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The 1981 NBA playoffs were the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1980–81 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. Cedric Maxwell was named NBA Finals MVP.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 31–May 14, 1981 |
| Season | 1980–81 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Boston Celtics (14th title) |
| Runner-up | Houston Rockets |
| Semifinalists | |
The playoffs are notable for being the third and final time to date that a team with a losing record advanced to the NBA Finals (the St. Louis Hawks did it first in 1957 with a 34–38 record, the Minneapolis Lakers did it in 1959 with a 33–39 record), as the Rockets won their first Western Conference title despite having a 40–42 record.
This was the only time in NBA history in which two teams with a losing record played each other in a Conference Finals, though the 1957 Western Division Finals did feature two teams with losing records. The Rockets and the Kansas City Kings, both with a 40–42 record, played in the Western Conference Finals which saw the Rockets prevail 4–1.
The Kings' playoff series victories over the Blazers and Suns were their last in Kansas City. Their last playoff series in Kansas City was a 3-game sweep in the first round in 1984 by the Lakers. They moved to Sacramento after the 1984–85 season and didn't win a playoff series representing northern California until 2001.
The Pacers became the last former ABA team to make their playoff debut, but were quickly swept by the 76ers 2–0.
This is the last year to date that an NBA playoff game was played in March.
The Celtics replicated their 1968 comeback by beating the Sixers in 7 after trailing 3–1. This is the only time a team came back from a 3–1 series deficit to win against the same team twice.
This was the last time the Los Angeles Lakers were not the number one seed in the Western Conference until 1991. It was also the only year in which the Lakers failed to win a playoff series with both Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the team.
| First Round | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Boston* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | New York | 0 | E5 | Chicago | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| E5 | Chicago | 2 | Eastern Conference | E1 | Boston* | 4 | |||||||||||||
| E3 | Philadelphia | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Philadelphia | 2 | E2 | Milwaukee* | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| E6 | Indiana | 0 | E1 | Boston* | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| W6 | Houston | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Phoenix* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Portland | 1 | W5 | Kansas City | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| W5 | Kansas City | 2 | Western Conference | W5 | Kansas City | 1 | |||||||||||||
| W6 | Houston | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W6 | Houston | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Los Angeles | 1 | W2 | San Antonio* | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| W6 | Houston | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage
Eastern Conference first round
(3) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (6) Indiana Pacers
March 31 |
| Indiana Pacers 108, Philadelphia 76ers 124 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 33–38, 16–29, 30–24, 29–33 | ||
| Pts: Billy Knight 25 Rebs: Knight, C. Johnson 7 each Asts: Johnny Davis 8 |
Pts: Julius Erving 32 Rebs: Caldwell Jones 12 Asts: Andrew Toney 11 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 2 |
| Philadelphia 76ers 96, Indiana Pacers 85 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–23, 25–18, 18–24, 26–20 | ||
| Pts: Julius Erving 23 Rebs: Caldwell Jones 11 Asts: Maurice Cheeks 6 |
Pts: Johnny Davis 21 Rebs: Clemon Johnson 13 Asts: Billy Knight 4 | |
| Philadelphia wins series, 2–0 | ||
