Red’s ‘Untouchable’ Record Up In Smoke After Three Losses, Wilkens Finally Lights Up Cigar To Celebrate Win No. 939, The Most For An Nba Coach

Lenny Wilkens lit a cigar in tribute to the man he passed Friday night, becoming the winningest coach in NBA history.

“We always thought that record would stand forever,” Wilkens said after the Atlanta Hawks gave him No. 939 with a 112-90 victory over the Washington Bullets. “But, as they say, never say never. This is huge.

“The satisfaction is that only one person can be No. 1 at the time,” he said. “Only one guy can be at the top. It’s nice to be there, for however long. I got there, and no one can take that from me.”

With the game no longer in doubt, assistant coach Dick Helm gave Wilkens the cigar, drawing a big smile from non-smoker Wilkens, and then gave him a light.

The normally stoic Wilkens kept smiling through the final minute and told the crowd after the game, “I lit the cigar up as a testament to Red Auerbach, who I think was one of the finest coaches in the NBA.”

The record came in the 32nd game of Wilkens’ 22nd season, lifting his record to 939-793, a .542 percentage. Wilkens has one NBA title, in 1979 in the second of his two stints with Seattle, and also has coached at Cleveland and Portland.

Auerbach, the cigar-chomping genius who built the Boston Celtics into a dynasty, had a 938-479 record, a .662 percentage, during his 20 seasons.

Auerbach moved to the front office after steering the Celtics to their eighth consecutive NBA championship in 1965-66 - the ninth during his 16 seasons in Boston. He also coached at Washington and Tri-Cities in the Midwest.

Kenny Norman led the Hawks with 23 points and Mookie Blaylock added 20. Juwan Howard had 16 for Washington.

“We all felt the pressure of the last two weeks trying to win this game and now it’s over with,” Blaylock said. “It feels a little more special for me because Lenny has really helped me out - working on my shot and other things I need to work on.”

“It’s wonderful for me, being this close to Lenny all these years,” said Craig Ehlo, who was with Wilkens when he was coaching at Cleveland. “He deserves all the credit for this.”

A crowd of 12,069 gave Wilkens a standing ovation, waving cards that read “Congratulations Lenny” on one side, “939 Wins” on the other.

After praising Auerbach as one of the league’s finest coaches, Wilkens added, “As well as I love Red, he never had to coach as many bad teams as I have.”

The Hawks had lost three games in a row since Wilkens tied the record in a 127-121 overtime victory over San Antonio on Dec. 29 - the losses coming at Cleveland, against Portland and at New York.

“I’d rather he’d have waited for the Nets,” Washington coach Jim Lynam said, referring to Atlanta’s home game with New Jersey tonight.

“It’s a well-deserved honor,” he said. “Lenny’s been in the league 22 years, so he’s sure doing something right. I’m happy for him. He deserves the recognition.”

Hawks 112, Bullets 90

WASHINGTON (90)

Cheaney 7-17 1-1 15, Howard 6-12 4-4 16, Muresan 2-6 1-2 5, Chapman 6-17 1-2 15, Skiles 1-3 0-0 3, McIlvaine 1-2 2-2 4, Tucker 5-7 2-3 12, Overton 6-11 0-0 13, Butler 3-7 0-0 7, Stewart 0-2 0-0 0, Walker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37-84 11-14 90.

ATLANTA (112)

Long 6-11 3-4 15, Norman 8-12 4-6 23, Lang 3-5 3-4 9, Augmon 4-10 8-12 16, Blaylock 8-17 0-0 20, Ehlo 4-7 0-3 10, Smith 1-8 2-2 4, Koncak 3-6 0-0 8, Corbin 2-5 0-0 4, Edwards 0-1 0-0 0, Les 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 40-83 20-31 112.

Washington 23 23 25 19 - 90 Atlanta 33 27 29 23 - 112

3-Point goals-Washington 5-15 (Chapman 2-6, Overton 1-1, Butler 1-3, Skiles 1-3, Cheaney 0-2), Atlanta 12-21 (Blaylock 4-6, Norman 3-5, Ehlo 2-3, Koncak 2-4, Les 1-1, Corbin 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Washington 50 (Tucker 11), Atlanta 54 (Augmon 9). Assists-Washington 15 (Cheaney, Skiles, Overton 3), Atlanta 27 (Blaylock 8). Total fouls-Washington 24, Atlanta 15. Technicals-Washington illegal defense 2, Atlanta illegal defense. A-12,069.