On this day in Boston Celtics history, in the very first NBA season of the storied franchise’s existence in 1946, the Celtics scored their second-lowest point total in franchise history in their 17th game of existence in the Basketball Association of America (BAA – a precursor league to the NBA). The ignominious honor came on the road in a 62-44 loss to the New York Knicks, the Celtics’ 14th loss of a very rough inaugural campaign for the franchise.
Mercifully for the Boston fans of that era, it was not an auspicious beginning for the team that would later win an NBA-record 17 titles.
Wing Wyndol Gray led all of Boston’s players with 13 points, hitting one of his two free-throw attempts.
Happy birthday in heaven Wyndol Gray. #Celtics pic.twitter.com/qYMUAb9Vzq
— Honest☘️Larry (@HonestLarry1) March 20, 2021
Forward Al Brightman added 11 points while connecting on 75% of his 4 free throw attempts put up 6 points while missing all 3 of his attempts from the charity stripe.
You’ll note the conspicuous absence of other counting stats, as they were not yet tabulated in the still-young league.
It is also the date of a triple-double by Boston legend Larry Bird, scored in a 103-102 loss to the Denver Nuggets in 1989.
He scored 24 points, 12 rebounds, and as many assists while having a bit of a rough shooting night, going 9-for-23 overall and 1-of-4 from beyond the arc (though hitting 5-of-5 from the line) to nearly come away with the win.
10 years to the day later, former Celtic forward Antoine Walker scored his own triple-double — also in a loss — in a game against the Indiana Pacers that Boston dropped 104-91.
Employee No. 8 (as Walker was often called) logged 16 points, 10 boards, and 12 assists in a solid night of shooting.
Walker hit 6-of-15 overall and a sizzling 3-of-5 from deep, not enough to push his Celtics over the edge but enough to get a nod from the history books.
Finally, it is also the birthday of Celtics reserve forward Sam Hauser, born this day in 1997 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Hauser began his NCAA tenure playing for Marquette, but transferred to Virginia to finish out his collegiate career, and went unselected in the 2021 NBA draft, after which he was signed by Boston.
The Wisconsin native worked his way up from a two way deal to a full roster slot this season and currently averages 7.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game with the Celtics.
Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ
