Nov. 13, 1963 - The Boston Celtics blew a 20-point first-half lead, battled furiously through 10 ties in the third period, and then went on to beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 114-110, before the largest crowd to attend a professional basketball program at Madison Square Garden in three years — 18,127 persons. The last time so many turned out for NBA play at the Garden was Nov. 11, 1960, for a Boston-Cincinnati, New York-Syracuse doubleheader that included the debut of Oscar Robertson. After a slow start, the Lakers’ Jerry West became unstoppable. He wound up with 35 points, launched the Laker comeback from their 40-20 deficit, and almost stole the game in the closing moments. Boston had taken command with a 13-2 burst for a 101-92 lead during the first six minutes of the fourth period. It was 111-100 with less than 2 minutes to go when West and Rudy LaRusso poured in 3 jump shots in a row, and then West stole the ball to sink another. Suddenly, it was 111-108 with 58 seconds to play. The Celtics, though, were able to make the big play that meant their 10th victory in 11 games. Sam Jones took a shot from the left corner. It was considerably short, but Tom Heinsohn went up and guided the ball in with a two-handed, overhead motion with his back to the basket. West immediately scored again, but Sam Jones dribbled the ball for most of the remaining 28 seconds, and Bill Russell, after grabbing a rebound, made the last point from the foul line with one second to play. In tonight’s nightcap, the Knicks downed the Hawks, 106-102.
