1986–87 Boston Celtics season

The 1986–87 Boston Celtics season was the 41st season of the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Celtics entered the season as the defending NBA Champions, having defeated the Houston Rockets in the 1986 NBA Finals in six games, winning their sixteenth NBA championship.

1986–87 Boston Celtics season
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coach	K. C. Jones
General manager	Jan Volk
Owners	Don Gaston Alan N. Cohen Paul Dupee
Arena	Boston Garden Hartford Civic Center
Results
Record	59–23 (.720)
Place	Division: 1st (Atlantic) Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	NBA Finals (lost to Lakers 2–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WLVI (Gil Santos, Bob Cousy) SportsChannel New England (Mike Gorman, Tom Heinsohn)
Radio	WRKO (Johnny Most, Glenn Ordway)
< 1985–86 1987–88 >

In the playoffs, the Celtics swept the Chicago Bulls in the First Round in three games, defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in the Semi-finals in seven games, and the Detroit Pistons in the conference finals in seven games to reach the NBA Finals for the fifth time in the 1980s. In the Finals, the Celtics faced off against their long time rival, the Los Angeles Lakers, in their third and final matchup in the NBA Finals in the 1980s. The Celtics would lose in six games to the Lakers, and it marked the last time the Celtics made it to the NBA Finals until 2008. Remarkably, the 1987 NBA Finals was the first playoff series for the Celtics in the Bird era in which they did not have the home court advantage, as they had played 24 consecutive series with the home court advantage starting in 1980.

NBA draft

Thanks to the 1984 trade of Gerald Henderson and the subsequent fall of the Seattle SuperSonics, at the end of the 1985–86 season the Celtics owned not only the best team in the NBA but also the second pick in the 1986 NBA draft. The Celtics drafted small forward Len Bias with the pick and had high hopes for the young Maryland Terrapins star. The hope was that his presence would ensure that the franchise would remain a powerhouse after Bird, McHale, and Parish retired. Unfortunately, Bias died 48 hours after he was drafted, after using cocaine at a party and overdosing.^[1]

Unlike the prior year, the Celtics were forced to endure major injuries to several key players including Bill Walton, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. With a road record of 20–21, the Celtics were a sub-.500 road team for the first time in the Larry Bird era and the first time since the 1978–79 season. However, they continued with the previous season's historic dominance at home with a record of 39–2 at Boston Garden.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	2	Len Bias	Forward	United States	Maryland
4	93	Tony Benford	N/A	United States	Texas Tech
5	116	Dave Colbert	N/A	United States	Dayton
6	139	Greg Wendt	N/A	United States	Detroit
7	162	Tom Ivey	N/A	United States	Boston University

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Boston Celtics	59	23	.720	–	39–2	20–21	15–9
x-Philadelphia 76ers	45	37	.549	14	28–13	17–24	12–12
x-Washington Bullets	42	40	.512	17	27–14	15–26	13–11
New Jersey Nets	24	58	.293	35	19–22	5–36	12–12
New York Knicks	24	58	.293	35	18–23	6–35	8–16

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Boston Celtics	59	23	.720	–
2	y-Atlanta Hawks	57	25	.695	2
3	x-Detroit Pistons	52	30	.634	7
4	x-Milwaukee Bucks	50	32	.610	9
5	x-Philadelphia 76ers	45	37	.549	14
6	x-Washington Bullets	42	40	.512	17
7	x-Indiana Pacers	41	41	.500	18
8	x-Chicago Bulls	40	42	.488	19
9	Cleveland Cavaliers	31	51	.378	28
10	New Jersey Nets	24	58	.293	35
11	New York Knicks	24	58	.293	35

