Nov. 11, 1963 - Boston’s Celtics are going to make a runaway of the NBA race unless someone discovers a method of stopping Bill Russell, the peerless 6-10 rebounder. Russell appeared to the St. Louis Hawks to have at least six arms tonight when he gathered in 31 rebounds and scored 20 points in a 116-110 victory at Boston Garden that raised the Celtics’ record to 9-1. When Russell left the game with 9½ minutes to play, Boston had a 101-75 lead, and only a run of 15 straight points in the waning moments enabled the Hawks to make the final score look respectable. “That Russell is just too much, too much,” said St. Louis coach Harry Gallatin with a sigh. “Boston had the best defense we’ve seen all season. The Celtics played even better than they did when they bombed us at home last Saturday — and we were worse, much worse. It’s almost impossible to get a shot down the middle against the Celtics. Russell just switches off and picks up the man with the ball. We hung in there pretty good for the first half, but then they just shot us down the drain in the third period. What a club! Take it from me, they’re still the team to beat in this league.” The Celtics hit on 51% of their field-goal attempts over the first three periods, and coach Red Auerbach substituted freely after his club took a 26-point lead early in the fourth quarter. “Havlicek and Willie Naulls came off the bench with hot hands and hurt us most when we couldn’t afford it,” Gallatin continued. “And what can I say about Sam Jones? The only thing you can do against Sam is play him nose-to-nose. But in the final analysis, it’s Russell who beats you. He’s fantastic — there’s no other word to describe him.”
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