76ers Take Celtics to Seven Games

Apr. 13, 1965 - The 76ers had just slithered past Boston, 112-106, and all of a sudden their best-of-seven series has shrunk to a best-of-one affair.

This takes place up in Boston Thursday night, and if you caught the scene in the 76ers dressing room after tonight’s hobby-horse affair at Convention Hall, you’d have to say that Wilt Chamberlain is angry enough to take on the whole town by himself.

Wilt was boiling. He was fuming at the officiating, at reporters, and everybody in general.

“No,” he said sharply when someone asked if he wasn’t pleased with the victory. “I wasn’t that happy. I won’t be happy until Thursday night if we are the victors. Every game has been just another step up, and we have one more to go before we win the Eastern Division title. Then I’ll relax and be kind to everybody. But not before.”

Without spelling it out, Wilt was especially upset about the way the 76ers had failed to protect big leads that extended to 17 points a couple of times. Boston, taking advantage of jittery 76ers offensive movement, sliced it to a dangerous 107-104 difference with a minute and a half to go before Hal Greer banged in a jumper to provide the breathing room.

But the capacity crowd of 11,184 (a home record for the 76ers), which had been yelling with glee all night, didn’t regain their voices until Chet Walker and Al Bianchi had added three foul shots to nail down the lid.

“I’m glad we beat them,” Wilt said, “because this means we still have another shot at them. But outside of that, I have nothing to be happy about tonight.”

Chamberlain, who never has fouled out of a game in his pro career, came close tonight. He played the final 1142 with five fouls on him.

“Did I have five fouls?” he asked innocently. “I don’t recall a one of them. If mine were fouls, then I get fouled at least twice on every play. The refereeing was ridiculous, and now is a good time to talk about it. When you rap them after a victory, maybe somebody will listen.

“I’m not afraid of playing up there. I think we can beat them if we just have neutral whistles. I honestly believe that the refs are awed by Boston being champs. Auerbach gets by with murder. He jumps up and down all over the place and doesn’t even get a warning tonight. And Dolph [Schayes] jumps up once, and Mendy [Rudolph] blows a technical. Who does he think he’s kidding?”

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