1983–84 Boston Celtics season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1983–84 Boston Celtics season
NBA champions
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coachK. C. Jones
General managerRed Auerbach
OwnersDon Gaston
Alan N. Cohen
Paul Dupee
ArenaBoston Garden
Hartford Civic Center
Results
Record62–20 (.756)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Atlantic)
Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishNBA Champions
(Defeated Lakers 4–3)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionSportsChannel New England, WBZ, WTXX
RadioWRKO, WTIC
< 1982–83 1984–85 >

The 1983–84 Boston Celtics were champions of the National Basketball Association (NBA) led by regular season and finals MVP Larry Bird.

In the playoffs, the Celtics defeated the Washington Bullets in the First Round in three games, defeated the New York Knicks in the Semi-finals in seven games, and defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in the Conference Finals in five games, advancing to the NBA Finals. In the Finals, the Celtics faced their long time rival, the Los Angeles Lakers, the first time the two teams faced off against each other since 1969 in which the Celtics won 4–3, and the first time the two teams met in the Finals in the 1980s. The Celtics would go on to defeat the Lakers in seven games, winning their fifteenth NBA championship, and extending their NBA Finals victories over the Lakers to 8.

Offseason[]

NBA Draft[]

Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 21 Greg Kite Center  United States BYU

Roster[]

Boston Celtics roster
  • v
  • t
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From
G 44 United States Ainge, Danny 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) BYU
F 33 United States Bird, Larry 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Indiana State
G 28 United States Buckner, Quinn 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Indiana
F 30 United States Carr, M. L. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Guilford
G 40 United States Clark, Carlos 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Mississippi
G 43 United States Henderson, Gerald 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Virginia Commonwealth
G 3 United States Johnson, Dennis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Pepperdine
C 50 United States Kite, Greg 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) BYU
F 31 United States Maxwell, Cedric 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Charlotte
F 32 United States McHale, Kevin 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Minnesota
C 00 United States Parish, Robert 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Centenary College of Louisiana
F 8 United States Wedman, Scott 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Colorado
Head coach
  • K. C. Jones (San Francisco)
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Regular season[]

Season standings[]

Atlantic Division
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Boston Celtics 62 20 .756 – 33–8 29–12 13–11
x-Philadelphia 76ers 52 30 .634 10 32–9 20–21 15–9
x-New York Knicks 47 35 .573 15 29–12 18–23 12–12
x-New Jersey Nets 45 37 .549 17 29–12 16–25 12–12
x-Washington Bullets 35 47 .427 27 25–16 10–31 8–16
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Boston Celtics 62 20 .756 –
2 y-Milwaukee Bucks 50 32 .610 12
3 x-Philadelphia 76ers 52 30 .634 10
4 x-Detroit Pistons 49 33 .598 13
5 x-New York Knicks 47 35 .573 15
6 x-New Jersey Nets 45 37 .549 17
7 x-Atlanta Hawks 40 42 .488 22
8 x-Washington Bullets 35 47 .427 27
9 Cleveland Cavaliers 28 54 .341 34
10 Chicago Bulls 27 55 .329 35
11 Indiana Pacers 26 56 .317 36
z – clinched division title
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents[]

