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

The 1983–84 Boston Celtics were champions of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the 15th time in franchise history, 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
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
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) VCU
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
F 8 United States Wedman, Scott 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Colorado
Head coach
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 6220.756–33–829–1213–11
x-Philadelphia 76ers 5230.6341032–920–2115–9
x-New York Knicks 4735.5731529–1218–2312–12
x-New Jersey Nets 4537.5491729–1216–2512–12
x-Washington Bullets 3547.4272725–1610–318–16
#
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Boston Celtics6220.756–
2 y-Milwaukee Bucks5032.61012
3 x-Philadelphia 76ers5230.63410
4 x-Detroit Pistons4933.59813
5 x-New York Knicks4735.57315
6 x-New Jersey Nets4537.54917
7 x-Atlanta Hawks4042.48822
8 x-Washington Bullets3547.42727
9 Cleveland Cavaliers2854.34134
10 Chicago Bulls2755.32935
11 Indiana Pacers2656.31736
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 –0–54–23–31–10–22–41–11–14–20–20–23–33–34–15–11–10–21–11–11–11–14–2
Boston 5–0–5–06–02–02–04–22–01–15–12–00–25–14–23–32–42–02–02–01–12–01–14–2
Chicago 2–40–5–2–41–10–21–52–00–23–31–10–22–42–42–42–31–12–00–21–10–21–12–4
Cleveland 3–30–64–2–1–10–21–51–11–12–40–20–21–52–31–52–41–11–11–11–11–10–24–1
Dallas 1–10–21–11–1–4–20–24–14–22–03–33–20–21–10–21–13–22–34–24–11–44–20–2
Denver 2–00–22–02–02–4–1–12–34–20–24–21–41–11–11–11–12–31–43–33–22–33–30–2
Detroit 4–22–45–15–12–01–1–1–11–14–21–11–13–21–44–23–32–01–11–12–01–11–13–3
Golden State 1–10–20–21–11–43–21–1–2–32–04–13–30–21–11–11–11–52–43–23–34–21–42–0
Houston 1–11–12–01–12–42–41–13–2–1–12–41–41–10–20–20–22–31–42–42–33–21–50–2
Indiana 2–41–53–34–20–22–02–40–21–1–0–21–11–51–52–40–51–11–10–21–11–11–11–4
Kansas City 2–00–21–12–03–32–41–11–44–22–0–0–50–22–00–20–22–32–35–13–21–43–32–0
Los Angeles 2–02–02–02–02–34–11–13–34–11–15–0–2–01–10–21–13–35–12–34–23–34–11–1
Milwaukee 3–31–54–25–12–01–12–32–01–15–12–00–2–4–24–12–42–01–11–11–11–11–15–1
New Jersey 3–32–44–23–21–11–14–11–12–05–10–21–12–4–3–33–32–00–20–22–01–11–14–2
New York 1–43–34–15–12–01–12–41–12–04–22–02–01–43–3–2–41–10–22–02–01–12–04–2
Philadelphia 1–54–23–24–21–11–13–31–12–05–02–01–14–23–34–2–1–11–12–02–01–12–04–2
Phoenix 1–10–21–11–12–33–20–25–13–21–13–23–30–20–21–11–1–2–45–04–22–41–42–0
Portland 2–00–20–21–13–24–11–14–24–11–13–21–51–12–02–01–14–2–4–14–24–21–41–1
San Antonio 1–10–22–01–12–43–31–12–34–22–01–53–21–12–00–20–20–51–4–4–12–34–21–1
San Diego 1–11–11–11–11–42–30–23–33–21–12–32–41–10–20–20–22–42–41–4–3–32–31–1
Seattle 1–10–22–01–14–13–21–12–42–31–14–13–31–11–11–11–14–22–43–23–3–1–41–1
Utah 1–11–11–12–02–43–31–14–15–11–13–31–41–11–10–20–24–14–12–43–24–1–1–1
Washington 2–42–44–21–42–02–03–30–22–04–10–21–11–52–42–42–40–21–11–11–11–11–1—

Game log

Regular season

1983–84 game log
Total: 62–20 (Home: 33–8; Road: 29–12)
October: 1–1 (home: 0–0; road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