Record vs. opponents

1986-87 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIL	NJN	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	–	3–3	4–2	4–2	2–0	2–0	3–3	1–1	1–1	3–3	2–0	1–1	3–3	5–0	5–1	3–3	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	5–0
Boston	3–3	–	6–0	3–2	2–0	2–0	3–2	2–0	2–0	5–1	2–0	0–2	3–3	4–2	4–2	3–3	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	4–2
Chicago	2–4	0–6	–	5–1	1–1	1–1	3–3	0–2	0–2	3–2	2–0	0–2	4–2	3–2	4–2	3–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	3–3
Cleveland	2–4	2–3	1–5	–	0–2	1–1	1–5	1–1	0–2	3–3	2–0	0–2	1–5	4–2	4–1	2–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–4
Dallas	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	–	4–2	1–1	5–0	3–3	0–2	5–0	3–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–2	2–3	5–1	4–2	5–0	3–3	1–1
Denver	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	–	0–2	4–1	3–3	1–1	2–3	0–5	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	3–2	3–2	2–4	5–1	2–3	2–4	1–1
Detroit	3–3	2–3	3–3	5–1	1–1	2–0	–	1–1	1–1	3–3	2–0	1–1	3–3	5–1	6–0	5–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–3
Golden State	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–5	1–4	1–1	–	4–1	0–2	6–0	2–4	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–5	4–2	4–1	4–1	4–2	2–3	0–2
Houston	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	3–3	3–3	1–1	1–4	–	2–0	4–1	1–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–2	2–3	5–1	5–1	1–4	3–3	1–1
Indiana	3–3	1–5	2–3	3–3	2–0	1–1	3–3	2–0	0–2	–	2–0	0–2	2–4	5–1	3–2	2–4	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–2
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–5	3–2	0–2	0–6	1–4	0–2	–	0–6	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–5	0–6	1–4	1–4	2–4	2–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–3	5–0	1–1	4–2	4–1	2–0	6–0	–	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	5–1	5–1	5–0	4–1	4–2	3–2	1–1
Milwaukee	3–3	3–3	2–4	5–1	0–2	1–1	3–3	2–0	2–0	4–2	2–0	1–1	–	4–2	4–2	2–3	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–1
New Jersey	0–5	2–4	2–3	2–4	0–2	0–2	1–5	0–2	1–1	1–5	1–1	0–2	2–4	–	5–1	3–3	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–4
New York	1–5	2–4	2–4	1–4	0–2	0–2	0–6	0–2	1–1	2–3	2–0	0–2	2–4	1–5	–	3–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–4
Philadelphia	3–3	3–3	3–3	4–2	0–2	2–0	0–5	1–1	2–0	4–2	2–0	0–2	3–2	3–3	3–3	–	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–3
Phoenix	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–3	2–3	1–1	5–1	2–3	1–1	5–1	1–5	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	–	2–4	2–3	2–3	1–5	4–1	0–2
Portland	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–0	2–4	3–2	2–0	6–0	1–5	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	4–2	–	3–2	4–1	4–2	3–2	1–1
Sacramento	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–5	4–2	1–1	1–4	1–5	1–1	4–1	0–5	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	3–2	2–3	–	3–3	2–3	1–5	1–1
San Antonio	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	1–5	1–1	1–4	1–5	0–2	4–1	1–4	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–2	1–4	3–3	–	1–4	2–4	0–2
Seattle	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–5	3–2	0–2	2–4	4–1	1–1	4–2	2–4	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	5–1	2–4	3–2	4–1	–	3–2	1–1
Utah	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	3–3	4–2	1–1	3–2	3–3	1–1	3–2	2–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–4	2–3	5–1	4–2	2–3	–	1–1
Washington	0–5	2–4	3–3	4–2	1–1	1–1	3–3	2–0	1–1	2–4	2–0	1–1	1–4	4–2	4–2	3–3	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	—

