December 27, 1955 Celtics beat Hawks 105-102, Pettit scores 46

The Hawks Bob Pettit had a masterful game against the Boston Celtics in front of his home crowd scoring 46 points but it was not enough as the Celtics gained the road win by the score of 105-102. The win brought the Celtics record the season to 13-9, 2 games behind the division leading Warriors.

Box Score

Boston (105) G F PF P
Macauley lf 9 6 0 24
Nichols rf 7 6 4 20
Loscutoff 3 1 0 7
Risen c 3 3 5 9
Hemric 1 4 1 6
Morrison 0 0 4 0
Cousy lg 5 9 1 19
Sharman rg 8 2 4 18
Barrett 1 0 3 2
Palazzi 0 0 1 0

Total 37 31 23 105

St. Louis (102) G F PF P
Pettit lf 17 12 3 46
Ricketts 2 1 4 5
Cooper rf 2 1 1 5
Ferrari 1 0 1 2
Hannum 0 0 3 0
Share c 3 4 3 10
Harrison lg 1 0 1 2
Selvy rg 5 2 6 12
Stephens 7 1 2 15
Schafer 2 1 3 5

Total 40 22 27 102

Boston......23 20 33 29-105
St.Louis....23 20 23 26-102

Free Throws Missed- Macauley, Loscutoff, Risen 2, Morrison, Cousy 2, Pettit 2, Share 2, Selvy, Stephens 3, Schafer

Christmas 1955 Celtics beat Lakers for 2nd game in a row

The Celtics spent Christmas day 1955 in Minneapolis and did the same thing to the Minneapolis Lakers that they did to them 5 days earlier in Madison Square Garden and that's come back to gain a win on the Lakers. The Celtics had a 40 point 4th quarter to take a 115-112 victory and push their record for the season to 12-9. Clyde Lovellette of the Lakers led all scorers with 35 points, while Boston's star guards Bob Cousy and Bill Sharman both scored 25 points. Attendance for the game was only 2,962.

Boston (115)
G F PF P
Nichols lf 6 3 4 15
Macauley rf 7 5 2 19
Hemric 3 2 4 8
Loscutoff 3 0 5 6
Palazzi 0 0 2 0
Risen c 2 3 5 7
Morrison 1 0 3 2
Sharman lg 10 5 0 25
Cousy rg 7 11 3 25
Barrett 2 4 3 8

Total...41 33 31 115

Minneapolis (112)
G F PF P
Mikkelsen lf 8 10 4 26
Kalafat rf 0 2 5 2
Schnittker 1 2 2 4
Horan 0 0 1 0
Hitch 3 0 1 6
Lovellette c 14 7 3 35
Skoog lg 5 2 5 12
Martin rg 4 7 6 15
Mencel 1 1 3 3
Garmaker 4 1 1 9

Total... 40 32 31 112

Boston.............26 23 26 40-115
Minneapolis....30 26 29 27-112
Free Throws Missed-Nichols 3, Macauley 4, Risen 2, Morrison, Sharman, Cousy 2, Barrett, Mikkelsen 4, Schnittker, Hitch, Lovellette 3, Skoog, Martin, Mencel

December 20, 1955 MSG Doubleheader- Celtics beat Lakers and Nationals beat Knicks

In a doubleheader at Madison Square Garden in the feature game the defending champion Syracuse Nationals beat the Knicks 98-91 in a game they controlled from start to finish. In front of 9,280 fans the Nationals raced to a early 19 point lead in the 1st quarter they never relinquished. The Knicks failed to get rebounds, passed wildly and had a subpar game in general. Johnny Kerr was the high scorer for the Nationals with 29 points and Carl Braun had 20 for the Knicks.

In the 1st game the Celtics defeated the Lakers 111-104. It was close game that was tied 12 different times. The Celtics found themselves down 97-90 before Ed Macauley and Jack Nichols led the Celtics roaring back to take a 111-104 victory. Jack Nichols had 22 points for the Celtics in victory. In a notable occurrence earlier in the contest referee Jack Stutz stopped the game because of fans throwing steel paper clips onto the court. Laker Ed Kalafat was hit by the clips but wasn't injured. The win improved the Celtics record to 11-9.