1983-84 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND KCK LAL MIL NJN NYK PHI PHO POR SAS SDC SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta – 0–5 4–2 3–3 1–1 0–2 2–4 1–1 1–1 4–2 0–2 0–2 3–3 3–3 4–1 5–1 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 4–2
Boston 5–0 – 5–0 6–0 2–0 2–0 4–2 2–0 1–1 5–1 2–0 0–2 5–1 4–2 3–3 2–4 2–0 2–0 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 4–2
Chicago 2–4 0–5 – 2–4 1–1 0–2 1–5 2–0 0–2 3–3 1–1 0–2 2–4 2–4 2–4 2–3 1–1 2–0 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–4
Cleveland 3–3 0–6 4–2 – 1–1 0–2 1–5 1–1 1–1 2–4 0–2 0–2 1–5 2–3 1–5 2–4 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–2 4–1
Dallas 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 – 4–2 0–2 4–1 4–2 2–0 3–3 3–2 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 3–2 2–3 4–2 4–1 1–4 4–2 0–2
Denver 2–0 0–2 2–0 2–0 2–4 – 1–1 2–3 4–2 0–2 4–2 1–4 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–3 1–4 3–3 3–2 2–3 3–3 0–2
Detroit 4–2 2–4 5–1 5–1 2–0 1–1 – 1–1 1–1 4–2 1–1 1–1 3–2 1–4 4–2 3–3 2–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 3–3
Golden State 1–1 0–2 0–2 1–1 1–4 3–2 1–1 – 2–3 2–0 4–1 3–3 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–5 2–4 3–2 3–3 4–2 1–4 2–0
Houston 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–4 2–4 1–1 3–2 – 1–1 2–4 1–4 1–1 0–2 0–2 0–2 2–3 1–4 2–4 2–3 3–2 1–5 0–2
Indiana 2–4 1–5 3–3 4–2 0–2 2–0 2–4 0–2 1–1 – 0–2 1–1 1–5 1–5 2–4 0–5 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–4
Kansas City 2–0 0–2 1–1 2–0 3–3 2–4 1–1 1–4 4–2 2–0 – 0–5 0–2 2–0 0–2 0–2 2–3 2–3 5–1 3–2 1–4 3–3 2–0
Los Angeles 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–3 4–1 1–1 3–3 4–1 1–1 5–0 – 2–0 1–1 0–2 1–1 3–3 5–1 2–3 4–2 3–3 4–1 1–1
Milwaukee 3–3 1–5 4–2 5–1 2–0 1–1 2–3 2–0 1–1 5–1 2–0 0–2 – 4–2 4–1 2–4 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 5–1
New Jersey 3–3 2–4 4–2 3–2 1–1 1–1 4–1 1–1 2–0 5–1 0–2 1–1 2–4 – 3–3 3–3 2–0 0–2 0–2 2–0 1–1 1–1 4–2
New York 1–4 3–3 4–1 5–1 2–0 1–1 2–4 1–1 2–0 4–2 2–0 2–0 1–4 3–3 – 2–4 1–1 0–2 2–0 2–0 1–1 2–0 4–2
Philadelphia 1–5 4–2 3–2 4–2 1–1 1–1 3–3 1–1 2–0 5–0 2–0 1–1 4–2 3–3 4–2 – 1–1 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 2–0 4–2
Phoenix 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 2–3 3–2 0–2 5–1 3–2 1–1 3–2 3–3 0–2 0–2 1–1 1–1 – 2–4 5–0 4–2 2–4 1–4 2–0
Portland 2–0 0–2 0–2 1–1 3–2 4–1 1–1 4–2 4–1 1–1 3–2 1–5 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 4–2 – 4–1 4–2 4–2 1–4 1–1
San Antonio 1–1 0–2 2–0 1–1 2–4 3–3 1–1 2–3 4–2 2–0 1–5 3–2 1–1 2–0 0–2 0–2 0–5 1–4 – 4–1 2–3 4–2 1–1
San Diego 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–4 2–3 0–2 3–3 3–2 1–1 2–3 2–4 1–1 0–2 0–2 0–2 2–4 2–4 1–4 – 3–3 2–3 1–1
Seattle 1–1 0–2 2–0 1–1 4–1 3–2 1–1 2–4 2–3 1–1 4–1 3–3 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 4–2 2–4 3–2 3–3 – 1–4 1–1
Utah 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 2–4 3–3 1–1 4–1 5–1 1–1 3–3 1–4 1–1 1–1 0–2 0–2 4–1 4–1 2–4 3–2 4–1 – 1–1
Washington 2–4 2–4 4–2 1–4 2–0 2–0 3–3 0–2 2–0 4–1 0–2 1–1 1–5 2–4 2–4 2–4 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 —

Game log[]

Regular season[]