Game log

1986-87 game log
October Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 1 Fri. Oct. 31 Washington Bullets 120-102 Boston Garden 1-0
November Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 2 Sat. Nov. 1 @ Milwaukee Bucks 105-111 Milwaukee Arena (MECCA) 1-1 3 Wed. Nov. 5 Indiana Pacers 133-102 Boston Garden 2–1 4 Fri. Nov. 7 @Washington Bullets 88-86 Capital Centre 3–1 5 Tue. Nov. 11 @ New Jersey Nets 110-114 Brendan Byrne Arena 3–2 6 Wed. Nov. 12 Milwaukee Bucks 124-116 Boston Garden 4–2 7 Fri. Nov. 14 @ Chicago Bulls 124-105 Chicago Stadium 5-2 8 Sat. Nov. 15 @ Detroit Pistons 118-111 Pontiac Silverdome 6–2 9 Wed. Nov. 19 Atlanta Hawks 111-107 Boston Garden 7–2 10 Fri. Nov. 21 Golden State Warriors 135-120 Boston Garden 8–2 11 Sat. Nov. 22 @ Atlanta Hawks 96-97 The Omni 8–3 12 Tue. Nov. 25 @ Philadelphia 76ers 100-102 The Spectrum 8–4 13 Wed. Nov. 26 New York Knicks 101-90 Boston Garden 9–4 14 Fri. Nov. 28 San Antonio Spurs 111-96 Boston Garden 10–4
December Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 15 Tue. Dec. 2 Washington Bullets 109-117 Hartford Civic Center 10–5 16 Wed. Dec. 3 Denver Nuggets 119-113 Boston Garden 11–5 17 Fri. Dec. 5 Philadelphia 76ers 108-106 Boston Garden 12–5 18 Sat. Dec. 6 @ Cleveland Cavaliers 86-88 Richfield Coliseum 12–6 19 Wed. Dec. 10 New Jersey Nets 108-98 Boston Garden 13–6 20 Fri. Dec. 12 Los Angeles Lakers 110-117 Boston Garden 13–7 21 Sat. Dec. 13 @ Washington Bullets 105-98 Capital Centre 14–7 22 Tue. Dec. 16 @ New York Knicks 107-96 Madison Square Garden 15–7 23 Wed. Dec. 17 Indiana Pacers 113-101 Boston Garden 16–7 24 Fri. Dec. 19 @ Philadelphia 76ers 100-122 The Spectrum 16–8 25 Sat. Dec. 20 @ Milwaukee Bucks 100-120 Milwaukee Arena (MECCA) 16–9 26 Fri. Dec. 26 @ Phoenix Suns 122-112 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 17–9 27 Sat. Dec. 27 @ Los Angeles Clippers 114-101 L.A. Sports Arena 18–9 28 Mon. Dec. 29 @ Sacramento Kings 119-102 ARCO Arena I 19–9 29 Tue. Dec. 30 @ Seattle SuperSonics 104-102 Seattle Center Coliseum 20–9
January Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 30 Fri. Jan. 2 Chicago Bulls 113-99 Boston Garden 21–9 31 Wed. Jan. 7 Milwaukee Bucks 119-92 Boston Garden 22–9 32 Fri. Jan. 9 Sacramento Kings 109-99 Boston Garden 23–9 33 Sat. Jan. 10 @ Detroit Pistons 101-118 Pontiac Silverdome 23–10 34 Tue. Jan. 13 @ New Jersey Nets 123-117 Brendan Byrne Arena 24–10 35 Wed. Jan. 14 Dallas Mavericks 117-108 Boston Garden 25–10 36 Fri. Jan. 16 Cleveland Cavaliers 133-128 (OT) Boston Garden 26–10 37 Sun. Jan. 18 Houston Rockets 122-99 Boston Garden 27–10 38 Mon. Jan. 19 @ New York Knicks 109-111 Madison Square Garden 27–11 39 Wed. Jan. 21 Indiana Pacers 130-100 Boston Garden 28–11 40 Fri. Jan. 23 Atlanta Hawks 126-106 Boston Garden 29–11 41 Sun. Jan. 25 Philadelphia 76ers 111-96 Boston Garden 30–11 42 Tue. Jan. 27 @ Chicago Bulls 105-97 Chicago Stadium 31–11 43 Wed. Jan. 28 Chicago Bulls 132-103 Boston Garden 32–11 44 Fri. Jan. 30 @ Indiana Pacers 100-94 Market Square Arena 33–11
February Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 45 Tue. Feb. 3 @ Atlanta Hawks 123-126 (OT) The Omni 33–12 46 Wed. Feb. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers 104-102 Boston Garden 34–12 47 Tue. Feb. 10 @ Denver Nuggets 119-105 McNichols Sports Arena 35–12 48 Thu. Feb. 12 @ Golden State Warriors 134-112 Oakland Coliseum 36–12 49 Fri. Feb. 13 @ Portland Trail Blazers 131-116 Memorial Coliseum 37–12 50 Sun. Feb. 15 @ Los Angeles Lakers 103-106 The Forum 37–13 51 Mon. Feb. 16 @ Utah Jazz 89-109 Salt Palace 37–14 52 Wed. Feb. 18 @ Dallas Mavericks 113-96 Reunion Arena 38–14 53 Thu. Feb. 19 @ Houston Rockets 99-92 The Summit 39–14 54 Sat. Feb. 21 @ San Antonio Spurs 121-113 HemisFair Arena 40–14 55 Mon. Feb. 23 New Jersey Nets 116-103 Hartford Civic Center 41–14 56 Wed. Feb. 25 Portland Trail Blazers 122-116 Boston Garden 42–14 57 Fri. Feb. 27 @ Atlanta Hawks 105-115 The Omni 42–15
March Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 58 Sun. Mar. 1 Detroit Pistons 112-102 Boston Garden 43–15 59 Wed. Mar. 4 Utah Jazz 123-105 Boston Garden 44–15 60 Fri. Mar. 6 Los Angeles Clippers 132-111 Boston Garden 45–15 61 Sun. Mar. 8 @ Detroit Pistons 119-122 (OT) Pontiac Silverdome 45-16 62 Wed. Mar. 11 Phoenix Suns 118-109 Boston Garden 46-16 63 Fri. Mar. 13 @ Indiana Pacers 109-116 Market Square Arena 46-17 64 Sun. Mar. 15 New York Knicks 113-104 Boston Garden 47-17 65 Tue. Mar. 17 @ Milwaukee Bucks 115-123 Milwaukee Arena (MECCA) 47-18 66 Wed. Mar. 18 Milwaukee Bucks 120-102 Boston Garden 48-18 67 Fri. Mar. 20 Seattle SuperSonics 112-108 Boston Garden 49-18 68 Sun. Mar. 22 New Jersey Nets 116-104 Boston Garden 50-18 69 Tue. Mar. 24 Cleveland Cavaliers 111-88 Hartford Civic Center 51-18 70 Thu. Mar. 26 @ Washington Bullets 103-106 Capital Centre 51-19 71 Fri. Mar. 27 @ Chicago Bulls 111-106 Chicago Stadium 52-19 72 Sun. Mar. 29 Philadelphia 76ers 118-100 Boston Garden 53-19 73 Tue. Mar. 31 @ New York Knicks 120-128 Madison Square Garden 53-20
April Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 74 Wed. Apr. 1 Washington Bullets 103-86 Boston Garden 54-20 75 Fri. Apr. 3 Detroit Pistons 119-115 (OT) Boston Garden 55-20 76 Sun. Apr. 5 @ Philadelphia 76ers 104-106 (OT) The Spectrum 55-21 77 Tue. Apr. 7 @ Cleveland Cavaliers 83-107 Richfield Coliseum 55-22 78 Fri. Apr. 10 @ New Jersey Nets 108-117 Brendan Byrne Arena 55-23 79 Sun. Apr. 12 New York Knicks 119-107 Boston Garden 56-23 80 Wed. Apr. 15 @ Indiana Pacers 108-85 Market Square Arena 57-23 81 Fri. Apr. 17 Chicago Bulls 108-105 Boston Garden 58-23 82 Sun. Apr. 19 Atlanta Hawks 118-107 Boston Garden 59-23
1986-87 Schedule