Box Score

Boston (111)
G F PF P
Macauley lf 6 7 3 19
Palazzi 0 0 0 0
Nichols rf 8 6 2 22
Loscutoff 5 1 4 11
Risen c 3 2 4 8
Morrison 0 0 2 0
Cousy lg 9 4 5 22
Sharman rg 6 5 4 17
Barrett 4 4 4 12

Total...41 29 28 111

Minneapolis (104)
Lovellette lf 9 2 1 20
Hitch 4 5 1 13
Schnitker rf 1 3 3 5
Kalapat 6 4 4 16
Mikkelsen c 8 6 4 22
Skoog lg 3 3 4 9
Mencel 3 0 1 6
Martin rg 1 7 5 9
Garmaker 2 0 2 4

Total...37 30 29 104

Boston..................24 25 29 33-111
Minneapolis.........17 32 31 24-104

Free Throws Missed- Cousy 4, Risen 4, Nichols, Morrison, Macauley, Garmaker 2, Hitch, Martin, Kalafat, Lovellette, Mikkelsen, Hitch, Skoog, Schnittker

Officials-Stan Stutz & Norm Drucker

December 14, 1955 Boston Garden doubleheader, Celtics beat Knicks and Lakers beat Pistons

In a doubleheader at the Boston Garden the Lakers beat the Pistons by the score of 98-85 in the 1st game, and in the feature game the Celtics beat the Knicks 102-100. The Lakers had a rare great performance in the season to date as they controlled the game the entire way and led by as many 30 in the 3rd period. Clyde Lovellette led the Lakers in scoring with 22 points and Larry Faust led the Pistons with 22 points. The Lakers victory brought their record for the season to 6-15.

In the feature game of the doubleheader it was a contest that went right down the wire for the rival Knicks and Celtics, in the end the Celtics prevailed 102-100 after Ed Macauley's game winning dunk with 6 seconds left and Nat Clifton missed a shot that would have sent the game into overtime. Bob Cousy hobbled by leg and shoulder injuries played slightly more than half the game had an efficient game only scoring 5 points but dishing off 15 assists. Rookie Jim Loscutoff had a great game with 17 points and 15 rebounds.

Box Score

Boston (102)
G F PF P
Macauley lf 6 11 2 23
Nichols rf 8 3 3 19
Palazzi 1 2 2 4
Hemric 1 0 0 2
Risen c 3 4 4 9
Morrison 1 1 1 3
Barrett lg 2 3 6 7
Cousy lg 1 3 4 5
Sharman 4 5 5 13
Loscutoff 7 3 3 17

Total.. 34 34 30 102

Knicks (100)
G F PF P
Braun lf 11 6 1 28
Gallatin rf 3 4 4 10
Clifton 0 1 3 1
Peterson 4 0 5 8
Felix c 1 2 2 4
Dukes 5 0 6 10
Sears lg 2 2 3 6
Shue rg 7 8 4 22
McGuire 0 2 1 2
Baechtold 2 5 1 9

Total.. 35 35 30 100

Boston......................22 31 27 22-102
Knickerbockers.......24 31 21 24-100

Free throws missed- Macauley 2, Hemric, Risen 3, Cousy, Sharman, Loscutoff, Braun 2, Gallatin, Clifton, Dukes, Sears, Shue 2, McGuire, Baechtold 2

December 13, 1955- Madison Square Garden doubleheader, Warriors beat Celtics and Knicks beat Lakers

In a twin bill of basketball that began at 7:15 per new Madison Square Garden rules regarding NBA doubleheaders, the Knicks beat the Lakers 98-91 in the feature game. The Knicks led the game the entire way and gave the Lakers their 15th loss of the season. Clyde Lovellette of the Lakers led all scorers with 31 points. In the 1st game of the doubleheader the Celtics lost a close game to the Warriors 109-108. Larry Hennessy made the game winning shot with 18 seconds left, and Bob Cousy despite scoring 29 points missed a game winning shot. The Warriors led by 14 point at the half before Boston stormed back in the 2nd half but it was not enough to beat the Warriors. The game's attendance was 9,548.

Phila. (109)
G F PF P
Arizin lf 9 3 2 21
Moore 1 1 0 3
Graboski rf 10 6 4 26
Beck 2 1 3 5
Johnston c 11 7 4 29
Davis 0 0 4 0
Gola lg 2 2 6 6
Dempsey 1 0 6 2
George rg 6 3 5 15
Hennessy 1 0 0 2

Total...43 23 34 109

Boston
G F PF P
Macauley lf 5 7 2 17
Barrett 2 2 4 6
Nichols rf 6 2 5 14
Loscutoff 2 8 3 12
Hemric 0 0 0 0
Risen c 1 5 2 7
Morrison 0 0 3 0
Sharman rg 7 5 0 19
Palazzi 1 2 3 4
Cousy lg 9 11 3 29

Total....33 42 25 108

Philadelphia......34 25 32 18-109
Boston...............22 23 37 26-108

Free throws missed-Graboski 3, Beck, Johnston, Dempsey 2, George 2, Macauley 3, Loscutoff 3, Risen 2, Cousy 4
Officials-Lou Eisenstein and Jim Gaffney

November 29, 1955 NBA Doubleheader At MSG, Celtics beat Nationals and Pistons beat Knicks

In another basketball doubleheader at Madison Square Garden, the Celtics beat the Nationals 105-97 in the 1st game. The game was a close game early on with the score tied 5 times in the 1st session and 8 times in the second session. Midway through the 3rd period the Celtics went on a 10-0 run to bring the lead to 73-66 and the C's never looked back. In the 2nd game the Knicks lost to the Pistons 104-99 in front of 10,135 fans. Larry Foust of the Pistons led Fort Wayne with 28 points as the Pistons avenged 2 earlier losses to the Knicks. Ken Sears and Jim Baechtold added 18 points each for the Knicks.

