The 1981 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA)'s 1980–81 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. It pitted the 62–20 Eastern Conference champion

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

against the 40–42 Western Conference champion

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

. This series has the distinction of featuring for the third time in NBA history, and last to date, a team with a losing record in the Finals. They were the first team since the

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Founded in 1947, the Lakers are one of the NBA's most famous and successful franchises. As of summer 2012, th ...

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

to reach the championship round despite having more regular season losses than wins. This, along with

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

, (which was also played by the Celtics and the Rockets) was one of the only two NBA championships of the 1980s not to feature the Lakers.

Background

Houston Rockets

Prior to the season, the NBA moved the Rockets and

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

from the Central Division of the Eastern Conference to the Midwest Division of the Western Conference. The Rockets and Spurs traded places with the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

and

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 196 ...

. The Midwest Division also took in the expansion

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. Th ...

. The Rockets that season were led by

Moses Malone Moses Eugene Malone (March 23, 1955 – September 13, 2015) was an American professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1974 through 1995. A cen ...

, who practically carried the Rockets to the NBA Finals. Meanwhile,

Calvin Murphy Calvin Jerome Murphy (born May 9, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player who after a prolific collegiate career at Niagara, where he averaged 33.1 points per game over his three years, played in the National Basketball Assoc ...

, the shortest player in the league at the time, set two NBA records, sinking 78 consecutive free throws to break

Rick Barry Richard Francis Dennis Barry III (born March 28, 1944) is an American retired professional basketball player who starred at the NCAA, American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) levels. Barry ranks among the ...

's mark of 60 set in and achieving a free-throw percentage of .958, breaking Rick Barry's record set with the Rockets in . Other key contributors of the 1980–81 team were

Rudy Tomjanovich Rudolph Tomjanovich Jr. (born November 24, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and coach who is a consultant for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His professional playing career, whic ...

, Robert Reid,

Mike Dunleavy, Sr. Michael Joseph Dunleavy Sr. (born March 21, 1954) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and general manager of the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Clippers. He was most recently the head coach of the Tulane U ...

, Allen Leavell,

Billy Paultz William Edward Paultz (born July 30, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and in the now defunct American Basketball Association (ABA). Nicknamed "the Whopper", He is a ...

Bill Willoughby William Wesley Willoughby (born May 20, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player born in Englewood, New Jersey. After graduating from Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood, he was selected by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1975 NBA dr ...

, Calvin Garrett, Tom Henderson, and

Major Jones Major James Brooks Jones (born July 9, 1953) is an American retired professional basketball player who played in the NBA and other leagues. Born in McGehee, Arkansas, he attended and played college basketball at Albany State University. He was d ...

. The Rockets clinched the last spot in the playoffs on the final night of the regular season following a loss by the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

to Seattle, as Golden State had the tiebreaker over Houston. Houston tied with

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

for second place in the Midwest behind San Antonio with a regular season record of 40–42 (this would be only the second time that an NBA team with a losing record would make the Finals, after

). Houston's playoff run began by drawing the defending NBA champion

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

and

Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...

in the first round. The Rockets upset Los Angeles, two games to one, with the Rockets winning both games in Los Angeles. The Western Conference Semifinals matchup featured the Rockets against the Spurs and multi-year scoring champion

George Gervin George Gervin ( ; born April 27, 1952), nicknamed "the Iceman", is an American former professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Virginia Squires, ...

in a Texas Shootout. The Rockets would win the series in seven games behind strong contributions from Murphy and Reid, including Murphy's career playoff high of 42 points in the climactic Game 7 at San Antonio. This set up an unlikely Conference Finals matchup with Kansas City, being that both teams finished the regular season with identical losing records, together compiling just 80 total victories of 164 games played. The Kings, led by Otis Birdsong,

Scott Wedman Scott Dean Wedman (born July 29, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player who played thirteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted by the Kansas City-Omaha Kings with the sixth pick in the first ...

, and Phil Ford fell to the Rockets in five games, and the Rockets would break into the NBA Finals for the first time, the first of four in franchise history. It would be the only time two conference finalists in the playoffs both had losing records, and the second and last time to date a team with a losing record made it all the way to the Finals round (the first being the

Boston Celtics

This was the Celtics' first appearance in The Finals since their 1976 championship winning team against the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

. The Celtics were not quite the same team as five years before, as they added the likes of

Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded a ...

