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CelticsBlog Trivia: Celtic hoop-pourri quiz

A little bit of everything.

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If one wishes to try the harder All-Star edition of the quiz, try to answer the questions without looking at the multiple choice offerings.

Layup-What Celtic two-time champion played in six NBA Finals for three different teams?*name the non-Boston teams and years
A) Danny Ainge B) Paul Silas

Dunk-What two-time Celtic champion won a third ring in 1979 with another club?*name the team he won it with for a three-point play
A) Charlie Scott B) Paul Silas

Reverse layup-What is the nickname of perennial former Celtic All-Star Paul Pierce?
A) The Answer B) The Truth

Free throw-Which Celtic shot just five for 19 from the foul line in the seven-game, 2010 NBA Finals loss to the Lakers?
A) Kendrick Perkins B) Rajon Rondo C) Glen Davis

Free throw-Who is the all-time Celtic leader in points, field goals made and attempted, minutes and games?
A) Larry Bird B) Paul Pierce C) John Havlicek

Free throw-What was the nickname of underrated Boston forward Cedric Maxwell?
A) Chief B Sir Cedric C) Cornbread

Jump shot-What early 1970s Boston backcourt backup, who won a ring with the 1974 Celtics, was nicknamed Hambone?*name the college he attended for a three-point play
A) Kevin Stacom B) Art Williams C) Glenn McDonald
D) Paul Westphal

Jump shot-How many points did Boston rally from behind to win game 3 of the 2002 Eastern Finals vs. the Nets to post the greatest rally in Celtic playoff history?
A) 21 B) 23 C) 26 D) 28

Hook shot-Which of the following members of the 1973 Providence Final Four team never played for the Celtics?*name the coach of that Friar club
A) Kevin Stacom B) Ernie DiGregorio C) Marvin Barnes
D) Fran Costello

Jump shot-Besides ironman John Havlicek, who played in the most regular season games for the Celtics?
A) Paul Pierce B) Robert Parish
C) Kevin McHale D) Bill Russell

Jump shot-Who holds the Celtic single-season scoring avg. record?*within half a point, what is the record avg.
A) Larry Bird B) JoJo White C) John Havlicek D) Paul Pierce

3-pointer-Which Celtic sharpshooter sank a club-record 11 consecutive three-point baskets over the course of multiple games?
A) Larry Bird B) Ray Allen C) Danny Ainge
D) Scott Wedman E) Chris Ford

3-pointer-Who holds the Celtic single-game playoff scoring record?*name the point total and the opponent for an extra point
A) Sam Jones B) Bob Cousy C) John Havlicek
D) Larry Bird E) Kevin McHale

3-pointer-Which of the following Celtic stars never scored 50 or more points in a game for Boston?
A) Sam Jones B) John Havlicek C) Bob Cousy
D) Kevin McHale E) JoJo White

3-pointer-Which of the following feats did Bob Cousy not accomplish in the epic Celtic 1953 four-overtime playoff win over Syracuse?
A) Made 30 foul shots B) Made the game-tying shot 3 times to force three of the 4 overtimes
C) Scored nine of the last 12 Boston points D) Had 24 assists E) Attempted 32 foul shots


37 points is the highest possible score; extra points only apply if the correct answer is given first.

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Celtic hoop-pourri Answers

Layup-A) Danny Ainge won titles with Boston in 1984 and 196, and lost in the Finals for the Celts in 1985 and 1987.
*He later lost in the 1992 Finals with Portland and in 1993 with Phoenix, both times in six games to Chicago.

Dunk-B) Strong rebounding forward Paul Silas won two titles with the Celtics in 1974 and 1976.
*He won a third ring as a veteran reserve in 1979 with Seattle, and narrowly missed another one with the Sonics in 1978 when they lost in a seven-game Finals to the Bullets.

Reverse layup-B) The nickname of former Celtic All-Star Paul Pierce is "The Truth."

Free throw-B) Rajon Rondo shot a horrid five for 19 from the foul line (26 percent) in the 2010 NBA Finals loss to the Lakers.

Free throw-C) John Havlicek is the all-time Celtic leader in points, field goals made and attempted, minutes and games.

Free throw-C) Cornbread was the nickname of underrated Boston forward Cedric Maxwell. Max also gave Robert Parish the moniker Chief after his resemblance to the stoic character in the popular movie "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."

Jump shot-B) Art Williams, a Celtic backcourt backup who won a ring with the 1974 Celtics, was nicknamed Hambone.
*Williams attended Cal State Polytechnic and scored 2.6 ppg in 1973-74.

Jump shot-C) Boston rallied from 26 points behind to win game 3 of the 2002 Eastern Finals vs. the Nets to post the greatest rally in Celtic playoff history. New Jersey led 65-39 but Boston outscored them 55-25 down the stretch, including 41-16 in the fourth period. The epic comeback put Boston ahead 2-1, but they lost the series, 4-2.

