17 Greatest Moments: #14 - Havlicek Steals The Ball

Photo courtesy of NBA.comWhen the 1965 playoffs rolled around, the Celtics were the 6-time defending champions of the NBA. They had just steam-rolled through the regular season with a 62-18 record, and were facing the Wilt Chamberlain-led Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs, a team that they had finished 22 games better than during the regular season. So, it was surprising that the teams had split the first six games of the series, with the home team winning every game. So, it came down to Game 7. The winnerA goes on to playA for the championship. The loser goes home. With time winding down in the 4th quarter, Chamberlain reeled off 6-straight points to cut the Celtics lead to one, 110-109. What happened next would become legendary. From NBA.com: (http://www.nba.com/celtics/history/HavStoleBall40.html)"I knew that I was the best passer on our team," recalls Celtics Hall of Fame center Bill Russell, the man who had to go face-to-face with Chamberlain every game. "So, I knew this is the pass that has got to be made... I'll pass it in." The 6-foot-10 Russell took the ball out of bounds just to the right of the Celtics bench. He was being harassed by both Chamberlain and pesky forward Chet Walker. He backed up a small step and jumped as he tried to inbound the ball with both of his long arms upstretched over his head (it appears to be K. C. Jones, who was trying to get open in front of the Boston bench, was who Russell was trying to get the ball in play to). However, the ball, somehow, traveled only a few inches, never making it to Jones, and striking a guide wire (a support wire that kept the backboard secure) overhead in the process. After this had occurred, veteran Celtics play-by-play announcer, the late Johnny Most, could be heard screaming, "No Russell is...no-o-o-o, he loses the ball off the support...Russell loses the ball off the support and the ball goes to Philadelphia, oh my..." Timeout was called and Russell and the Celtics were down. "I don't believe I did that," remembers Russell. "When we got into our huddle I said, 'We've got to do something'." "Russell said that these goat horns are growing about an inch a second on the top off my head... someone please bail me out," Havlicek recalls. Havlicek bailed him out. Ironically, Philadelphia had to inbound the ball in almost the exact spot where Russell had been moments earlier. Sixers guard Hal Greer was to inbounds the pass (to his teammate Walker) and the rest is history, thanks to Most's memorable call: "Greer is putting the ball in play. He gets it out deep and Havlicek steals it! Over to Sam Jones... Havlicek stole the ball! It's all over... It's all-l-l-l over!" Russell later told Havlicek, "I made you famous... Havlicek stole the ball, Havlicek stole the ball! If I hadn't of messed up, nobody would have ever heard of you." The Celtics would go on to win their 7th-straight NBA title that year, but "Havlicek stole the ball" is probably the most memorable moment from that season. 17 Greatest Moments; #17 17 Greatest Moments; #16 17 Greatest Moments; #15