Robert Parish Robert Lee Parish (born August 30, 1953) is an American former professional basketball player who played 21 seasons as a center in the National Basketball Association (NBA), tied for second most in league history. He played an NBA-record 1,6 ...

, and Kevin McHale, a trio that would come to be known as "The Big Three."

M. L. Carr Michael Leon Carr (born January 9, 1951) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA), and former head coach and General Manager of the Boston Celtics. ...

, Cedric Maxwell, and

Nate Archibald Nathaniel "Tiny" Archibald (born September 2, 1948) is an American retired professional basketball player. He spent 14 years playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Cincinnati Royals/Kansas City–Omaha Kings ...

were also capable players off the bench, and key cogs in Boston's balanced offensive attack. However, the Celtics lost future Hall of Famers

Dave Cowens David William Cowens ( ; born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and NBA head coach. At , he played the center position and occasionally played power forward. Cowens spent most of his playing career with the B ...

and

JoJo White Joseph Henry White (November 16, 1946 – January 16, 2018) was an American professional basketball player. As an amateur, he played basketball at the University of Kansas, where he was named a second-team All-American twice. White was part o ...

to retirement. Still, the Celtics, led by Bird, won 62 games and managed to squeak past Philadelphia for the league's best record due to tiebreakers. The Celtics's playoff run started with a first-round bye, straight into the conference semifinals. Despite the layoff, the Celtics easily swept the

Artis Gilmore Artis Gilmore (born September 21, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). Gilmore was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basket ...

-led

, and then faced the defending Eastern Conference champion

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

for the right to advance to The Finals. After a hard-fought and physical series, the Celtics eventually came back from a three-games-to-one deficit to defeat the Sixers, repeating a feat they accomplished in 1968. Five of the games in the series ended with the winning team on top by two points or less, including a 91-90 nail-biter in Game 7. Both teams had met in the playoffs the year earlier, when the Rockets were in their final season in the Eastern Conference. The 1980 Eastern Conference Semifinal matchup had a slightly different Celtics team, with

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

center

still playing for the team, as well not featuring perennial stars Kevin McHale and

, both of whom would not arrive in Boston until the 1981 season.

for Houston was also in the final season of his career in 1980. The Celtics blew out the Rockets in four-game sweep, by a total of 74 points in the 1980 Eastern Conference Semis.

Road to the Finals

(*)The Celtics were tied with the Philadelphia 76ers for the NBA's best record, but the Celtics earned the division title and the overall top seed based on tie-breakers.

Regular season series

The

won both games in the regular season series:

Series summary

Game summaries

Game 1

No one figured this series to be much of a Finals. Houston, in fact, had lost its previous dozen games to the Celtics, including a 4–0 series sweep in the previous years' playoffs. But Malone, who had averaged nearly 28 points and 15 rebounds over the season, would have none of the "Boston Curse". He came into the series fired up, going so far as to call the Celtics "chumps". The Celtics, meanwhile, were coming off three close games in the Eastern Conference Finals in upsetting the heavily favored

. So, the Celtics were understandably flat. Houston led 57–51 at the half and kept that intensity through the game. Late in the fourth period, with the Celtics trailing 87–84, Bird put up an 18-footer from the right side. As soon as he turned it loose, he immediately rushed in for the rebound. He caught the ball in midair as his momentum was carrying him out of bounds on the baseline just right of the lane. In an instant, he switched the ball to his left hand (a right-handed shot would have hit the side of the backboard) and flipped it in the basket. Bird would finish with 18 points, 21 rebounds, and nine assists.

would grab 15 rebounds, but was held to 13 points. The crowd went nuts over Bird's shot, with general manager

Red Auerbach Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach (September 20, 1917 – October 28, 2006) was an American professional basketball coach and executive. He served as a head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Boston Celtics. ...

leading the cheers.

Bill Russell William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most Va ...

, who was broadcasting the game for CBS, looked on in disbelief. "Larry was able to make the play", said Russell, "because he not only knew where the ball was going to land, he knew that he knew." The shot carried Boston to a 98–95 win and Auerbach proclaimed, "It was one of the best shots I've ever seen a player make."

Game 2

Malone would come up big in this game, scoring 31 points and pulling down another 15 boards.

would add 14 off the bench to make up for poor shooting by Robert Reid (0 for 7) and

(4 for 13). Reserve guard Allen Leavell's late basket would give the Rockets the 92–90 victory. Bird would lead the Celtics once again with 19 points and 21 rebounds. The victory was Houston's eighth road win of the playoffs, a record that stood until the 1995 Rockets won nine playoff games en route to winning the championship.