Box Score
Boston (105)
G F PF P
Macauley lf 11 5 0 27
Hemric 0 1 0 1
Nichols rf 7 2 4 16
Loscutoff 2 1 0 5
Risen c 2 1 5 7
Morrison 1 0 3 2
Cousy lg 5 7 2 1
Palazzi 4 0 2 8
Sharman rg 10 2 2 22
Barrett 0 0 0 0

Total...........43 19 18 105

Syracuse (97)
G F PF P
Schayes lf 6 3 2 15
Farley 1 0 4 2
Rocha rf 4 3 2 11
Lloyd 4 1 3 9
Kerr c 5 3 2 13
Conlin 5 1 0 11
Seymour lg 0 0 1 0
Kenville 2 1 3 5
Tucker 0 0 2 0
King rg 15 1 3 31

Total.....42 13 22 97

Boston.........25 28 27 25-105
Syracuse......22 24 30 21-97

Free Throws Missed- Macauley 2, Loscutoff, Risen, Cousy, Palazzi, Sharman 2, Rocha 3, Lloyd, Kerr, Kenville
Officials- Sid Borgia and Stan Stutz

December 11, 1955 Celtics lose to Nationals, Bribe Offered To Nats Coach Al Cervi

The defending NBA Champion Syracuse Nationals had their 7th straight home win defeating the Boston Celtics 101-89 in Syracuse. Before the game Al Cervi the Nationals coach was called 4 straight times by a caller but he didn't pick up the phone, the 5th time an office attendant was left with the message, "Tell Cervi to lose this game or not to win by more than 6 points. Tell him there will be $1000 in it for him and a couple hundred for yourself." When he found about it Cervi told the team president Don Biasone who called the police, and the call was traced to Minneapolis. Boston led the game early before Syracuse made three straight baskets to go up at halftime and they never looked back.

Box Score
Syracuse (101)
G F PF P
Schayes lf 8 10 4 26
Rocha rf 5 3 5 13
Conlin 1 3 2 5
Tucker 1 0 3 2
Kerr c 3 3 2 9
Lloyd 4 4 3 12
King lg 6 2 3 14
Farley 2 5 2 9
Kenville rg 3 5 1 11

Total...33 35 25 101

Boston (89)
G F PF P
Nichols lf 6 6 4 18
Loscutuff rf 5 1 5 11
Palazzi 1 0 3 2
Hermic 1 0 0 2
Macauley c 2 11 3 15
Risen 4 2 4 10
Cousy lg 4 3 4 11
Sharman rg 6 3 3 15
Barrett 1 3 3 5
Morrison 0 0 2 0

Total...30 29 31 89

Half-time Score- Syracuse 56 Boston 52.
Free throws missed- Schayes, Rocha, Conlin, Lloyd, King 4, Farley 2, Kenville 2, Loscutuff, Macauley, Risen 2, Cousy, Sharman, Barrett.

Red Auerbach Day December 18, 1955

Red Auerbach became a basketball legend because of his legendary resume in Boston, but Red Auerbach was clearly shaped and refined from the streets of New York where he hailed, and New York never forgets one of its own. On December 18,1955, Red Auerbach who was known more at the time for being a fiery coach who screamed at officials, was honored in New York with Red Auerbach day at Madison Square Garden in front 12,613 fans. Before the Knicks played the Celtics, Red received many gifts including a red automobile and he gave a speech. Being that it was his day the Celtics followed it up with a hard fought 95-92 victory over the Knicks in a game where Red Auerbach gained a technical foul for riding the officials too hard, Harry Gallatin also received a technical, and Ray Felix of the Knicks fought with Jim Loscutoff.

Box Score:
Boston (95)
G F PF P
Macauley lf 4 2 2 10
Hemric 0 1 2 1
Nichols rf 6 3 5 15
Loscotuff 8 4 2 20
Risen c 1 1 4 3
Morrison 2 2 6 6
Cousy lg 6 8 4 20
Palazzi 0 0 0 0
Sharman rg 5 1 1 11
Barrett 3 3 2 9

Total 35 25 28 95

New York (92)
G F PF P
Gallatin lf 6 2 5 14
Dukes 0 0 1 0
Sears rf 7 5 4 19
Peterson 0 0 1 0
Felix c 3 14 5 20
Clifton 1 0 1 2
McGuire lg 6 3 4 15
Shue 4 1 1 9
Braun rg 1 4 1 4
Baechtold 2 3 0 7

