Apr. 3, 1963 - Mounting an aggressive defense, the Boston Celtics forged an impressive 128-110 decision over the Royals tonight. There were 3,498 onlookers at the Xavier University fieldhouse as the best-of-7 Eastern Division final was tied at two games apiece. On the plane coming out from Boston, rarely used substitute Danny Swartz hit the nail on the head when he remarked, “We've got to foul these guys if we have to, and we can't let up. With our guys, we can afford a few, and we usually win when we're really aggressive both ways.” Boston's overpowering offense and constant hustle both ways tonight held the league's top-shooting team to a mere .361 for the first 3 periods. In the fourth quarter, the Royals could climb no closer than nine points. Bob Cousy and Tommy Heinsohn provided the offensive sparks, while Bill Russell reverted to his typically unbeatable form on defense. Cousy, playing his heart out as he plays in what might still be his final series, was the mainspring in changing a first-period 17-11 lead for the home team into a period-ending 34-25 Boston lead. “I wanted this game more than any I’ve played in for a long, long time,” said a wilted Cousy after his 100th playoff contest. “Fear was probably the reason. I felt that if we lost tonight, it would have been almost impossible to win the series.” With this in mind, Cousy started preparing for the game hours before the opening tip. “I had myself so psyched for this one that if anyone said hello to me, I think I would have cried. The first two games, I had gone into a slump with my shooting. I knew it, and I started pressing. The shots I should have been taking, I wasn’t. And when you do that, you only beat yourself.” Russell thought the big factor was the Celtics' performance at the foul line. “Imagine, we hit 30 of 33 at the line. That's really something. I get 10 out of 12, and I'm about the only guy that missed,” said the big man with a big smile.
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