| Philadelphia won 6–0 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the first playoff meeting between the Pacers and the 76ers.[1]
(4) New York Knicks vs. (5) Chicago Bulls
March 31 |
| Chicago Bulls 90, New York Knicks 80 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 12–24, 23–16, 25–18, 30–22 | ||
| Pts: Ricky Sobers 18 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 16 Asts: Ricky Sobers 6 |
Pts: Ray Williams 19 Rebs: Micheal Ray Richardson 13 Asts: Micheal Ray Richardson 6 | |
| Chicago leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 3 |
| New York Knicks 114, Chicago Bulls 115 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 36–32, 26–20, 25–28, 19–26, Overtime: 8–9 | ||
| Pts: Campy Russell 29 Rebs: three players 6 each Asts: three players 5 each |
Pts: Reggie Theus 37 Rebs: Dwight Jones 14 Asts: Reggie Theus 11 | |
| Chicago wins series, 2–0 | ||
| Tied 3–3 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the first playoff meeting between the Bulls and the Knicks.[2]
Western Conference first round
(3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Houston Rockets
April 1 |
| Houston Rockets 111, Los Angeles Lakers 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–26, 28–24, 29–31, 22–26 | ||
| Pts: Moses Malone 38 Rebs: Moses Malone 23 Asts: Allen Leavell 8 |
Pts: Magic Johnson 26 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 15 Asts: Norm Nixon 10 | |
| Houston leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 3 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 111, Houston Rockets 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–18, 27–29, 30–23, 27–36 | ||
| Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 27 Rebs: Magic Johnson 18 Asts: Norm Nixon 11 |
Pts: Moses Malone 33 Rebs: Moses Malone 15 Asts: Calvin Murphy 8 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 5 |
| Houston Rockets 89, Los Angeles Lakers 86 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–29, 22–18, 22–20, 18–19 | ||
| Pts: Moses Malone 23 Rebs: Moses Malone 15 Asts: Tom Henderson 7 |
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 32 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 18 Asts: Magic Johnson 9 | |
| Houston wins series, 2–1 | ||
| Los Angeles won 3–2 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the first playoff meeting between the Rockets and the Lakers.[3]
(4) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (5) Kansas City Kings
April 1 |
| Kansas City Kings 98, Portland Trail Blazers 97 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–18, 26–30, 18–29, 23–13, Overtime: 8–7 | ||
| Pts: Otis Birdsong 29 Rebs: King, Lacey 12 each Asts: Sam Lacey 10 |
Pts: Billy Ray Bates 25 Rebs: Kermit Washington 17 Asts: Kelvin Ransey 10 | |
| Kansas City leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 3 |
| Portland Trail Blazers 124, Kansas City Kings 119 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 33–31, 39–34, 18–26, Overtime: 12–7 | ||
| Pts: Mychal Thompson 40 Rebs: Kermit Washington 18 Asts: Kelvin Ransey 7 |
Pts: Scott Wedman 31 Rebs: Sam Lacey 9 Asts: Sam Lacey 8 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 5 |
| Kansas City Kings 104, Portland Trail Blazers 95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–29, 27–19, 25–20, 30–27 | ||
| Pts: Reggie King 28 Rebs: Reggie King 15 Asts: Ernie Grunfeld 6 |
Pts: Billy Ray Bates 34 Rebs: Kermit Washington 17 Asts: Kelvin Ransey 8 | |
| Kansas City wins series, 2–1 | ||
| Kansas City won 3–2 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the first playoff meeting between the Trail Blazers and the Kings.[4]
Eastern Conference semifinals
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (5) Chicago Bulls
April 5 |
| Chicago Bulls 109, Boston Celtics 121 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–32, 29–22, 29–40, 28–27 | ||
| Pts: Dwight Jones 19 Rebs: Dwight Jones 9 Asts: Jones, Sobers 4 each |
Pts: Larry Bird 23 Rebs: Larry Bird 12 Asts: Bird, Maxwell 5 each | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 7 |