1983–84 game log: 62–20 (Home: 33–8; Road: 29–12)
October: 1–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 1–1)
Game Date
Time		 Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 October 28, 1983
7:35 pm EDT 		@ Detroit L 121–127 McHale (25) McHale (10) Henderson (6) Pontiac Silverdome
17,117 		0–1
2 October 29, 1983
8:05 pm EDT 		@ Cleveland W 108–89 McHale (22) Bird (13) Bird (7) Richfield Coliseum
8,194 		1–1
November: 11–4 (Home: 7–1; Road: 4–3)
Game Date
Time		 Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
3 November 2, 1983 Milwaukee W 119–105 Boston Garden 2–1
4 November 4, 1983 Indiana W 121–105 Boston Garden 3–1
5 November 5, 1983 @ Washington W 120–117 Capital Centre 4–1
6 November 8, 1983 @ Indiana W 99–97 Market Square Arena 5–1
7 November 9, 1983 San Diego W 129–122 Boston Garden 6–1
8 November 11, 1983
7:30 pm EST 		Detroit W 126–118 Bird (39) McHale,
Parish (12) 		Maxwell (8) Boston Garden
14,890 		7–1
9 November 12, 1983 @ Chicago W 116–101 Chicago Stadium 8–1
10 November 15, 1983 @ Denver W 140–124 McNichols Sports Arena 9–1
11 November 16, 1983 @ Utah L 109–122 Salt Palace 9–2
12 November 18, 1983 New York L 103–110 Boston Garden 9–3
13 November 19, 1983 @ Philadelphia L 91–92 The Spectrum 9–4
14 November 22, 1983 @ New York L 113–117 (2OT) Madison Square Garden 9–5
15 November 25, 1983 Atlanta W 109–102 Boston Garden 10–5
16 November 27, 1983
7:30 pm EST 		Detroit W 114–99 McHale (29) Parish (13) Bird (8) Boston Garden
14,890 		11–5
17 November 30, 1983 San Antonio W 130–106 Boston Garden 12–5
December: 12–3 (Home: 5–2; Road: 7–1)
Game Date
Time		 Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
18 December 2, 1983 Portland W 115–106 Boston Garden 12–6
19 December 4, 1983 Philadelphia L 114–121 (OT) Boston Garden 13–6
20 December 6, 1983 @ Chicago W 118–105 Chicago Stadium 14–6
21 December 7, 1983 @ Indiana W 100–95 Market Square Arena 15–6
22 December 9, 1983 Denver W 119–90 Boston Garden 16–6
23 December 10, 1983 @ Atlanta W 104–87 The Omni 17–6
24 December 13, 1983 @ New York W 102–100 Madison Square Garden 18–6
25 December 14, 1983
7:30 pm EST 		Cleveland W 110–108 Parish (30) Parish (16) Henderson (6) Boston Garden
14,890 		19–6
26 December 16, 1983 Washington L 93–100 Boston Garden 19–7
27 December 17, 1983
7:35 pm EST 		@ Detroit W 129–115 McHale (30) McHale (16) Bird (9) Pontiac Silverdome<be>24,318 20–7
28 December 21, 1983 Atlanta W 107–96 Boston Garden 21–7
29 December 23, 1983 New Jersey W 125–113 Boston Garden 22–7
30 December 27, 1983 @ San Antonio W 115–100 HemisFair Arena 23–7
31 December 29, 1983 @ Houston L 94–107 The Summit 23–8
32 December 30, 1983 @ Dallas W 114–109 (OT) Reunion Arena 24–8
January: 11–1 (Home: 6–0; Road: 5–1)
Game Date
Time		 Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
33 January 3, 1984 @ New Jersey W 105–103 Brendan Byrne Arena 25–8
34 January 4, 1984 Washington W 113–104 Boston Garden 26–8
35 January 6, 1984
7:30 pm EST 		Cleveland W 115–97 Bird (19) Bird (7) Henderson (8) Boston Garden
14,890 		27–8
36 January 11, 1984 Golden State W 135–112 Boston Garden 28–8
37 January 13, 1984 @ Philadelphia W 105–104 The Spectrum 29–8
38 January 15, 1984 @ Milwaukee L 87–106 MECCA Arena 29–9
39 January 17, 1984 @ Kansas City W 122–113 Kemper Arena 30–9