1 October 28, 1983 @ Detroit L 121–127 McHale (25) McHale (15) Henderson (6) Pontiac Silverdome
17,117		 0–1
2 October 29, 1983 @ 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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
3 November 2, 1983 Milwaukee W 119–105 Bird (27) Parish (16) Bird (6) Boston Garden
14,890		 2–1
4 November 4, 1983 Indiana W 121–105 Parish (34) Bird, Maxwell (9) Johnson (9) Boston Garden
14,890		 3–1
5 November 5, 1983 @ Washington W 120–117 Bird (28) Bird (8) Bird (9) Capital Centre
16,250		 4–1
6 November 8, 1983 @ Indiana W 99–97 Bird (26) Parish (11) Bird (7) Market Square Arena
14,935		 5–1
7 November 9, 1983 San Diego W 129–122 Bird (25) Bird (11) Bird (9) Boston Garden
14,890		 6–1
8 November 11, 1983 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 Johnson (23) Parish (13) Maxwell (5) Chicago Stadium
11,942		 8–1
10 November 15, 1983 @ Denver W 140–124 Bird (28) Parish (13) Bird (10) McNichols Sports Arena
13,908		 9–1
11 November 16, 1983 @ Utah L 109–122 Parish (25) Parish (17) Bird (8) Salt Palace Acord Arena
12,743		 9–2
12 November 18, 1983 New York L 103–110 Johnson (18) McHale (13) Bird (8) Boston Garden
14,890		 9–3
13 November 19, 1983 @ Philadelphia L 91–92 Bird (18) Parish (11) Bird, Johnson (5) The Spectrum
17,921		 9–4
14 November 22, 1983 @ New York L 113–117 (2OT) McHale (25) Parish (13) Bird (11) Madison Square Garden
16,921		 9–5
15 November 25, 1983 Atlanta W 109–102 Johnson (25) Parish (11) Bird (8) Boston Garden
14,890		 10–5
16 November 27, 1983 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 Bird (23) Bird (14) Bird (13) Boston Garden
14,890		 12–5
December: 12–3 (home: 5–2; road: 7–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
18 December 2, 1983 Portland W 115–106 Bird (41) Bird (14) Johnson (11) Boston Garden
14,890		 12–6
19 December 4, 1983 Philadelphia L 114–121 (OT) Bird (22) Parish (13) Bird (13) Boston Garden
14,890		 13–6
20 December 6, 1983 @ Chicago W 118–105 Bird (24) McHale (14) Johnson (8) Chicago Stadium
7,627		 14–6
21 December 7, 1983 @ Indiana W 100–95 Parish (21) Parish (17) Bird (5) Market Square Arena
13,725		 15–6
22 December 9, 1983 Denver
(at Hartford, Connecticut)		 W 119–90 McHale (21) Parish (7) Johnson (8) Hartford Civic Center
13,374		 16–6
23 December 10, 1983 @ Atlanta W 104–87 Parish (24) Parish (15) Maxwell (6) The Omni
9,917		 17–6
24 December 13, 1983 @ New York W 102–100 Johnson (26) Parish (11) Henderson (5) Madison Square Garden
14,839		 18–6
25 December 14, 1983 Cleveland W 110–108 Parish (30) Parish (16) Henderson (6) Boston Garden
14,890		 19–6
26 December 16, 1983 Washington L 93–100 Bird (30) Bird (10) Ainge (6) Boston Garden
14,890		 19–7
27 December 17, 1983 @ Detroit W 129–115 McHale (30) McHale (16) Bird (9) Pontiac Silverdome
24,318		 20–7
28 December 21, 1983 Atlanta W 107–96 Bird, Maxwell, Parish (18) Parish (9) Bird (8) Boston Garden
14,890		 21–7
29 December 23, 1983 New Jersey W 125–113 Bird (26) Parish (9) Bird (8) Boston Garden
14,890		 22–7