| Chicago Bulls 97, Boston Celtics 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 14–32, 24–21, 28–23, 31–30 | ||
| Pts: Reggie Theus 21 Rebs: Gilmore, Jones 10 each Asts: three players 4 each |
Pts: Archibald, Parish 27 each Rebs: Larry Bird 12 Asts: Larry Bird 9 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 10 |
| Boston Celtics 113, Chicago Bulls 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–35, 25–25, 30–25, 26–22 | ||
| Pts: Larry Bird 24 Rebs: Larry Bird 17 Asts: Larry Bird 10 |
Pts: Reggie Theus 26 Rebs: David Greenwood 12 Asts: Reggie Theus 8 | |
| Boston leads series, 3–0 | ||
April 12 |
| Boston Celtics 109, Chicago Bulls 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–24, 30–29, 25–27, 29–23 | ||
| Pts: Larry Bird 35 Rebs: Larry Bird 11 Asts: Tiny Archibald 6 |
Pts: David Greenwood 24 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 15 Asts: Theus, Sobers 7 each | |
| Boston wins series, 4–0 | ||
Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois Attendance: 18,249 Referees: Darell Garretson, Wally Rooney, Ed Middleton (alternate) |
| Boston won 5–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the first playoff meeting between the Celtics and the Bulls.[5]
(2) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (3) Philadelphia 76ers
April 5 |
| Milwaukee Bucks 122, Philadelphia 76ers 125 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 37–32, 26–34, 27–27, 32–32 | ||
| Pts: Junior Bridgeman 32 Rebs: Marques Johnson 14 Asts: Quinn Buckner 8 |
Pts: Julius Erving 38 Rebs: Caldwell Jones 11 Asts: Caldwell Jones 7 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 7 |
| Milwaukee Bucks 109, Philadelphia 76ers 99 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–25, 33–20, 23–32, 32–22 | ||
| Pts: Marques Johnson 22 Rebs: Bob Lanier 10 Asts: Quinn Buckner 6 |
Pts: Bobby Jones 22 Rebs: Julius Erving 13 Asts: Maurice Cheeks 6 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 10 |
| Philadelphia 76ers 108, Milwaukee Bucks 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–32, 26–22, 33–25, 21–24 | ||
| Pts: Erving, Dawkins 23 each Rebs: Caldwell Jones 13 Asts: Maurice Cheeks 9 |
Pts: Marques Johnson 29 Rebs: Marques Johnson 9 Asts: Marques Johnson 8 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 12 |
| Philadelphia 76ers 98, Milwaukee Bucks 109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–35, 28–26, 24–17, 25–31 | ||
| Pts: Julius Erving 22 Rebs: Caldwell Jones 8 Asts: Maurice Cheeks 8 |
Pts: Marques Johnson 35 Rebs: Sidney Moncrief 10 Asts: Marques Johnson 7 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 15 |
| Milwaukee Bucks 99, Philadelphia 76ers 116 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–27, 25–31, 26–30, 26–28 | ||
| Pts: Mickey Johnson, Moncrief 20 each Rebs: Mickey Johnson 13 Asts: Marques Johnson 7 |
Pts: Cheeks, Hollins 20 each Rebs: Julius Erving 9 Asts: Maurice Cheeks 10 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 17 |
| Philadelphia 76ers 86, Milwaukee Bucks 109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–24, 26–20, 21–30, 20–35 | ||
| Pts: Julius Erving 25 Rebs: Julius Erving 7 Asts: Maurice Cheeks 7 |
Pts: Mickey Johnson 22 Rebs: Mickey Johnson 12 Asts: Lanier, Buckner 6 each | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
April 19 |
| Milwaukee Bucks 98, Philadelphia 76ers 99 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–28, 20–30, 25–21, 25–20 | ||
| Pts: Marques Johnson 36 Rebs: Bob Lanier 10 Asts: four players 4 each |
Pts: Julius Erving 28 Rebs: Caldwell Jones 12 Asts: Maurice Cheeks 11 | |
| Philadelphia wins series, 4–3 | ||
| Milwaukee won 3–2 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bucks winning the first meeting.
| Milwaukee leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Western Conference semifinals
This was the first time both conference semifinals went seven games. This would happen again in 1994 and in 2006.
