#TBT Christmas Edition: When the Celtics Blew a 25-Point Lead to Ewing and the Knicks
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While the rebuilding Celtics will get their second straight Christmas off the NBA’s yuletide showcase, the lack of shamrocks on Dec. 25 doesn’t take away the history of grand Christmas Day games for the C’s.
The Celtics have a storied tradition of playing on Christmas, having taken the court for 29 contests over their franchise’s history. Their last appearance came in 2012, the final season in green for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, as they took down the Brooklyn Nets 93-76.
But one game stands out as arguably the most memorable Christmas game in Celtics history, despite the fact it resulted in a loss. That came on Christmas Day 1985, when the C’s took on the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Led by the original Big Three of Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and Kevin McHale, the Celtics built up a 46-32 halftime lead, which they expanded to 58-33 midway through the third quarter, and it appeared the rout over the Knickerbockers was on.
But the Knicks weren’t dead yet, and it took a rookie who had starred at Cambridge Ringe and Latin just a few years earlier to lead the New York comeback: 23-year-old Patrick Ewing.
The Knicks’ No. 1 overall draft pick that summer had just eight points after three quarters, but he came off the bench with just over eight minutes to play in the fourth and caught fire. Ewing scored 16 points down the stretch for the Knicks, who climbed all the back to tie the game 86-86 with 34 seconds left.
In the first overtime, the Celtics retook the lead and held a 97-92 advantage with 1:09 to play, but Ewing drove to tally another bucket, setting up Trent Tucker to become the hero less than a minute later. Tucker’s three-pointer with 11 seconds to play tied the game once again and sent the game to a second overtime.
It was all Knicks in the second OT, as the Celtics were outscored 16-7 and the Knicks sent the MSG crowd home happy with a 113-104 win, including this fan, who was more than a little excited that the Knicks pulled off the comeback victory.
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The Big Three all played well in the contest, as McHale (29 points, 14 rebounds), Parish (24 points, 18 rebounds), and Bird (23 points, 10 rebounds) all recorded double-doubles. But the Celtics got just 12 combined points from other starters Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge, while the bench provided little in relief, totaling just 16 points for the game.
“We were missing shots and turning it over,’’ Bird told the Globe’s Lesley Visser after the game. “It was a real lousy exhibition.’’
“I was really surprised they came back by so much,’’ Parish said. “Ewing played a hell of a game.’’
Despite the loss, the Celtics went on to go 46-8 the rest of the season and finish 67-15 with the best record in the NBA. By defeating the Houston Rockets to win their 16th NBA Championship, the C’s capped a dominant season with an exclamation point, leading the 1985-86 Celtics to enter the conversation as one of the greatest NBA teams of all time.
The Knicks, on the other hand, finished 23-59 on the year, good for last place in the Atlantic Division and the worst record in the league. So in the end, Celtics fans would probably trade the dud their team put up on Christmas Day in favor of Banner 16.
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