30 December 27, 1983 @ San Antonio W 115–100 Bird (38) Parish (12) Bird (8) HemisFair Arena
13,112		 23–7
31 December 29, 1983 @ Houston L 94–107 Parish (28) Parish (19) Bird (4) The Summit
16,016		 23–8
32 December 30, 1983 @ Dallas W 114–109 (OT) Bird (36) Parish (14) Johnson (6) Reunion Arena
17,007		 24–8
January: 11–1 (home: 6–0; road: 5–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
33 January 3, 1984 @ New Jersey W 105–103 Parish (27) Parish (19) Bird (5) Brendan Byrne Arena
13,478		 25–8
34 January 4, 1984 Washington W 113–104 Bird (23) Bird (9) Johnson (5) Boston Garden
14,890		 26–8
35 January 6, 1984 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 Parish (33) Parish (14) Henderson (8) Boston Garden
14,890		 28–8
37 January 13, 1984 @ Philadelphia W 105–104 Bird (29) Bird (19) Bird (8) The Spectrum
17,921		 29–8
38 January 15, 1984 @ Milwaukee L 87–106 Ainge (18) Parish (9) Parish (4) MECCA Arena
11,052		 29–9
39 January 17, 1984 @ Kansas City W 122–113 Bird (38) Parish (14) Bird (13) Kemper Arena
11,478		 30–9
40 January 20, 1984 Indiana
(at Hartford, Connecticut)		 W 132–125 Bird (27) Parish (13) Maxwell (9) Hartford Civic Center
13,134		 31–9
41 January 22, 1984 Milwaukee W 109–98 Parish (22) Parish (15) Maxwell, Johnson (5) Boston Garden
14,890		 32–9
42 January 24, 1984 @ Cleveland W 118–97 Bird (24) Parish (9) Ainge (5) Richfield Coliseum
5,830		 33–9
43 January 25, 1984 Philadelphia W 102–98 Parish (24) Parish (13) Bird (7) Boston Garden
14,890		 34–9
All-Star Break
44 January 31, 1984 @ Chicago W 106–83 Bird (28) Bird, Parish (12) Henderson, Buckner (5) Chicago Stadium
9,430		 35–9
February: 8–6 (home: 4–3; road: 4–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
45 February 1, 1984 Kansas City W 119–110 Bird (32) Parish (10) Bird (7) Boston Garden
14,890		 36–9
46 February 3, 1984 Indiana W 125–106 Bird (27) Bird (12) Bird (9) Boston Garden
14,890		 37–9
47 February 5, 1984 Detroit W 137–134 (OT) Parish (36) Bird (19) Ainge (7) Boston Garden
14,890		 38–9
48 February 6, 1984 @ New Jersey L 112–115 Bird (23) Bird (12) Henderson (7) Brendan Byrne Arena
14,808		 38–10
49 February 8, 1984 Los Angeles L 109–111 Bird (29) Bird, Parish (11) Bird (7) Boston Garden
14,890		 38–11
50 February 10, 1984 Houston W 114–101 McHale (30) Bird (14) Bird (12) Boston Garden
14,890		 39–11
51 February 12, 1984 Philadelphia L 91–109 Bird (25) Parish (13) Ainge (5) Boston Garden
14,890		 39–12
52 February 16, 1984 @ Golden State W 125–115 Parish (28) Parish (14) Bird (17) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena
13,335		 40–12
53 February 17, 1984 @ Seattle W 111–100 Bird (30) Bird (13) Bird (13) Kingdome
19,468		 41–12
54 February 19, 1984 @ Portland W 107–101 Bird (34) Bird (18) Bird (9) Memorial Coliseum
12,666		 42–12
55 February 22, 1984 @ San Diego L 107–114 Bird (24) Maxwell (8) Henderson (8) San Diego Sports Arena
11,718		 42–13
56 February 24, 1984 @ Los Angeles L 108–116 McHale (26) Parish (12) Bird (5) The Forum
17,505		 42–14
57 February 26, 1984 @ Phoenix W 116–109 Bird (23) Bird (13) Buckner (5) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