Roster

1986–87 Boston Celtics roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From SG 44 Ainge, Danny 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1959-03-17 BYU SF 33 Bird, Larry 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1956-12-07 Indiana State SG 34 Carlisle, Rick 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1959-10-27 Virginia SF 20 Daye, Darren 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1960-11-30 UCLA SG 43 Henry, Conner 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1963-07-21 UC Santa Barbara PG 3 Johnson, Dennis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1954-09-18 Pepperdine C 50 Kite, Greg 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1961-08-05 BYU PF 32 McHale, Kevin 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1957-12-19 Minnesota C 00 Parish, Robert 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1953-08-30 Centenary PF 31 Roberts, Fred 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1960-08-10 BYU PG 12 Sichting, Jerry 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 168 lb (76 kg) 1956-11-29 Purdue PG 11 Vincent, Sam 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1963-05-18 Michigan State C 5 Walton, Bill 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1952-11-05 UCLA SF 8 Wedman, Scott 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1952-07-29 Colorado

Head coach K. C. Jones Assistant coach(es) Jimmy Rodgers Chris Ford Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

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	74	682	566	135	70	2076	28.1
Kevin McHale	77	763	198	38	172	2008	26.1
Robert Parish	80	851	173	64	144	1403	17.5
Dennis Johnson	79	261	594	87	38	1062	13.4
Danny Ainge	71	242	400	101	14	1053	14.8
Jerry Sichting	78	91	187	40	1	448	5.7
Fred Roberts	73	190	62	22	20	402	5.5
Darren Daye	61	124	75	25	7	236	3.9
Sam Vincent	46	27	59	13	1	171	3.7
Greg Kite	74	169	27	17	46	123	1.7
Conner Henry	36	27	27	6	1	98	2.7
Rick Carlisle	42	30	35	8	0	80	1.9
Bill Walton	10	31	9	1	10	28	2.8
David Thirdkill	17	19	2	2	0	25	1.5
Scott Wedman	6	9	6	2	2	20	3.3
Andre Turner	3	2	1	0	0	4	1.3