(1) Phoenix Suns vs. (5) Kansas City Kings
April 7 |
| Kansas City Kings 80, Phoenix Suns 102 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–23, 26–28, 12–24, 22–27 | ||
| Pts: Reggie King 15 Rebs: Reggie King 8 Asts: Lloyd Walton 6 |
Pts: Johnson, Davis 16 each Rebs: Jeff Cook 12 Asts: three players 4 each | |
| Phoenix leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 8 |
| Kansas City Kings 88, Phoenix Suns 83 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–20, 19–23, 18–20, 27–20 | ||
| Pts: Scott Wedman 24 Rebs: Reggie King 12 Asts: Ernie Grunfeld 8 |
Pts: Dennis Johnson 31 Rebs: Truck Robinson 8 Asts: Alvan Adams 4 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 10 |
| Phoenix Suns 92, Kansas City Kings 93 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–22, 29–18, 21–28, 22–25 | ||
| Pts: Johnson, Adams 19 each Rebs: Dennis Johnson 9 Asts: three players 4 each |
Pts: Reggie King 29 Rebs: Sam Lacey 12 Asts: Ernie Grunfeld 7 | |
| Kansas City leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 12 |
| Phoenix Suns 95, Kansas City Kings 102 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–33, 23–22, 22–23, 23–24 | ||
| Pts: Truck Robinson 23 Rebs: Truck Robinson 13 Asts: Alvan Adams 4 |
Pts: Ernie Grunfeld 27 Rebs: Sam Lacey 11 Asts: Sam Lacey 10 | |
| Kansas City leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 15 |
| Kansas City Kings 89, Phoenix Suns 101 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–23, 15–29, 23–21, 26–28 | ||
| Pts: Reggie King 29 Rebs: Douglas, Lacey 8 each Asts: Ernie Grunfeld 8 |
Pts: Walter Davis 20 Rebs: Truck Robinson 20 Asts: Johnson, Davis 4 each | |
| Kansas City leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 17 |
| Phoenix Suns 81, Kansas City Kings 76 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–21, 19–16, 20–20, 19–19 | ||
| Pts: Dennis Johnson 17 Rebs: Truck Robinson 10 Asts: Alvan Adams 7 |
Pts: Scott Wedman 19 Rebs: Sam Lacey 12 Asts: Ernie Grunfeld 8 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
April 19 |
| Kansas City Kings 95, Phoenix Suns 88 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–18, 22–26, 24–12, 27–32 | ||
| Pts: Grunfeld, King 23 each Rebs: King, Lacey 7 each Asts: Scott Wedman 9 |
Pts: Dennis Johnson 28 Rebs: Johnson, Adams 7 each Asts: Dennis Johnson 5 | |
| Kansas City wins series, 4–3 | ||
- The Kings became the 2nd NBA road team to win Game 7 after leading series 3–1 and the 1st #5 seed to eliminate #1 seed.
| Kansas City won 3–2 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Suns winning the first two meetings.
| Phoenix leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (6) Houston Rockets
April 7 |
| Houston Rockets 107, San Antonio Spurs 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–27, 36–26, 22–20, 23–25 | ||
| Pts: Moses Malone 27 Rebs: Moses Malone 10 Asts: Reid, Murphy 6 each |
Pts: George Gervin 30 Rebs: George Johnson 12 Asts: Paul Griffin 7 | |
| Houston leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 8 |
| Houston Rockets 113, San Antonio Spurs 125 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–30, 25–32, 29–26, 33–37 | ||
| Pts: Calvin Murphy 34 Rebs: Moses Malone 12 Asts: Robert Reid 10 |
Pts: Mark Olberding 34 Rebs: G. Johnson, Griffin 7 each Asts: Dave Corzine 7 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 10 |
| San Antonio Spurs 99, Houston Rockets 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 34–29, 23–32, 27–25, 15–26 | ||
| Pts: George Gervin 33 Rebs: Gervin, G. Johnson 8 each Asts: Mark Olberding 5 |
Pts: Moses Malone 41 Rebs: Moses Malone 15 Asts: Reid, Murphy 4 each | |
| Houston leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 12 |
| San Antonio Spurs 114, Houston Rockets 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–25, 32–28, 31–24, 28–35 | ||
| Pts: George Gervin 33 Rebs: Dave Corzine 11 Asts: Mark Olberding 6 |
Pts: Robert Reid 33 Rebs: Moses Malone 9 Asts: Reid, Henderson 6 each | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 14 |
| Houston Rockets 123, San Antonio Spurs 117 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–29, 31–27, 31–28, 32–33 | ||
| Pts: Calvin Murphy 36 Rebs: Moses Malone 13 Asts: Tom Henderson 7 |
Pts: Reggie Johnson 25 Rebs: George Johnson 11 Asts: George Gervin 9 | |
| Houston leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 15 |
| San Antonio Spurs 101, Houston Rockets 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–33, 35–24, 17–23, 22–16 | ||
| Pts: George Gervin 26 Rebs: three players 8 each Asts: Mark Olberding 8 |
Pts: Moses Malone 36 Rebs: Moses Malone 10 Asts: Reid, Henderson 7 each | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
April 17 |
| Houston Rockets 105, San Antonio Spurs 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 34–30, 23–36, 22–12, 26–22 | ||
| Pts: Calvin Murphy 42 Rebs: Moses Malone 16 Asts: Tom Henderson 8 |
Pts: George Gervin 21 Rebs: George Johnson 10 Asts: Johnny Moore 10 | |
| Houston wins series, 4–3 | ||
| Tied 3–3 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Rockets winning the first meeting.