Game 3

With the series back in Houston, Robert Reid, matched up with

, would begin to garner attention for his defense on the Celtics star, holding him to three baskets and eight points. But, the Celtics would not need Bird's scoring in this one. The Rockets shot a paltry 3 for 17 in the second quarter, fell behind by 17, and never recovered. Cedric Maxwell led six Celtics in double figures with 19 points. His teammates, meanwhile, played some pretty good defense of their own, holding the Rockets to 71 points, the lowest output for an NBA team in a Finals game since the

Syracuse Nationals The Philadelphia 76ers are an American basketball team currently playing in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 76ers are third in NBA history in wins and playoff appearances. 1946– ...

scored 71 in the 1955 NBA Finals (which was, incidentally, the year the

shot clock A shot clock is a countdown timer used in a variety of games and sports, proving a set amount of time that a team may possess the object of play before attempting to score a goal. Shot clocks are used in several sports including basketball, wa ...

was introduced). The record low stood until it was embarrassingly shattered by the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

in Game 3 of the 1998 Finals when they lost 96–54 to

Game 4

Reid continued his air-tight defense on Bird, holding him to another eight points, while scoring 19 himself. The star of this game was

, who had 28 points. Malone would add 24 points and 22 rebounds as the Rockets tied the series. Another key was the Rockets' relentless offensive rebounding and second-chance opportunities; they grabbed 28 offensive rebounds (Reid had 10 and Malone 9 with 4 put-back dunks) on the way to out-shooting the Celtics in attempts, 103 to 74.

Game 5

The Rockets had a losing regular season record at 40–42, but, up to Game 5, they showed they definitely belonged in the finals with the Celtics. So, no one could blame

for doing some trash-talking. Earlier, he had simply declared, "Boston ain't that good." Before Game 5, though, Malone went a little too far, saying, "I could get four guys off the street in Petersburg (Virginia, Malone's hometown) and beat them." This was all coach Bill Fitch would need to motivate his troops. With Bird still struggling offensively, Cedric Maxwell shouldered the load, scoring 28 points and pulling down 15 rebounds and sparking several fast breaks to a Celtics rout, 109–80. The infamous on-air incident between

and

occurred early in the third quarter of this game.

Game 6

Motivated from Malone's previous barbs, the Celtics took it right to the Rockets back at The Summit, leading 84–67 in the final period. However, as coach Fitch looked on in disgust, the Celtics went five minutes without a basket as the Rockets, led by Calvin Garrett, reeled off 13 unanswered points in a furious comeback and eventually cut the lead to only 3, with the Houston crowd erupting louder after each basket.

then finally broke out of his shooting doldrums to personally blunt the Rockets' rally. Bird hit a 15-foot jumper, fed series MVP Maxwell for a basket, and hit a back-breaking, 24-foot, three-point shot to put the Rockets away for good and send Boston to its 14th NBA Championship, and at last a championship ring for 11-year veteran

Player statistics

;Boston Celtics , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 30.7 , , .500 , , .222 , , .778 , , 2.7 , , 2.3 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 10.5 , -! style="background:#FDE910;" , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 37.8 , , .568 , , .000 , , .759 , , 9.5 , , 2.8 , , 0.2 , , 1.0 , , 17.7 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 42.8 , , .419 , , .500 , , .813 , , 15.3 , , 7.0 , , 2.3 , , 0.5 , , 15.3 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 0 , , 13.8 , , .387 , , .000 , , .571 , , 3.3 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 0.7 , , 4.7 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 33.8 , , .364 , , .000 , , .875 , , 1.2 , , 5.5 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 10.3 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 0 , , 16.3 , , .559 , , .000 , , .563 , , 3.7 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 0.2 , , 7.8 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 0 , , 15.8 , , .559 , , .000 , , .833 , , 1.7 , , 1.7 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 7.2 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 27.8 , , .506 , , .000 , , .632 , , 7.7 , , 1.0 , , 1.2 , , 2.0 , , 15.0 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 0 , , 18.3 , , .459 , , .000 , , .750 , , 1.7 , , 1.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.7 , , 4.7 , - , align="left" , , , 4 , , 0 , , 1.5 , , .429 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 1.5 , - , align="left" , , , 4 , , 0 , , 2.5, , .000 , , .000 , , .667 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 0.5 ;Houston Rockets , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 32.2 , , .395 , , .000 , , .733 , , 2.2 , , 4.2 , , 0.7 , , 0.2 , , 6.8 , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 0 , , 14.6 , , .303 , , .000 , , .714 , , 1.4 , , 3.4 , , 0.6 , , 0.6 , , 5.0 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 40.7 , , .375 , , .000 , , .696 , , 7.5 , , 3.3 , , 2.0 , , 0.8 , , 14.7 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 27.5 , , .415 , , .429 , , .800 , , 2.3 , , 3.2 , , 1.7 , , 0.2 , , 17.7 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 32.7 , , .403 , , .000 , , .625 , , 6.0 , , 1.3 , , 1.2 , , 0.7 , , 11.2 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 44.8 , , .403 , , .000 , , .673 , , 15.7 , , 1.3 , , 0.8 , , 2.2 , , 22.3 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 0 , , 22.3 , , .269 , , .000 , , .739 , , 4.5 , , 1.2 , , 1.0 , , 0.8 , , 7.5 , - , align="left" , , , 4 , , 0 , , 22.0 , , .395 , , .000 , , .833 , , 1.0 , , 0.8 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 9.8 , - , align="left" , , , 4 , , 0 , , 10.8 , , .556 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 3.0 , - , align="left" , , , 3 , , 0 , , 6.0 , , .500 , , .000 , , .333 , , 1.7 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 3.0 , - , align="left" , , , 3 , , 0 , , 5.7 , , .125 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.3 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.7

