1961–62 Boston Celtics season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1961–62 Boston Celtics season
NBA champions
Division champions
Head coachRed Auerbach
ArenaBoston Garden
Results
Record60–20 (.750)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishNBA Champions
(Defeated Lakers 4–3)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWHDH-TV
RadioWHDH
< 1960–61 1962–63 >

The 1961–62 NBA season was the Celtics' 16th season in the NBA. The Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers to claim their fifth NBA Championship. They set new records with the most games won and the first NBA team to post 60 wins. Three years later, the Celtics would break this record with 62 wins in 1964–65 season.

Offseason[]

NBA Draft[]

The 1961 NBA Draft took place on March 27, 1961.

Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 9 Gary Phillips Guard  United States Houston
2 17 Al Butler Guard  United States Niagara

Roster[]

.

Regular season[]

Season standings[]

Eastern Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
x-Boston Celtics 60 20 .750 – 23–5 26–12 11–3 26–10
x-Philadelphia Warriors 49 31 .613 11 18–11 19–19 12–1 18–18
x-Syracuse Nationals 41 39 .513 19 18–10 11–19 12–10 17–19
New York Knicks 29 51 .363 31 19–15 2–23 8–13 11–25


Record vs. opponents[]

1961-62 NBA Records
Team BOS CHI CIN DET LAL NYK PHI STL SYR
Boston — 9–1 7–1 5–3 6–3 8–4 8–4 7–2 10–2
Chicago 1–9 — 1–9 3–7 2–8 6–4 0–10 4–6 1–9
Cincinnati 1–7 9–1 — 6–6 5–7 5–4 3–5 9–3 5–4
Detroit 3–5 7–3 6–6 — 4–8 5–4 1–7 7–5 4–5
Los Angeles 3–6 8–2 7–5 8–4 — 6–2 6–3 10–2 6–2
New York 4–8 4–6 4–5 4–5 2–6 — 4–8 4–4 3–9
Philadelphia 4–8 10–0 5–3 7–1 3–6 8–4 — 6–3 6–6
St. Louis 2–7 6–4 3–9 5–7 2–10 4–4 3–6 — 4–4
Syracuse 2–10 9–1 4–5 5–4 2–6 9–3 6–6 4–4 —

Playoffs[]

1962 playoff game log
Division Finals: 4–3 (Home: 4–0; Road: 0–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 March 24 Philadelphia W 117–89 Sam Jones (20) Bill Russell (30) Bob Cousy (8) Boston Garden 1–0
2 March 27 @ Philadelphia L 106–113 Tom Heinsohn (24) Bill Russell (20) Bill Russell (6) Philadelphia Civic Center 1–1
3 March 28 Philadelphia W 129–114 Russell, Heinsohn (31) Bill Russell (31) Bob Cousy (10) Boston Garden 2–1
4 March 31 @ Philadelphia L 106–110 Bill Russell (31) Bill Russell (30) Bob Cousy (10) Philadelphia Civic Center 2–2
5 April 1 Philadelphia W 119–104 Bill Russell (29) Bill Russell (26) Russell, S. Jones (7) Boston Garden 3–2
6 April 3 @ Philadelphia L 99–109 Heinsohn, Cousy (22) Bill Russell (22) Bob Cousy (12) Philadelphia Civic Center 3–3
7 April 5 Philadelphia W 109–107 Sam Jones (28) Bill Russell (22) K. C. Jones (10) Boston Garden 4–3
NBA Finals: 4–3 (Home: 2–2; Road: 2–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 7 Los Angeles W 122–108 Sam Jones (24) Bill Russell (28) Bob Cousy (7) Boston Garden
7,467 		1–0
2 April 8 Los Angeles L 122–129 Tom Heinsohn (27) Bill Russell (23) Bob Cousy (11) Boston Garden
12,364 		1–1
3 April 10 @ Los Angeles L 115–117 Bill Russell (26) Bill Russell (32) Bob Cousy (8) Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
15,180 		1–2
4 April 11 @ Los Angeles W 115–103 Bill Russell (21) Bill Russell (22) Bob Cousy (13) Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
15,104 		2–2
5 April 14 Los Angeles L 121–126 Tom Heinsohn (30) Bill Russell (29) Bob Cousy (10) Boston Garden
13,909 		2–3
6 April 16 @ Los Angeles W 119–105 Sam Jones (35) Bill Russell (24) Bill Russell (10) Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
14,030 		3–3
7 April 18 Los Angeles W 110–107 (OT) Bill Russell (30) Bill Russell (40) Bob Cousy (9) Boston Garden
13,909 		4–3
1962 schedule

Awards and honors[]

  • Bill Russell, NBA Most Valuable Player
  • Bill Russell, All-NBA Second team
  • Bob Cousy, All-NBA Second team
  • Tom Heinsohn, All-NBA Second team

References[]

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