40 January 20, 1984 Indiana W 132–125 Boston Garden 31–9
41 January 22, 1984 Milwaukee W 109–98 Boston Garden 32–9
42 January 24, 1984
7:35 pm EST 		@ Cleveland W 118–97 Bird (24) Parish (9) Ainge (5) Richfield Coliseum
5,830 		33–9
43 January 25, 1984 Philadelphia W 102–98 Boston Garden 34–9
44 January 31, 1984 @ Chicago W 106–83 Chicago Stadium 35–9
February: 8–6 (Home: 4–3; Road: 4–3)
Game Date
Time		 Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
45 February 1, 1984 Kansas City W 119–110 Boston Garden 36–9
46 February 3, 1984 Indiana W 125–106 Boston Garden 37–9
47 February 5, 1984
1:00 pm EST 		Detroit W 137–134 (OT) McHale (33) Bird (19) Ainge (7) Boston Garden
14,890 		38–9
48 February 6, 1984 @ New Jersey L 112–115 Brendan Byrne Arena 38–10
49 February 8, 1984 Los Angeles L 109–111 Boston Garden 38–11
50 February 10, 1984 Houston W 114–101 Boston Garden 39–11
51 February 12, 1984 Philadelphia L 91–109 Boston Garden 39–12
52 February 16, 1984 @ Golden State W 125–115 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 40–12
53 February 17, 1984 @ Seattle W 111–100 Kingdome 41–12
54 February 19, 1984 @ Portland W 107–101 Memorial Coliseum 42–12
55 February 22, 1984 @ San Diego L 107–114 San Diego Sports Arena 42–13
56 February 24, 1984 @ Los Angeles L 108–116 The Forum 42–14
57 February 26, 1984 @ Phoenix W 116–109 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 43–14
58 February 29, 1984 New York L 98–102 Boston Garden 43–15
March: 13–4 (Home: 7–2; Road: 6–2)
Game Date
Time		 Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
59 March 2, 1984 Chicago W 104–100 Boston Garden 44–15
60 March 4, 1984 Seattle W 117–93 Boston Garden 45–15
61 March 6, 1984 @ Washington W 108–86 Capital Centre 46–15
62 March 7, 1984 Utah W 117–106 Boston Garden 47–15
63 March 9, 1984 @ Milwaukee W 129–128 (2OT) MECCA Arena 48–15
64 March 11, 1984 Phoenix W 117–109 Boston Garden 49–15
65 March 14, 1984 Washington L 99–103 Boston Garden 49–16
66 March 16, 1984 Milwaukee W 109–99 Boston Garden 50–16
67 March 17, 1984 @ Atlanta W 103–88 The Omni 51–16
68 March 20, 1984 @ Indiana L 121–123 (OT) Market Square Arena 51–17
69 March 22, 1984 @ New York W 108–100 Madison Square Garden 52–17
70 March 23, 1984 New Jersey L 97–101 Boston Garden 52–18
71 March 25, 1984 @ Philadelphia L 114–119 (2OT) The Spectrum 52–19
72 March 27, 1984 @ Washington W 106–93 Capital Centre 53–19
73 March 28, 1984 Dallas W 114–107 Boston Garden 54–19
74 March 30, 1984 Atlanta W 105–96 Boston Garden 55–19
75 March 31, 1984 @ New Jersey W 107–98 Brendan Byrne Arena 56–19
April: 6–1 (Home: 4–0; Road: 2–1)
Game Date
Time		 Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
76 April 3, 1984
7:35 pm EST 		@ Cleveland W 98–86 Bird (29) Parish (15) Bird (6) Richfield Coliseum
7,094 		57–19
77 April 6, 1984
7:30 pm EST 		Cleveland W 113–94 Bird (33) Parish (14) Buckner (11) Boston Garden
14,890 		58–19
78 April 8, 1984 Chicago W 117–110 Boston Garden 59–19
79 April 10, 1984 @ Milwaukee W 96–95 MECCA Arena 60–19
80 April 11, 1984 New York W 102–96 Boston Garden 61–19
81 April 13, 1984
7:35 pm EST 		@ Detroit L 120–128 (OT) McHale (32) Bird (20) Johnson (8) Pontiac Silverdome
30,091 		61–20
82 April 15, 1984 New Jersey W 118–111 Boston Garden 62–20
1984 regular season schedule