| Houston leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Eastern Conference finals
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Philadelphia 76ers
John Hollinger of ESPN.com ranked this as the greatest playoff series in NBA history[9]
April 21 |
| Philadelphia 76ers 105, Boston Celtics 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–32, 31–22, 22–25, 28–25 | ||
| Pts: Andrew Toney 26 Rebs: Julius Erving 9 Asts: Maurice Cheeks 8 |
Pts: Larry Bird 33 Rebs: Robert Parish 13 Asts: Tiny Archibald 9 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 22 |
| Philadelphia 76ers 99, Boston Celtics 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–30, 25–36, 26–25, 26–27 | ||
| Pts: Andrew Toney 35 Rebs: Dawkins, Toney 7 each Asts: Andrew Toney 7 |
Pts: Larry Bird 34 Rebs: Larry Bird 16 Asts: Larry Bird 5 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 24 |
| Boston Celtics 100, Philadelphia 76ers 110 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–31, 27–31, 26–27, 27–21 | ||
| Pts: Larry Bird 22 Rebs: Larry Bird 13 Asts: Tiny Archibald 5 |
Pts: Julius Erving 22 Rebs: Caldwell Jones 14 Asts: Maurice Cheeks 8 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 26 |
| Boston Celtics 105, Philadelphia 76ers 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–34, 21–31, 31–17, 26–25 | ||
| Pts: Cedric Maxwell 20 Rebs: Larry Bird 17 Asts: Tiny Archibald 14 |
Pts: Julius Erving 20 Rebs: Caldwell Jones 10 Asts: Maurice Cheeks 10 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 29 |
| Philadelphia 76ers 109, Boston Celtics 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–24, 37–25, 26–35, 24–27 | ||
| Pts: Lionel Hollins 23 Rebs: Darryl Dawkins 8 Asts: Erving, Hollins 5 each |
Pts: Larry Bird 32 Rebs: Larry Bird 11 Asts: Tiny Archibald 7 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 3–2 | ||
May 1 |
| Boston Celtics 100, Philadelphia 76ers 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–31, 24–20, 28–22, 30–25 | ||
| Pts: Larry Bird 25 Rebs: Larry Bird 16 Asts: Tiny Archibald 6 |
Pts: Darryl Dawkins 24 Rebs: Caldwell Jones 8 Asts: Maurice Cheeks 8 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
May 3 |
| Philadelphia 76ers 90, Boston Celtics 91 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–26, 22–22, 22–23, 15–20 | ||
| Pts: Julius Erving 23 Rebs: Caldwell Jones 15 Asts: Maurice Cheeks 7 |
Pts: Larry Bird 23 Rebs: Larry Bird 11 Asts: Tiny Archibald 7 | |
| Boston wins series, 4–3 | ||
| Tied 3–3 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the 16th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning eight of the first 15 meetings.
| Boston leads 8–7 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
In Game 4, the Sixers led 93–86 midway through the fourth quarter, when Cedric Maxwell scored and drew the foul on Darryl Dawkins. He completed the three-point play. Larry Bird pushed the ball up court after a Sixers turnover. He pulled up and hit a mid-range shot to make it 93–91. Then after a Dawkins miss, Bird grabbed the rebound and threw a quick outlet pass that led to a fast-break layup to tie it at 93.
The teams traded baskets for four straight trips before the Sixers took a 101–97 lead with 4 minutes left. They traded baskets again, with Julius Erving finishing the scoring for the 76ers with a dunk over Robert Parish and two free throws for a 107–103 lead with 2:30 left. With over a minute left, Caldwell Jones lost his shoe in a scramble and played defense with it in one hand. Nate Archibald took advantage and drove right at Jones, who allowed him a free lane for an easy lay-up to make it 107–105 (he held the shoe instead of tossing it away to have both hands free or using it to his advantage to block the shot).
