AUBURN HILLS – Doc Rivers remembers room service. More precisely, lack of room service. Willis Reed remembers the crowd. More precisely, the Game 5 crowd.
As the Nets head into their first NBA Game 7 here tonight, Rivers and Reed, participants in two of the greatest playoff games played, remembered those historic events.
Rivers was the Hawks point guard in the classic Boston-Atlanta 1988 Eastern semifinal game – the Larry Bird-Dominique Wilkins shootout won by the Celts, 118-116. Reed was the Captain who limped out to carry the Knicks over the Lakers, 113-99, in the 1970 Finals.
“It was a quick turnaround,” Rivers, now Boston’s coach, recalled. “We played Friday night . . . then it was Sunday afternoon at 12. The first thing I recall was not one player on the team got room service from the hotel. Boston stuff was happening. I remember [coach] Mike Fratello grabbing chips and stuff on the bus, giving us anything to eat because no one had eaten. That was our pre-game meal.”
The Hawks were given up for dead after blowing their 3-2 lead at home – just like the Nets. After Atlanta’s excruciating 102-100 defeat Friday, Bird confidently announced, “they had their chance.”
It went to the old Boston Garden for what became a classic one-on-one stretch duel. Bird hit. Then ‘Nique. Bird. ‘Nique. Bottom line: Bird nailed a couple threes.
“I didn’t notice it. Maybe because I was involved,” Rivers said. “I was the point guard basically getting him the ball. I knew Bird was killing us. I didn’t realize Dominique was doing what he was doing because every time he did it, Bird did something else.
“Bird’s three is what I remember. Dominique made five shots in a row, Bird made five in a row. But I remember Dominique, his last one was a tough two and Bird responded with a three in the corner in front of our bench with Dominique draped all over him. I remember thinking, ‘Damn, that was the clincher.’ “
For Reed, the Knicks won their first NBA title long before trainer Danny Whelan injected his painful hip prior to Game 7. The Knicks won it by winning Game 5. And Reed credits the Garden faithful.
“Obviously, if you’re going to play a Game 7 you’d like to have it at home. That was Red Holzman’s philosophy – in a Game 7 he always wanted to have homecourt advantage. The crowd is always a significant factor. That famous Game 7 would not have taken place – because I got hurt in Game 5 – had we not won that game. We won that game because of the crowd. Had it been the opposite where we had to play Game 5 in L.A., we probably would have lost the series.”
They didn’t. They got to Game 7. Reed limped out, bagged two shots and the Knicks cruised.
