Celts Top LA, 112-109 To Retain NBA Crown

The Boston Celtics stormed ahead in the second quarter and then survived an electrifying Los Angeles comeback last night to defeat the Lakers and win their sixth straight NBA championship.

After the Lakers had taken a slim first period lead, the torrid shooting and playmaking of Bob Cousy and brilliant defense work of Bill Russell in the second quarter wrecked the western division champions. Boston led 66-52 at the half, and sever trailed after that.

The hot-and-cold LA squad whittled the margin to 79-75, but cooled off quickly, and Boston retained a 12-point lead after three periods.

In the opening seconds of the last quarter, Cousy suffered an ankle injury, and members of the Boston press were getting their "They won it for Cooz" stories ready for the morning papers. Four minutes later the Celtics were holding on for their lives, after Elgin Baylor, Dick Barnett, and Jerry West had sparked LA and narrowed the score to 96-93.

With 43 seconds on the clock Barnett contributed a three-point play which again reduced the Celtics margin to one point. Boston ate up time; Cousy took a jump shot from outside the key which hit the rim and bounced high into the air. LA got the crucial rebound--and lost it. Tom Heinsohn was fouled in the scuffle under the boards, and calmly sank a pair of foul shots which kept the NBA crown in its eternal home.

The Lakers' Jerry West and Elgin Baylor tallied 32 and 28 points respectively, and were the game's high scorers. For Boston it was naturally a team victory; Tom Heinsohn paced the Celts with 22, but it was Bill Russell's fantastic rebounding that gave Boston the victory.