Hook shot-D) Fran Costello of the 1973 Providence Final Four team never played for the Celtics. Stacom was a member of the 1976 Celtic champs.
*Future Big east commissioner and Celtic president Dave Gavitt coached that Friar club, as well as the 1980 U.S. Olympic team.

Jump shot-B) Besides ironman John Havlicek, Robert Parish (1,106) played in the most regular season games for the Celtics. Pierce played in 1,102 and McHale 971.

Jump shot-A) Larry Bird holds the Celtic single-season scoring avg. record at 29.9 ppg, set in 1987-88. His mark is just ahead of John Havlicek's previous club record of 28.9 set in 1970-71, when the three-pointer was not in effect. Without the 98 treys Bird hit that year, his average would be 28.6.

3-pointer-D) Underrated reserve swingman Scott Wedman drained a club-record 11 consecutive three-point baskets over the course of several games during the 1984-85 season.

3-pointer-C) John Havlicek set the Celtic single-game playoff scoring record in game one of the 1973 playoffs.
*Hondo tossed in 54 points on 24 field goals and 6-6 foul shooting as the Celtics rolled to a 25-point win over the Atlanta Hawks.

3-pointer-E) JoJo White never scored 50 or more points in a game for Boston. Jones scored 51, McHale 56, Havlicek 54 and Cousy 50, the latter two in playoff games.

3-pointer-D) Bob Cousy sank 30 of 32 foul shots in a 114-109 quadruple overtime game 2 win over Syracuse. He scored 50 in the game despite an injured leg. He hit a free throw to force the first and second OTs, then later canned a 25-footer with three seconds left to force the fourth OT. In the final OT Cousy scored nine of the 12 Celtic points.
But he did not pass out 24 assists.

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MVPs Answers

Layup-B) At 6-1, Bob Cousy is the shortest Celtic regular season MVP winner. Sharman never won the award.
*As a freshman, Cousy helped Holy Cross win the NCAA title in 1947.

Dunk-B) Legendary Celtic swingman John Havlicek was named MVP of the 1974 Finals as Boston beat the Bucks, 4-3.

Backdoor layup-A) True. Larry Bird is the only non-center in league history to win three straight NBA MVP awards, from 1984-86.

Free throw-B) Paul Pierce was MVP of the 4-2 Boston 2008 NBA championship series win over the Lakers.

Free throw-A) In a controversial vote over teammate Larry Bird, underrated Celtic firward Cedric Maxwell was named MVP of the 1981 NBA Finals.

Jump shot-C) Dave Cowens was MVP of the 1973 All-Star Game in Chicago.
*Point guard Nate Archibald was voted MVP of the 1981 All-Star Game at Cleveland with just nine points and nine assists.

Jump shot-B) Kevin McHale of the 1986 champion Celtics never won a Finals MVP award, although a good case could be made that he should have shared it in 1986 after he dominated Ralph Sampson.*Bill Walton won it in 1977 with Portland, and Dennis Johnson was Finals MVP in 1979 for Seattle.

Hook shot-D) 76er rival Julius Erving edged out Larry Bird for the 1980-81 NBA season MVP award?
*Earvin Johnson ended Larry's string of three consecutive NBA season MVP awards when he won his first MVP award in 1987.

Jump shot-B) Milwaukee center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was named first team All-NBA ahead of Dave Cowens despite Big Red winning the NBA MVP award in 1973 after leading Boston to a franchise-best 68-14 record.
*Dave's Celtic teammate John Havlicek was named first team All-NBA in 1973.

3-pointer-D) Two-time Celtic champion Steve Kuberski was the last Celtic to wear number 33 before Larry Bird made it his own in 1979. Kuberski wore #11 in his first stint with Boston from 1969-74. He then wore 33 from 1975-78. Ben Clyde wore 33 in 1974-75.

3-pointer-B) Larry Bird won three straight season MVP awards from 1984-86, and finished second in the season MVP voting in 1981-82-83-88.
In 1982 at New Jersey's then-new Brendan Byrnes Arena in the Meadowlands, Bird won his only All-Star Game MVP with 19 points and 12 boards as the East won a thriller, 120-118.

3-pointer-C) Forgotten early Celtic great Ed Macauley won the MVP award in the inaugural All-Star Game at Boston Garden in 1951. Easy Ed scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds in the 111-94 East win.
Cousy won the MVP in 1954 and 1957, while Sharman won the ASG MVP in 1955.
*Paul Westphal, a Celtic reserve guard from 1972-75, was the All-Star MVP runner-up in 1977 after scoring 20 points - including the winning basket, then making the game-saving block and steal as the West won 125-124. But Julius Erving of the losing East squad was named MVP, while the Milwaukee crowd booed and chanted for Westphal.

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