Charles Barkley made his bulldozing presence felt against almost all players he ever faced, but the Boston Celtics were one team against whom he seemed to struggle at the Boston (TD) Garden.
Interestingly, it took The Round Mound of Rebound four years to register his first win on their home court. After 13 consecutive losses in that arena, Sir Charles finally broke the jinx in dramatic fashion, leading to a rare moment where he openly expressed pride in being a Sixer despite their typically strained relationship.
Barkley beat the Celtics at the Garden in dramatic fashion
The 11-time All-Star’s 13-game losing streak saw his Philadelphia 76ers get beat up by the Celtics by 37 points at the Garden. Moreover, in six of those 13 games, the Celtics versed Barkley’s Sixers by 11 points or more.
The tide turned on March 25, 1988. Initially, it appeared that history would repeat itself as the Celtics established a commanding 27-point lead by halftime, which expanded to 30 points in the third quarter. However, just as Larry Bird & Co. seemed poised for another rout, Barkley mounted an extraordinary comeback single-handedly. He scored 22 of his 29 points in the final period, leading the 76ers to outscore the Celtics 30-9 and ultimately register a 97-93 victory.
The collapse was so demoralizing for Celtics fans that they began booing their own players. Guard Danny Ainge acknowledged that given the team’s abysmal fourth-quarter performance, he could understand the fans’ frustration.
"We were pretty invincible in the first half and pretty much died in the second," Ainge said . “It's ridiculous and never should have happened. It's pretty embarrassing to come off the court and get booed by your home crowd. But we deserved it. It was just a pitiful effort."
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Charles was a ‘proud Sixer’ that day
Finally, overcoming the hurdle allowed Chuckster to momentarily embrace his identity as a 76er, setting aside past disputes.
"Even if we had lost, it didn't matter; I was just proud to be a Sixer tonight," Barkley said. "I'm glad that whole tribe of monkeys is off my back."
That being said, while this victory was a season highlight for the future 1993 MVP, it didn’t prevent Philly from missing the playoffs with a 36-46 record. On the other hand, the Celtics went on to secure an Eastern Conference-best 57-win campaign.
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