Playoffs[]

1984 playoff game log
First round: 3–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 17 Washington W 91–83 Larry Bird (23) Robert Parish (14) Larry Bird (12) Boston Garden
14,890 		1–0
2 April 19 Washington W 88–85 Larry Bird (23) Larry Bird (12) Larry Bird (6) Boston Garden
14,890 		2–0
3 April 21 @ Washington L 108–111 (OT) Larry Bird (27) Robert Parish (16) Bird, Johnson (6) Capital Centre
8,359 		2–1
4 April 24 @ Washington W 99–96 Robert Parish (20) Robert Parish (12) Larry Bird (7) Capital Centre
13,853 		3–1
Conference Semi-finals: 4–3 (Home: 4–0; Road: 0–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 29 New York W 110–92 Kevin McHale (25) Robert Parish (12) Larry Bird (12) Boston Garden
14,890 		1–0
2 May 2 New York W 116–102 Larry Bird (37) Bird, Parish (11) Dennis Johnson (7) Boston Garden
14,890 		2–0
3 May 4 @ New York L 92–100 Larry Bird (24) Larry Bird (11) Dennis Johnson (4) Madison Square Garden
19,591 		2–1
4 May 6 @ New York L 113–118 Larry Bird (29) Larry Bird (11) Dennis Johnson (7) Madison Square Garden
15,840 		2–2
5 May 9 New York W 121–99 Larry Bird (26) Robert Parish (10) Larry Bird (10) Boston Garden
14,890 		3–2
6 May 11 @ New York L 104–106 Larry Bird (35) Larry Bird (11) Gerald Henderson (8) Madison Square Garden
19,591 		3–3
7 May 13 New York W 121–104 Larry Bird (39) Larry Bird (12) Larry Bird (10) Boston Garden
14,890 		4–3
Conference Finals: 4–1 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 May 15 Milwaukee W 119–96 Larry Bird (24) Kevin McHale (7) Gerald Henderson (7) Boston Garden
14,890 		1–0
2 May 17 Milwaukee W 125–110 Larry Bird (32) Larry Bird (13) Larry Bird (7) Boston Garden
14,890 		2–0
3 May 19 @ Milwaukee W 109–100 Larry Bird (28) Robert Parish (16) Larry Bird (6) MECCA Arena
11,052 		3–0
4 May 21 @ Milwaukee L 113–122 Larry Bird (32) Larry Bird (10) Larry Bird (8) MECCA Arena
11,052 		3–1
5 May 23 Milwaukee W 115–108 Larry Bird (21) Larry Bird (13) Bird, Maxwell (4) Boston Garden
14,890 		4–1
NBA Finals: 4–3 (Home: 3–1; Road: 1–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 May 27 Los Angeles L 109–115 Kevin McHale (25) Larry Bird (14) Larry Bird (5) Boston Garden
14,890 		0–1
2 May 31 Los Angeles W 124–121 (OT) Larry Bird (27) Larry Bird (13) Ainge, Henderson (5) Boston Garden
14,890 		1–1
3 June 3 @ Los Angeles L 104–137 Larry Bird (30) Robert Parish (12) Cedric Maxwell (5) The Forum
17,505 		1–2
4 June 6 @ Los Angeles W 129–125 (OT) Larry Bird (29) Larry Bird (21) Dennis Johnson (14) The Forum
17,505 		2–2
5 June 8 Los Angeles W 121–103 Larry Bird (34) Larry Bird (17) Gerald Henderson (9) Boston Garden
14,890 		3–2
6 June 10 @ Los Angeles L 108–119 Larry Bird (28) Larry Bird (14) Larry Bird (8) The Forum
17,505 		3–3
7 June 12 Los Angeles W 111–102 Cedric Maxwell (24) Robert Parish (16) Cedric Maxwell (8) Boston Garden
14,890 		4–3
1984 schedule

