Dec. 28, 1963 - Cincinnati made a myth of Boston’s basketball invincibility once again last night in Cincinnati Gardens. Oscar Robertson’s 37 points, 22 rebounds, and 11 assists paced a 91-87 victory before a standing-room-only crowd of 14,141, the largest in Royals history and third largest basketball crowd in Gardens history. The Royals trailed for only two short stretches in the first half as they whipped Boston for a fourth time in the last five meetings and took a 4-3 edge in the season series. If you think that isn’t an accomplishment, just remember: the Celtics have lost only 5 times all season in 29 games. Not until the final moment could the crowd or the Royals rest easy as Boston made one final push, cutting the home team’s lead to 3 points with 1:13 remaining. Jerry Lucas, plagued by fouls all night but a strong performer nevertheless with 15 points and 15 rebounds, took a pass from Robertson, threaded his way through a pawing pack of Celtics, and threw in a hook shot that shut the door for good. Robertson was tremendous once again, particularly on one incredible maneuver in the second quarter driving up the middle, finding the menacing Bill Russell in front of him, then switching the ball to his left hand and hooking it over the Boston giant into the basket. After the game, Boston coach Red Auerbach sat in a chair in the Boston dressing room, looking at a statistic sheet. “They didn’t outrebound us much, did they? 79-56,” Auerbach said. “Cincinnati’s got a hell of a ball club,” he continued, “but you can quote me on this: if we meet them in the playoffs, it’ll be another story. It’ll be back the way it always was. They’re our type of club. We weren’t quite ready for them tonight.” Auerbach then went back to his statistic sheet. “Look at Russell. He had a great shooting night — two of 16.” From a nearby chair, Russell said, “I didn’t exactly shoot the lights out.” The crowd that jam-packed the Gardens and overflowed into the aisles was less than 1,000 shy of the record basketball throng of 15,011 that watched the University of Cincinnati and Dayton on March 4, 1958, and easily topped the Royals’ previous high of 11,102 in last year’s playoffs against the same Celtics.
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