Television coverage

*Before

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

, the 1981 NBA Finals received the lowest television

rating A rating is an evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of quality, quantity, or some combination of both. Rating or ratings may also refer to: Business and economics * Credit rating, estimating the credit worthiness of an individual, ...

in NBA history. The 1981 Finals drew a 6.7 rating, according to Nielsen Media Research. Meanwhile, the 2003 Finals between the

and

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

drew a 6.5 rating. Due to this, the 1981 finals were the last to be broadcast on tape-delay, with weeknight games airing after the late local news in most cities. Games 3 and 4 were played back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday, May 9 and 10, to give CBS two live Finals games. It is the last time Finals games were played on consecutive days. Game 3 was the last Finals contest played on a Saturday until Game 5 in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

. Game 4 tipped off at noon Central (1 p.m. Eastern/10 a.m. Pacific) in order for CBS to telecast golf following the game. Had Game 7 been played, it would have tipped off at 1 p.m. Eastern. *Following the Finals,

Gary Bender Gary Nedrow Bender (born September 1, 1940) is a retired American sportscaster and 2008 inductee into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. He officially retired, April 13, 2011, from Fox Sports Arizona after 18 years calling the NBA's Phoenix Sun ...

became the lead play-by-play announcer for CBS' coverage of the

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams fro ...

, while

's contract, following his questionable racial comments about

during the Finals, was not renewed. Russell would remain the main color analyst for the next two years alongside newly promoted main play-by-play commentator

Dick Stockton Richard Edward Stokvis (born November 22, 1942), known professionally as Dick Stockton, is an American retired sportscaster. Stockton began his career in Philadelphia, then moved to Pittsburgh, where he worked as the sports director for KDKA-TV. ...

. Curiously, Barry and Russell would reunite, this time on the '' NBA on TBS'' for two seasons beginning in the 1984–85 season. Russell was replaced as CBS' lead analyst following the 1983 Finals by former Celtics teammate

Tom Heinsohn Thomas William Heinsohn (August 26, 1934 – November 9, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. He was associated with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for six decades as a player, coach and broadcast ...

. *

Brent Musburger Brent Woody Musburger (born May 26, 1939) is an American sportscaster, currently the lead broadcaster and managing editor at Vegas Stats and Information Network (VSiN). With CBS Sports from 1973 until 1990, he was one of the original members ...

narrated the duration of the 1981 NBA Playoffs on film, known as "The Dynasty Renewed". The 1981 film was expanded from 30 minutes to one hour, with more highlights from rounds prior to the finals.

Team rosters

Boston Celtics

Houston Rockets

References

External links

NBA History

NBA Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:1981 Nba Finals National Basketball Association Finals

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

NBA NBA

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is a ...

Sports competitions in Boston

Sports competitions in Houston

Boston Garden

Background

Houston Rockets

Boston Celtics

Road to the Finals

Regular season series

Series summary

Game summaries

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Game 4

Game 5

Game 6

Player statistics

Television coverage

Team rosters

Boston Celtics

Houston Rockets

See also

References

External links