Tzvi Twersky

    I’m hoping to avoid a game 7 with Orlando.

  • Dionisio

    Bulls played out of sync. It was as if the moment was too big for themselves and we know they can handle big moments. Really disappointed the Celtics won. They have a lot of players than you can hate (Big baby just annoys the hell out of me, I mean did you see that chicken cluckin’ celebration he did after that And1?).

  • knock knock

    how can anyone who watched the game think it was called fair. lmao there was a lotta pushing and shoving going on and the whole fourth quarter was foul shooting galore mostly for the celts. game over-

  • http://idunkonthem.blogspot.com/ albie1kenobi

    how’s Russ doing?

  • riggs

    somethings wrong with YOU if u hate big baby.

  • riggs

    also, if u found that to be annoying then everything joakim noah did during this series mustve made u suicidal.

  • http://slamonline.com Russ Bengtson

    I’m fine. Additional G7 thoughts coming tomorrow.

  • michael

    I’m a Bulls fan, but let’s face it they left everything out on the Court for Game 6. It seemed like they had nothing left for Game 7. Game 6 was a three overtime period game, that started around 7 PM eastern time and ended around 11 PM or something like that. They probably didn’t get to much sleep, and then flew to Boston, probably didn’t practice alot and by the night of the Game came most of the guys probably couldn’t sleep because of the circumstances. Even if the Celtics played bad (They weren’t great in Game 7) they still had Pierce and Allen (all-stars) would could still play good enough for a team to win. Still I’m proud of my Bulls, they played their hearts out this series and their series with the Celtics show that the NBA doesn’t need Lebron or Kobe’s face in every single game.

  • Dionisio

    I use to hate Noah’s antics when he was on Florida. He toned down his nonsense, I applaud him for it.

  • Rob

    round 2 baby! C’s in 6!

  • larrylegend

    the ecsf i’m waiting all season

  • Rich

    I loved this series, everything about it. I came to work Friday morning, exhausted just by watching Game 6. My family went to see Wolverine, then ran home to catch Game 7. During all the turnovers in the second quarter, I knew that was the end of this game. But I applaud the whole team for giving America one of the best series ever. David Stern should commend every employee of the Bulls and Celtics.

  • http://www.droseroy.com airs

    i think perkins had something like….8? 9 fouls that game?

  • http://slamonline.com Ben Osborne

    Thanks Sammy…awaiting Russ’ post-mortem.

  • vtrobot

    as a C’s fan, the Bulls impressed me a ton this series. is BG gonna stay with them? if so, what’s their starting 5 next year? Rose, BG, Luol, Tyrus, Miller? That’s a strong unit. Thomas has looked really good recently. I had thought that Portland got the better of that deal, but it’s tough to say how that one’s gonna shake out. Aldridge and Thomas should both be serious talents very soon. good luck next year bulls fans. you might have a much better chance because the C’s will not be young next year.

  • Diesel

    Nothing is wrong with you if you hate riggs.

  • riggs

    you hate your father then

  • Diesel

    Wow, does your grade school teacher know you’re playing on the computer during nap time?

  • Erika Badu

    am I the only one who thinks that salmons and brad miller aren’t as good as everyone is making them seem? miller especially was horrible in this series with the exception of game 6. yet Del Negro constantly gives him the bulk of tyrus Thomas’s minutes. Thomas barely even played in game 7. and ball movement always comes to a standstill as soon as salmons touches the ball resulting in him shooting a long three with the clock going down and a hand in his face.

  • Rich

    I totally with you somewhat Badu. People always talk that Gordon dribbles all the time, but Salmons does the same thing. But no one complains about that. Miller really killed the Bulls with turnover after turnover in Boston, but shined in Chicago. People from all over blame a whole lot on Gordon, but this dude stepped up over and over again, WITH A PULLED HAMMY. Finally gonna make his money. Congrats

  • http://www.twitter.com/TheDiesel Anton

    Eddie House is such a fu(kin fa&&ot.

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    I thought Miller was okay…and Salmons too, for the most part. I can see where the stoppage in ball movement comes in though… Miller used to average 4-5 assists a game – he needs more cutters. I personally think he should start actually. He’s a VERY VERY rich mans Bill Wennington.

  • BostonBaller

    @Dionisio Posted: May.3 at 11:27 pm would you have rather G Davis grab his crotch? bEven though it took a while for this blog to get on SLAM it’s here so let’s hear all of the complaints and WHINNIG. It was a tremendous series that I wist went best of nine. Whine about the calls and how you hate E House all you want but he came in and did his job AGAIN.

  • http://sjsu.edu davidR

    great writeup! then… & now… were dope reads

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