Playoffs

1987 playoff game log
First round: 3–0 (home: 2–0; road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 23 Chicago W 108–104 Kevin McHale (21) Robert Parish (11) Larry Bird (13) Boston Garden 14,890 1–0 2 April 26 Chicago W 105–96 Larry Bird (29) McHale, Parish (10) Larry Bird (8) Boston Garden 14,890 2–0 3 April 28 @ Chicago W 105–94 Larry Bird (32) Larry Bird (14) Dennis Johnson (10) Chicago Stadium 18,122 3–0
Conference Semi-finals: 4–3 (home: 3–1; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 5 Milwaukee W 111–98 Larry Bird (40) Robert Parish (12) Bird, Johnson (7) Boston Garden 14,890 1–0 2 May 6 Milwaukee W 126–124 Bird, Ainge (30) Larry Bird (10) Dennis Johnson (10) Boston Garden 14,890 2–0 3 May 8 @ Milwaukee L 121–126 (OT) Dennis Johnson (32) Robert Parish (16) Dennis Johnson (14) MECCA Arena 11,052 2–1 4 May 10 @ Milwaukee W 138–137 (2OT) Larry Bird (42) Kevin McHale (11) Dennis Johnson (12) MECCA Arena 11,052 3–1 5 May 13 Milwaukee L 124–129 Robert Parish (30) Robert Parish (16) Larry Bird (12) Boston Garden 14,890 3–2 6 May 15 @ Milwaukee L 111–121 Dennis Johnson (25) Kevin McHale (16) Dennis Johnson (14) MECCA Arena 11,052 3–3 7 May 17 Milwaukee W 119–113 Larry Bird (31) Robert Parish (19) Dennis Johnson (10) Boston Garden 14,890 4–3
Conference finals: 4–3 (home: 4–0; road: 0–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 19 Detroit W 104–91 Robert Parish (31) Larry Bird (16) Larry Bird (11) Boston Garden 14,890 1–0 2 May 21 Detroit W 110–101 Larry Bird (31) Bird, Parish (9) Larry Bird (12) Boston Garden 14,890 2–0 3 May 23 @ Detroit L 104–122 Sam Vincent (18) Larry Bird (11) Dennis Johnson (8) Pontiac Silverdome 23,525 2–1 4 May 24 @ Detroit L 119–145 Sam Vincent (18) Kevin McHale (9) Sam Vincent (7) Pontiac Silverdome 27,387 2–2 5 May 26 Detroit W 108–107 Larry Bird (36) Larry Bird (12) Larry Bird (9) Boston Garden 14,890 3–2 6 May 28 @ Detroit L 105–113 Larry Bird (35) Kevin McHale (12) Dennis Johnson (11) Pontiac Silverdome 28,383 3–3 7 May 30 Detroit W 117–114 Larry Bird (37) Robert Parish (11) Dennis Johnson (11) Boston Garden 14,890 4–3
NBA Finals: 2–4 (home: 2–1; road: 0–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 June 2 @ L.A. Lakers L 113–126 Larry Bird (32) Larry Bird (7) Dennis Johnson (13) The Forum 17,505 0–1 2 June 4 @ L.A. Lakers L 122–141 Larry Bird (23) Robert Parish (14) Dennis Johnson (9) The Forum 17,505 0–2 3 June 7 L.A. Lakers W 109–103 Larry Bird (30) Larry Bird (12) Ainge, McHale (5) Boston Garden 14,890 1–2 4 June 9 L.A. Lakers L 106–107 Kevin McHale (25) Kevin McHale (13) Dennis Johnson (14) Boston Garden 14,890 1–3 5 June 11 L.A. Lakers W 123–108 Dennis Johnson (25) Kevin McHale (14) Dennis Johnson (11) Boston Garden 14,890 2–3 6 June 14 @ L.A. Lakers L 93–106 Dennis Johnson (33) Johnson, McHale (10) Danny Ainge (6) The Forum 17,505 2–4
1987 schedule

Award winners

• Larry Bird, All-NBA First Team
• Kevin McHale, All-NBA First Team
• Kevin McHale, All-NBA Defensive First Team

References

1. "All-American Basketball Star, Celtic Choice, Dies Suddenly". The New York Times. June 20, 1986.

• Celtics on Database Basketball
• Celtics on Basketball Reference