14,660		 43–14
58 February 29, 1984 New York L 98–102 Bird (30) Parish (16) Bird (6) Boston Garden
14,890		 43–15
March: 13–4 (home: 7–2; road: 6–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
59 March 2, 1984 Chicago
(at Hartford, Connecticut)		 W 104–100 Bird (28) Bird (12) Johnson (7) Hartford Civic Center
14,529		 44–15
60 March 4, 1984 Seattle W 117–93 McHale (21) McHale (12) Bird (6) Boston Garden
14,890		 45–15
61 March 6, 1984 @ Washington W 108–85 Parish (26) McHale (12) Buckner (6) Capital Centre
11,216		 46–15
62 March 7, 1984 Utah W 117–106 Bird (26) Bird (14) Bird (9) Boston Garden
14,890		 47–15
63 March 9, 1984 @ Milwaukee W 129–128 (2OT) Bird (30) McHale (10) Bird (12) MECCA Arena
11,052		 48–15
64 March 11, 1984 Phoenix W 117–109 Parish (33) Parish (12) Bird (10) Boston Garden
14,890		 49–15
65 March 14, 1984 Washington L 99–103 Bird (27) Parish (9) Bird, Henderson (6) Boston Garden
14,890		 49–16
66 March 16, 1984 Milwaukee W 109–99 Bird (28) Bird (12) Bird, Johnson (5) Boston Garden
14,890		 50–16
67 March 17, 1984 @ Atlanta W 103–88 Parish (22) Parish (13) Parish (6) The Omni
12,172		 51–16
68 March 20, 1984 @ Indiana L 121–123 (OT) Bird (25) McHale (14) Bird (8) Market Square Arena
16,969		 51–17
69 March 22, 1984 @ New York W 108–100 Johnson, Bird, McHale (23) Bird (9) Bird (11) Madison Square Garden
19,591		 52–17
70 March 23, 1984 New Jersey L 97–101 Bird (33) Bird (13) Bird (4) Boston Garden
14,890		 52–18
71 March 25, 1984 @ Philadelphia L 114–119 (2OT) Bird (33) Bird (17) Bird, Johnson, Henderson (6) The Spectrum
17,921		 52–19
72 March 27, 1984 @ Washington W 106–93 Johnson (24) Parish (13) Bird (13) Capital Centre
11,355		 53–19
73 March 28, 1984 Dallas W 114–107 Bird (23) Bird, McHale (9) Henderson (10) Boston Garden
14,890		 54–19
74 March 30, 1984 Atlanta W 105–96 Bird (19) Bird (11) Bird (7) Boston Garden
14,890		 55–19
75 March 31, 1984 @ New Jersey W 107–98 Parish (30) Parish (13) Buckner (6) Brendan Byrne Arena
17,034		 56–19
April: 6–1 (home: 4–0; road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
76 April 3, 1984 @ Cleveland W 98–86 Bird (29) Parish (15) Bird (6) Richfield Coliseum
7,094		 57–19
77 April 6, 1984 Cleveland W 113–94 Bird (33) Parish (14) Buckner (11) Boston Garden
14,890		 58–19
78 April 8, 1984 Chicago W 117–110 Bird (30) Bird, Parish (10) Bird (10) Boston Garden
14,890		 59–19
79 April 10, 1984 @ Milwaukee W 96–95 Parish (22) Parish (9) Johnson (8) MECCA Arena
10,795		 60–19
80 April 11, 1984 New York W 102–96 Bird (23) Bird (11) Bird, Johnson (6) Boston Garden
14,890		 61–19
81 April 13, 1984 @ 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 Henderson, Johnson (18) Kite (10) Bird (7) Boston Garden
14,890		 62–20
1983–84 schedule

Playoffs

1984 playoff game log
Total: 15–8 (home: 12–1; road: 3–7)
Eastern Conference First round: 3–1 (home: 2–0; road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 17, 1984 Washington W 91–83 Larry Bird (23) Robert Parish (14) Larry Bird (12) Boston Garden
14,890		 1–0
2 April 19, 1984 Washington W 88–85 Larry Bird (23) Larry Bird (12) Larry Bird (6) Boston Garden
