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Show Former BYU players Danny Alnge (44). and Greg Kits (50) look on as the Incredible Larry Bird (33) sinks a pair of his 30 points. Rich Kelly (44), Thurl Bailey (41), and Fred Roberts (33) hit for the Jazz. t Jazz Lose, But Fans See Great Game At 'Palace' By John Yardley Three former BYU basketball players and one former Utah star met Monday night at the Salt Palace before a sell-out crowd of over 12,000. Fred Roberts and Pace Mannion were "assisted" in their appearance by the Utah Jazz, while Danny Ainge and Greg Kite were backed up by the best team in the NBA, commonly known as the Boston Celtics. Boston blew by the Jazz 110-94 in the game that was essentially over after one period as the Celtics exploded for a 34-10 first quarter lead. Larry Bird was no less than phenomenal as he hit from every angle, rebounded and passed off to lead the Celtics with 18 first half points. Unmistakedly the best player in the NBA, Bird also had 9 assists and 10 rebounds in that first half as the Celts opened up a 60-42 half-time lead. He finished the night with 30 points, 10 assists, 12 rebounds and 9 steals. He could have become only the second player in history to record a "quadruple double", but told Coach K.C. Jones he didn't care to go back in when beckoned in the fourth period. The Birdman did not play at all in that final stanza. Sitting just some IS feet away, I witnessed Bird's response. He was much more interested in letting the substitutes have some fun than he was in personal glory. He is simply the best. Back to the Utah connection, Fred Roberts had a superb game for the Jazz. He led in scoring off the bench with 22, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished off a couple of assists. Roberts played 33 minutes in this game, and after the 21 points he tallied on Saturday, shows he is more than ready to help Frank Layden's push for the playoffs. Pace Mannion played eight minutes, but did not score for Utah. Danny Ainge and Greg Kite both started for Boston, Kite getting the starting nod with both Robert Parish and Cedric Maxwell back in Boston ' with injuries. Ainge netted an .even dozen points and handed out 8 assists. Kite was impressive. Playing more minutes than ever (34), the big center pulled down 10 boards and scored four points. It gives one hope that he may hang on in the league. In "otherwise how was the game" news, the Jazz were so ice cold early on that things looked pretty drastic. However, even without Adrian Dantley in the lineup, the Utah franchise played pretty much even with the World Champs after the first quarter. The Jazz actually outscored the Celtics in the second and fourth quarters to make the score respectable at the 110-94 final. Thurl Bailey played another excellent game, ripping in 19 points and big Mark Eaton canned 17 with 15 rebounds, to go along with the excellent play of Roberts. The underlying story was cold shooting (only 40 percent) for Utah and the other minor problem of an extremely hot bird, named Larry, flying around the Salt Palace. The Jazz now go on the road for four games on a swing East, playing New Jersey, Cleveland, Philadelphia and Dallas before returning home Feb. 27. On that night, the' Utah team takes on Milwaukee at the University of Utah Special Events Center and on Friday, Mar". 1, the Jazz entertains the awesome Twin Towers of Houston Akeen Olajawan and Ralph Sampson. Tickets are available for these games and you can be sure .there will be plenty of excitement. The NBA is terrific. The Jazz really do have some talented players. Take a night out and go see the best basketball players in the world. Danny Ainge (44) really has his head "on the ball" as he steals from Mark Eaton (53) of the Jazz. Kevin McIIale (32) and Greg Kite (50) look on for the Celts. |