In the final minute, Philadelphia committed a shot-clock violation, giving Boston a chance to tie or go ahead. But Parish's turn-around shot rolled out. The rebound was tipped between two Sixers players and almost went out-of-bounds before Erving got it to Maurice Cheeks with 30 seconds left. The Sixers used as much time as they could, but Bobby Jones missed a runner and Maxwell got the rebound with 7 seconds left. He passed it to Archibald, who forced a half-court pass to Bird that Bobby Jones intercepted to end the game and give Philadelphia a 3–1 series lead.
Game 5 was back in Boston, and the Celtics were in a must-win situation. Bobby Jones' block on Gerald Henderson led to a fast-break lay-up by Andrew Toney to give the 76ers a 103–99 lead. The teams traded buckets the next four trips until a missed jumper by Bird and two Dawkins free throws made it 109–103 with 1:51 left. Dawkins got a steal, but Maxwell's game-saving block prevented a Philadelphia lay-up and led to an Archibald three-point play with 1:20 left that made it 109–106. Boston then got another block by Parish. The Sixers recovered the ball, but lost it out-of-bounds seconds later.
Bird's lay-up made it 109–108 with 47 seconds left. After a Sixers timeout, Bobby Jones' inbounds pass was deflected by Bird, then tipped by Dawkins. Bird reached for the ball while Jones put his hands up to show he didn't touch it as the ball went out-of-bounds. The referees gave the 76ers the ball, much to Bird's dismay. He argued to the refs that he didn't touch it. They met to make a decision. After a few minutes, possession was awarded to the 76ers, and Jones cleanly inbounded to Dawkins. He passed to Hollins, who gave it to Toney, who almost lost and palmed the ball, but the referees let play continue despite the jeers from the crowd. Toney tried to get the ball to Erving, but M.L. Carr deflected it out-of-bounds.
The last 29 seconds had a few moments that were reminiscent of earlier Boston Garden lore. Erving stood in almost the same spot where Hal Greer had his pass stolen by John Havlicek to seal the 1965 Eastern Division Finals. However, the 76ers were ahead this time. Erving inbounded the ball, but it got past Jones and started rolling along the sideline. Bird grabbed it and drove to the hoop with only Jones to stop him. He beat Bird to the hoop to challenge his floater. Carr got the rebound and missed, but a foul was called on Erving. With the season on the line and 20 seconds left, Carr hit both to give Boston a 110–109 lead.
After a timeout, Lionel Hollins took the ball up court and passed to Bobby Jones, who passed it to Erving. With Maxwell defending and Bird coming to double-team, Erving passed back out to Jones. With the clock ticking away, he drove and missed a floater with 7 seconds left. Carr got the rebound and ran the clock down to 1 second before Erving fouled him. Like Game 5 of the 1976 NBA Finals, the fans and media ran onto the court thinking it was over. Once it was cleared, Carr had to shoot the free throws. He hit the first to make it 111–109, then intentionally missed the next two (the 3-to-make-2 rule). Dawkins got the rebound and called timeout. The crowd huddled around the court with 1 second left and Jones standing in nearly the same spot that Curtis Perry stood before passing the ball to Gar Heard. This time, things turned out better as Parish stole it to keep Boston alive. But the Sixers still led 3–2 and were going back home.
In Game 6, Philadelphia was looking to clinch at home, and it looked like they would, as they were up by 17 at one point. But with the season on the line yet again, the Celtics fought back. With the game tied at 87 late in the fourth, Erving was blocked from behind by Bird underneath the basket. On the Celtics' end of the court, Archibald missed a 15-footer, but followed his own miss and went right back up for a layup. Cheeks hit a reverse lay-up to tie it at 89. He fouled out on the next possession. Parish hit both free throws to give Boston a 91–89 lead. After Boston failed to capitalize on a Sixers turnover, Erving tied it at 91 with a layup over Parish. After Bird traveled, Dawkins was fouled and hit both free throws to give the Sixers a 93–91 lead. This was short-lived, as Parish hit a baseline jumper and drew the foul. He completed the 3-point play to give Boston a 94–93 lead with under 3 minutes left.