14,890		 2–0
3 April 21, 1984 @ Washington L 108–111 (OT) Larry Bird (27) Robert Parish (16) Bird, Johnson (6) Capital Centre
8,359		 2–1
4 April 24, 1984 @ Washington W 99–96 Robert Parish (20) Robert Parish (12) Larry Bird (7) Capital Centre
13,853		 3–1
Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4–3 (home: 4–0; road: 0–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 29, 1984 New York W 110–92 Kevin McHale (25) Robert Parish (12) Larry Bird (12) Boston Garden
14,890		 1–0
2 May 2, 1984 New York W 116–102 Larry Bird (37) Bird, Parish (11) Dennis Johnson (7) Boston Garden
14,890		 2–0
3 May 4, 1984 @ New York L 92–100 Larry Bird (24) Larry Bird (11) Dennis Johnson (4) Madison Square Garden
19,591		 2–1
4 May 6, 1984 @ New York L 113–118 Larry Bird (29) Larry Bird (11) Dennis Johnson (7) Madison Square Garden
15,840		 2–2
5 May 9, 1984 New York W 121–99 Larry Bird (26) Robert Parish (10) Larry Bird (10) Boston Garden
14,890		 3–2
6 May 11, 1984 @ New York L 104–106 Larry Bird (35) Larry Bird (11) Gerald Henderson (8) Madison Square Garden
19,591		 3–3
7 May 13, 1984 New York W 121–104 Larry Bird (39) Larry Bird (12) Larry Bird (10) Boston Garden
14,890		 4–3
Eastern Conference Finals: 4–1 (home: 3–0; road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 May 15, 1984 Milwaukee W 119–96 Larry Bird (24) Kevin McHale (7) Gerald Henderson (7) Boston Garden
14,890		 1–0
2 May 17, 1984 Milwaukee W 125–110 Larry Bird (32) Larry Bird (13) Larry Bird (7) Boston Garden
14,890		 2–0
3 May 19, 1984 @ Milwaukee W 109–100 Larry Bird (28) Robert Parish (16) Larry Bird (6) MECCA Arena
11,052		 3–0
4 May 21, 1984 @ Milwaukee L 113–122 Larry Bird (32) Larry Bird (10) Larry Bird (8) MECCA Arena
11,052		 3–1
5 May 23, 1984 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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 May 27, 1984 Los Angeles L 109–115 Kevin McHale (25) Larry Bird (14) Larry Bird (5) Boston Garden
14,890		 0–1
2 May 31, 1984 Los Angeles W 124–121 (OT) Larry Bird (27) Larry Bird (13) Ainge, Henderson (5) Boston Garden
14,890		 1–1
3 June 3, 1984 @ Los Angeles L 104–137 Larry Bird (30) Robert Parish (12) Cedric Maxwell (5) The Forum
17,505		 1–2
4 June 6, 1984 @ Los Angeles W 129–125 (OT) Larry Bird (29) Larry Bird (21) Dennis Johnson (14) The Forum
17,505		 2–2
5 June 8, 1984 Los Angeles W 121–103 Larry Bird (34) Larry Bird (17) Gerald Henderson (9) Boston Garden
14,890		 3–2
6 June 10, 1984 @ Los Angeles L 108–119 Larry Bird (28) Larry Bird (14) Larry Bird (8) The Forum
17,505		 3–3
7 June 12, 1984 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 Bird7979652014469190824.2
Robert Parish8085713955116152019.0
Kevin McHale8261010423126151118.4
Dennis Johnson802803389357105313.2
Cedric Maxwell80461205632495511.9
Gerald Henderson781473001171490811.6
Danny Ainge711161624143845.4
Scott Wedman68139672773274.8
Quinn Buckner791372148433244.1
M.L. Carr6075491741853.1
Greg Kite3562715651.9
Carlos Clark31171781541.7

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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