Nov. 18, 1964 - After watching his Hawks lose in Boston tonight, coach Harry Gallatin predicted future improvement from the St. Louis club.
The Hawks, ahead by 10 points in the third quarter, lost to the Celtics, 100-97.
Zelmo Beaty’s desperation 20-footer cut the Boston edge to 98-97 with three seconds left, but Beaty then fouled Tom Heinsohn, who sank both free throws to wind up the scoring.
“It’s not often you catch Boston off-form on its home court,” Gallatin said. “Yet we couldn’t take advantage of it. Poor rebounding hurt us badly. And there were a couple of calls by the officials I didn’t agree with. But in the final analysis, we just didn’t shoot enough.”
Boston hit on only 35 of 104 attempts, while the Hawks were clicking on 31 of 76.
“That’s what I mean,” said Gallatin. “How can you give a team like the Celtics 28 more shots and hope to win? We simply weren’t controlling the defensive boards the way we should have.
“Beaty and Bob Pettit did their share, but we’ve got to come up with more strength inside.
“That’s what we got Paul Silas for — and I’m confident he’ll do the job eventually. But it takes time for a rookie to adjust.”
Silas played only five minutes and grabbed four rebounds. However, his floor play was erratic, so Gallatin had to pull him out.
“I’ll promise you one thing,” said Gallatin. “This team of mine should come strong down the stretch. We won’t let another victory get away from us in Boston the way we did tonight.
“We have two good rookies — Silas and Jeff Mullins — who are going to give us a bench that can hold its own with any in the league.”
Tonight’s victory for the Celtics preserved their record of not having lost at home to St. Louis since January 24, 1962.
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