A Dawkins dunk and two Archibald free throws further swayed the lead. A Hollins miss gave Boston a chance to build the lead, but Parish left after being called for an offensive foul, his sixth. That brought in rookie Kevin McHale to guard Dawkins. The Sixers went right at him, but he played good defense and forced Dawkins to miss. Bird hit an 18-footer to give Boston a 98–95 lead with 1 minute left. Toney answered by hitting a 20-footer with 54 seconds and stealing the ball from Bird with 29 seconds left and the Sixers down 1. He went for the lead, but McHale blocked it and got the ball with 14 seconds left. He passed the ball ahead to Archibald and Boston played keep away. The Sixers didn't foul until 2 seconds left. Maxwell made both foul shots to give Boston a 100–97 lead. After a timeout, the Sixers inbounded at midcourt.
The first attempt was deflected out-of-bounds by Bird, but 2 seconds still showed on the clock. However, it moved the position of the inbounds pass upcourt, making Billy Cunningham decide to take their final timeout to draw up a play from the new position. McHale's defense prevented Jones from inbounding to Toney in the corner, but he found Dr. J at the top of the key, who was immediately fouled by Archibald to prevent him from handling the ball cleanly to even try to shoot a 3. So with 1 second left, Erving had two foul shots while down 3. The Sixers still had a chance if he made the first and missed the second. He missed the first. Erving hit the second to make it 100–98. After a timeout, the Celtics inbounded from midcourt and tied the series at 3 heading back home for Game 7.
Like the last three games, Game 7 came down to the wire. It finally looked like the 76ers' night as they led by 7 with 4:34 left. Maxwell and Archibald brought Boston within 4 from the line. A Parish steal and a turn-around jumper cut it to 2. Parish blocked Dawkins' lay-up, which led to a fast-break, but Maxwell lost his balance and traveled. "Tiny" Archibald got a steal leading to a Bird dunk attempt that missed, but was fouled by Erving; his fifth. Bird missed the first, but made the next two to tie it at 89 with 2:51 left.
The 76ers' next trip downcourt was a wild one. Dr. J almost traveled, a pass got deflected out of bounds, Caldwell Jones got the offensive rebound off a Dr. J miss, and a Bird block on Erving, led to a scramble for the ball that saw bodies fly all over the court. It eventually rolled to Hollins, who got it off before the shot clock expired, but missed. A battle for the rebound almost saw Bird tip it out-of-bounds, but as the ball bounced precariously near the baseline, he grabbed it and got it to "Tiny" to give Boston a chance to take the lead.
On Boston's possession, Parish threw up an airball that went out-of-bounds off Hollins, giving the Celtics a second chance. However, "Tiny" missed a long-range 2, and the rebound bounced off Boston. The Sixers then put the ball in the hands of Erving and Dawkins as they traded the ball back and forth to wear down the Celtics defense. Parish, Maxwell, and Bird played tough defense, and forced a Dawkins miss that Bird rebounded. He led the fast-break himself and hit a mid-range bank shot to give Boston a 91–89 lead with 1:03 left.
With the 76ers looking to tie or go ahead, Erving's pass was stolen by Carr with 47 seconds left. But Boston was without Archibald, who got injured a couple plays back. Henderson had the ball poked away by Hollins to Cheeks, who kept it on the fast-break. He drove to the basket and got fouled hard on a missed lay-up. He took a few moments to get up. He gutted it out though, and went to the line with a chance to tie it with 29 seconds left. He split the pair to make it 91–90.