Player stats[]

Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Scoring Average

Player GP REB AST STL BLK PTS AVG
Larry Bird 79 796 520 144 69 1908 24.2
Robert Parish 80 857 139 55 116 1520 19.0
Kevin McHale 82 610 104 23 126 1511 18.4
Dennis Johnson 80 280 338 93 57 1053 13.2
Cedric Maxwell 80 461 205 63 24 955 11.9
Gerald Henderson 78 147 300 117 14 908 11.6
Danny Ainge 71 116 162 41 4 384 5.4
Scott Wedman 68 139 67 27 7 327 4.8
Quinn Buckner 79 137 214 84 3 324 4.1
M.L. Carr 60 75 49 17 4 185 3.1
Greg Kite 35 62 7 1 5 65 1.9
Carlos Clark 31 17 17 8 1 54 1.7

NBA Finals[]

Game One[]

The Lakers opened the series with a 115-109 victory at Boston Garden.

Game Two[]

In Game 2, the Lakers led 113-111 with 18 seconds left when Gerald Henderson stole a James Worthy pass to score a game tying layup and the Celtics eventually prevailed in overtime 124-121.

Game Three[]

In Game 3, the Lakers raced to an easy 137-104 victory as Magic Johnson dished out 21 assists. After the game, Larry Bird said his team played like "sissies" in an attempt to light a fire under his teammates.

Game Four[]

In Game 4, the Lakers had a five-point lead with less than a minute to play, but made several execution errors as the Celtics tied the game and then came away with a 129-125 victory in overtime. The game was also marked by Celtic forward Kevin McHale's takedown of Laker forward Kurt Rambis on a breakaway layup which triggered the physical aspect of the rivalry. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would go after Larry Bird later on in the third quarter, and 1981 Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell further antagonized the Lakers by following a missed James Worthy free throw by crossing the lane with his hands around his own neck, symbolizing that Worthy was "choking" under pressure. Also, Bird pushed Michael Cooper to the baseline following the inbound play during the second quarter.

Game Five[]

In Game 5, the Celtics took a 3-2 series lead as Larry Bird scored 34 points. The game was known as the "Heat Game", as it was played under 97-degree heat, and without any air conditioning, at Boston Garden. The Celtics did not warm up with their sweat pants on because of extreme heat, and oxygen tanks were provided to give air to exhausted players.

Game Six[]

In Game 6, the Lakers evened the series with a 119-108 victory. In the game the Lakers answered the Celtics' rough tactics when Laker forward James Worthy shoved Cedric Maxwell into a basket support. After the game a Laker fan threw a beer at Celtics guard M.L. Carr as he left the floor, causing him to label the series "all-out-war."

Game Seven[]

In Game 7, the heat that was an issue in Game 5 was not so bad (indoor temperatures hovered around 91 degrees during the game, due to additional fans being brought in to try to cool the air). The Celtics were led by Cedric Maxwell who had 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as they came away with a 111-102 victory. In the game the Lakers rallied from a 14-point-deficit to three with one minute remaining when Cedric Maxwell knocked the ball away from Magic Johnson. Dennis Johnson responded by sinking two free throws to seal the victory. Larry Bird was named MVP of the series.

The series was the eighth time in NBA history that the Celtics and Lakers met in the NBA finals, with Boston winning each time.

Award winners[]

  • Larry Bird, NBA Free Throw Percentage Leader (88.8%)
  • Larry Bird, NBA Most Valuable Player
  • Larry Bird, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player
  • Larry Bird, All-NBA First Team
  • Kevin McHale, Sixth Man of the Year Award

References[]

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