NBA-Leading Celtics Snag 58th Victory

BOSTON--There was no champagne. There was no whooping it up. Any celebration was put on hold.

The Boston Celtics nailed down the best record of the 1983-84 National Basketball Association (NBA) season with a 113-94 romp over the Cleveland Cavaliers last night.

For many teams, the accomplishment--the squad's 58th win against 19 losses--would be good reason for dancing in the street. But not for the Celtics. Their goal is higher--like a 15th NBA championship banner for Boston Garden.

"This is just another step in our goal to recapture the championship," said center Robert Parish. "We want to go on to bigger and better things."

"Having the best record feels good," said superstar Larry Bird. "It's good to be known as a team that comes to play every game. It will mean a lot more when we achieve all of our goals."

"Beautiful," Boston Coach K. C. Jones said after the Celtics' sixth victory in a row with just five games before the playoffs. "I told the guys before the game that I'd like to end things tonight as far as the best overall record is concerned. We're still going to go out there to win, but we have get other people ready, especially Scotty Wedman, M. L. Carr and Danny Ainge."

"We have the talent and we're hungry enough to win the title," Carr said. "K. C. has brought us back. Defense is taking its effect. K. C. has been feeding us from the outset and it's all jelling now, particularly on defense. We've got 10 days now to prepare ourselves for the playoffs."