The 76ers chose not to foul and played tough defense. Boston used up the entire shot-clock before Carr finally took a shot with 7 seconds. He missed, but Parish momentarily had a series-ending offensive rebound, but lost it. Bobby Jones finally got the rebound and called time with 1 second left. So with a chance to win, he had to inbound the ball with fans, security, and media huddled around the court. With Bird defending, Jones lobbed a pass towards the basket, but it hit the top of the backboard. Cedric Maxwell tipped it to end the series as the Garden crowd stormed the court. Boston became the fourth team in NBA history to overcome a 3–1 series deficit, and the third team to do so in the Conference Finals. This would happen again in 2016 between the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Western Conference finals
(5) Kansas City Kings vs. (6) Houston Rockets
April 21 |
| Houston Rockets 97, Kansas City Kings 78 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–23, 24–18, 22–19, 31–18 | ||
| Pts: Moses Malone 29 Rebs: Moses Malone 12 Asts: Mike Dunleavy 6 |
Pts: Ernie Grunfeld 20 Rebs: Reggie King 12 Asts: Lacey, Ford 7 each | |
| Houston leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 22 |
| Houston Rockets 79, Kansas City Kings 88 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–22, 22–25, 13–21, 18–20 | ||
| Pts: Moses Malone 18 Rebs: Moses Malone 15 Asts: Tom Henderson 7 |
Pts: Reggie King 31 Rebs: Reggie King 10 Asts: King, Lacey 6 each | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 24 |
| Kansas City Kings 88, Houston Rockets 92 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–24, 22–23, 20–25, 30–20 | ||
| Pts: Wedman, King 22 each Rebs: Reggie King 8 Asts: Scott Wedman 7 |
Pts: Reid, Paultz 20 each Rebs: Malone, Paultz 12 each Asts: Mike Dunleavy 10 | |
| Houston leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 26 |
| Kansas City Kings 89, Houston Rockets 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–20, 26–26, 24–29, 20–25 | ||
| Pts: Reggie King 24 Rebs: King, Lacey 8 each Asts: Phil Ford 10 |
Pts: Moses Malone 42 Rebs: Moses Malone 23 Asts: Robert Reid 9 | |
| Houston leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 29 |
| Houston Rockets 97, Kansas City Kings 88 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–25, 30–25, 23–27, 24–11 | ||
| Pts: Moses Malone 36 Rebs: Moses Malone 11 Asts: Tom Henderson 6 |
Pts: Scott Wedman 20 Rebs: Reggie King 16 Asts: Sam Lacey 7 | |
| Houston wins series, 4–1 | ||
| Kansas City won 4–2 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the first playoff meeting between the Rockets and the Kings.[11]
May 5 |
| Houston Rockets 95, Boston Celtics 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–24, 28–27, 24–25, 14–22 | ||
| Pts: Robert Reid 27 Rebs: Moses Malone 15 Asts: Mike Dunleavy 7 |
Pts: Larry Bird 18 Rebs: Larry Bird 21 Asts: Larry Bird 9 | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
- Larry Bird's famous play of following a missed jumper, jumping for the rebound, and switching ball from his right to left hand as his momentum was carrying him out of bounds as he scored.
May 7 |
| Houston Rockets 92, Boston Celtics 90 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–26, 23–23, 23–19, 24–22 | ||
| Pts: Moses Malone 31 Rebs: Moses Malone 15 Asts: three players 3 each |
Pts: Larry Bird 19 Rebs: Larry Bird 21 Asts: Archibald, Henderson 4 each | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
May 9 |
| Boston Celtics 94, Houston Rockets 71 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–17, 20–13, 24–18, 29–23 | ||
| Pts: Cedric Maxwell 19 Rebs: Larry Bird 13 Asts: Larry Bird 10 |
Pts: Moses Malone 23 Rebs: Moses Malone 15 Asts: three players 2 each | |
| Boston leads series, 2–1 | ||
May 10 |
| Boston Celtics 86, Houston Rockets 91 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–26, 24–24, 17–25, 19–16 | ||
| Pts: Cedric Maxwell 24 Rebs: Cedric Maxwell 14 Asts: Larry Bird 7 |
Pts: Mike Dunleavy 28 Rebs: Moses Malone 22 Asts: Tom Henderson 9 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
May 12 |
| Houston Rockets 80, Boston Celtics 109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–34, 18–25, 18–18, 25–32 | ||
| Pts: Moses Malone 20 Rebs: Moses Malone 11 Asts: Allen Leavell 6 |
Pts: Cedric Maxwell 28 Rebs: Cedric Maxwell 15 Asts: Larry Bird 8 | |
| Boston leads series, 3–2 | ||
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 15,320 Referees: Earl Strom, Paul Mihalik, Joe Gushue |
May 14 |
| Boston Celtics 102, Houston Rockets 91 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–24, 28–23, 29–20, 20–24 | ||
| Pts: Larry Bird 27 Rebs: Larry Bird 13 Asts: Tiny Archibald 12 |
Pts: Robert Reid 27 Rebs: Moses Malone 16 Asts: Henderson, Reid 5 each | |
| Boston wins series, 4–2 | ||
| Boston won 2–0 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning the first two meetings.
| Boston leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
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