Hot Celtics Stop Bucks Cold, by 32 : Moncrief Sits Out 128-96 Boston Win

So this was what the Milwaukee Bucks had to look forward to after working so hard to advance to the NBA Eastern Conference final. The Bucks were not merely beaten by the Boston Celtics here Tuesday night; they were dominated so thoroughly and brutally that it probably will not be easily forgotten.

The final score of this ugly opener was 128-96, as the rested and ravenous Celtics got the Bucks down early and kept them there. Even as early as the second quarter, some in the crowd of 14,890 at the Boston Garden were already chanting for a rematch with the Lakers in the league championship series.

All the Celtics have to do get that chance, of course, is eliminate the Bucks in this best-of-seven series. If Game 1 was any indication, they probably won’t have to exert much effort in the process. But the way the Celtics were talking afterward, Game 2 here on Thursday night could be completely different.

“Unfortunately, every time we have a big win like this, we come out and stink up the place the next game,” Celtic forward Kevin McHale said. “Four years ago, we beat Philadelphia by 40 in an opener, and lose the next game. Last year, we beat L.A. (by 34) and lose the next one.”

Whether the Celtics will give a repeat performance on Thursday night depends to some degree, if not to a large one, on the Bucks.

Milwaukee’s All-Star guard, Sidney Moncrief, who did not play Tuesday night because of an injury in the area of his left heel, is expected to return for Game 2. The Bucks also hope that their outside shooting and usually strong team defense returns, for it certainly was missing in Game 1.

Milwaukee shot 17% in a dismal 12-point first quarter and by the end of the game had improved to only 37.5%, as compared to the Celtics’ 56.3%. The Bucks’ leading scorer, Terry Cummings, who had shot 56% in the first two playoff rounds, made only 3 of 13 shots and finished with 8 points. Guards Paul Pressey and Ricky Pierce, normally accurate from outside, combined to make only 5 of 21 shots.

“They played good defense, and we couldn’t buy a bucket,” Cummings said. “That’s all there is to say. You just got to junk this game and go on. There’s too much on the line in this series to base it all on one game.”

Boston opened a 17-point lead by the end of the first quarter and never relented, showing no averse effects from a week’s layoff after dismantling Atlanta. The only rustiness was in Bill Walton’s red hair, and the only thing stale at the Garden was the air.

Because it was a blowout, Celtic regulars had even more of an opportunity to rest. Larry Bird had 26 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in 32 minutes; McHale had 17 points (8 of 15 from the field) in 28 minutes; Robert Parish had 10 points in 19 minutes, and Dennis Johnson had 14 points and 7 assists in 34 minutes.

Walton played his customary 19 minutes, but most of it came in the first half after Parish was called for three fouls in the first eight minutes.

The Celtics had a 15-7 lead when Walton entered, and the advantage had swelled to 51-27 by the time Walton was replaced by Greg Kite with 3:32 left in the half. Walton, who had 11 points and 7 rebounds in those 12 first-half minutes, finished with 15 points and 9 rebounds.

“He played all right,” Bird said when asked about Walton’s contribution. “Everyone did all right for us. I thought we played well--in spurts. But the key to the game was that they didn’t hit their shots.

“I’m sure after a tough series like they had against Philly (the Bucks finally won the series Sunday in the seventh game), it’s going to take a while to settle down. We’ve had a lot of rest, time to work up a game plan. I don’t think we did anything special, just played good man-to-man defense.”

In a few cases, the Celtics’ man-to-man defensive assignments went beyond being good. McHale totally frustrated Cummings in the first half, and Parish did pretty much the same thing in the second half. Going against McHale, Cummings made 1 of 11 shots and had four blocked. Cummings, normally mild-mannered, exchanged shoves with Bird during one foray under the basket and shouted at referee Mike Mathis after the halftime buzzer sounded.

“Sometimes you get frustrated,” Cummings said. “I got the shots I wanted--they just wouldn’t go. I think the shots will fall Thursday.”

But the Bucks still have to find a way to stop the Celtic offense, which consisted of a bevy of fast breaks, outside jumpers by Johnson and Bird and inside power moves by Walton, McHale and Bird.

In order to better match up with the taller Celtics, Milwaukee started two 7-footers--Alton Lister and Randy Breuer--and switched Pressey to guard to replace Moncrief. But the Bucks seemed intimidated by the Celtics’ big front line.

Just as the Celtics had hoped.

“No matter what they tried to do, we were playing our game inside and forced them to play it,” McHale said.

Said Buck Coach Don Nelson, in an understandably downcast mood: “Their defense certainly is excellent. We can play better, sure, but they were good. They’ve got all their bases covered, and they prove it most every night. This is the best Celtic team I’ve ever seen, as I’ve said before.”

Said Walton, stating the obvious: “We’ve got a good team here. I don’t feel sorry for a team (after a lopsided game), especially the Bucks, because they are out to beat us.”