Total 30 32 23 92

Boston.......... 27 15 29 24-95
New York...... 26 25 17 24-92

Free throws missed- Macauley, Risen, Morrison 2, Cousy 2, Palazzi, Gallatin, Sears 2, Felix 3, McGuire 2, Shue, Braun, Baechtold
Officials- Sid Borgia and Rollie Pitkoff

1955-56 Boston Celtics Season Preview

The Boston Celtics ended the 1955 NBA Season with a record of 36-36, a 3rd place finish in the Eastern division, and a playoff berth. In the 1st round the Celtics beat the New York Knicks coached by legendary coach and Original Celtic Joe Lapchick 2 games to 1. In the Eastern Finals the Celtics were defeated by the Syracuse Nationals 3 games to 1, losing in the Eastern Finals for the 3rd straight year, and losing to the Syracuse side for the 2nd straight year. Boston entered the 1955-56 season with 2 key players gone, Don Barksdale was retired and Frank Ramsey was in the military. Here is Sports Illustrated's 1st season preview of a Boston Celtics team, SI didn't preview the 1954-55 season. The problems with the Celtics mentioned at the time would not be solved until 1956 when they drafted Bill Russell. This is from November 21, 1955.


"Boston Celtics . Bob Cousy and Co. are still the scoring terrors of the league—but it remains to be seen if the draft and off-season deals have given them enough added rebound strength to make up last season's main deficiency. Ball-handling magician Cousy , Bill Sharman and Ed Macauley , Boston 's Big Three, will again lead the league's top race-horse style offense. But up front Arnie Risen (6'8"), purchased from Rochester , and Rookies Jim Los-cutoff (6'5") from Oregon and Dick Hemric (6'6") from Wake Forest must come through to help out Macauley (6'8"), Jack Nichols (6'7"), Red Morrison (6'8") and Togo Palazzi (6'4") under the boards. Basically, however, as Eckman of Fort Wayne says: "The Celtics are a team which throws defense out the window—and any ball club which plays against them has to do the same to stay in the game."

1954-55 Boston Celtics

The 1954-55 NBA season was a season of transition and change. George Mikan the league's 1st superstar retired after leading the Minneapolis Lakers to 3 straight titles, 5 in the NBA, and 6 overall. This would be a wide open season and the beginning of a new era in basketball.

The 1954-55 NBA season was the 1st NBA season to feature a 24 second shot clock, the 1st season to have the new rule of 6 personal fouls per quarter for a team before they reached the penalty, and the 1st season to feature the new rule of technical fouls. These rules were looked upon as much needed as the slow down pace and frequent fouling before this season were thought of as hurting the game and making it boring. Teams were still having problems making money and fighting to stay afloat, the Baltimore Bullets franchise for one folded during the season. Coverage of NBA basketball was minimal in most of the mainstream press, Sports Illustrated didn't feature a single article on the NBA until the January 24,1955 issue. For the '54-'55 season there was no season preview and scores were originally buried in the back of the Scoreboard column behind hockey and other sports.

The Boston Celtics were not yet the champions they would soon become, Red Auerbach was yet to be noted as a basketball genius at this time, Celtic Pride was an unknown term and Bill Russell was a relative unknown, as Tom Gola was considered the best college basketball player in the country. The Celtics were actually known as a team of underachievers despite having some of the best talent in the league. The 1955 Celtics had 3 All-Stars: Bob Cousy who was considered the best player in basketball, Bill Sharman the 1955 All-Star Game MVP, and Ed Macauley. Here is a mid-season report on the Celtics from Sports Illustrated from January 24, 1955:

"The chief attraction of the Celtics is Bob Cousy , showiest player in the league, possibly the best all-round star and certainly the highest paid (around $18,000). The Celtics play fast-breaking basketball and it is Cousy who gets them off winging. Cousy on offense presents a guileless, candid face, eyes resolutely fixed straight ahead, his path of movement clearly indicated. Suddenly the ball whips around from behind his back to a teammate in the clear. Before the defense can recover the ball is through the basket. Or maybe Cousy innocently sets himself for a shot from outside; he springs, but instead of the ball going up to the basket he drops it behind him to a colleague who drives in behind the screen. Prettiest sight to watch is Cousy the dribbler. Changing hands, moving the ball behind his back, incredibly keeping control of the ball while dodging defenders at high speed, Cousy often drives past two or even three opponents to put the ball up.

On defense Cousy has the furtive look of a hold-up man on his first job, stalking his prey on the balls of his feet, eyes scanning right and left like a radarscope seeking potential threats, blocking shots, intercepting passes.

The other big guns on the Celtics are Bill Sharman , a sharp-shooting guard and very able foil for Cousy in working the ball up, and Don Barksdale and "Easy Ed" Macauley, both can play the pivot, hit the boards."