1986 NBA Championship vs Houston Rockets

Lore & Background

The Celtics made the 1985 NBA Finals but lost in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers. In the offseason, president Red Auerbach traded Cedric Maxwell to the Los Angeles Clippers for Bill Walton and acquired Jerry Sichting from the Indiana Pacers. The Celtics surged to a league-best 67–15 record, powered by an NBA record 40 victories at home. In the playoffs, they defeated the Chicago Bulls in three games, the Atlanta Hawks in five, and swept the Milwaukee Bucks in the conference finals. The Rockets, after trading Moses Malone in 1982, had a league-worst 14–68 record in 1982–83, then selected Ralph Sampson with the top pick in 1983 and Akeem Olajuwon with the top pick in 1984. Under head coach Bill Fitch, they posted a 51–31 record, swept the Sacramento Kings, eliminated the Denver Nuggets in six, and stunned the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in the conference finals.

In Their Own Story

The air inside the Boston Garden was thick enough to chew—a humid cocktail of popcorn, floor wax, and electric tension as a city held its breath. In Game 3, the Rockets' twin towers initially loomed large in the paint, but as the clock wound down in the fourth quarter, size wasn't the deciding factor; it was the quiet, steely gaze of Larry Bird directing traffic. The crowd erupted not just for a basket, but for the sheer inevitability of it all: the Green and White had once again conquered the league, their dynasty breathing fire one last time before the inevitable shift of eras.

Reader's Guide

The Celtics won the first two games at the Boston Garden. The Rockets won game three 106–104. The Celtics won game four 106–103. Game five featured a brawl when Ralph Sampson ignited a fight with Jerry Sichting, leading to Sampson's ejection; the Rockets won that game. The Celtics closed out the series with a 114–97 victory in game six. Larry Bird averaged 24 points, 9.7 rebounds, 9.7 assists, and 2.7 steals per game and was named Finals MVP.

Did You Know?

• This series marked the first time the 'NBA Finals' branding was officially used, dropping the 'NBA World Championship Series' branding.
• Until the 2011 series, this was the last time the NBA Finals had started before June.
• This was the last NBA Finals series to schedule a game on a Monday until 1999 and the last NBA Finals game to be played on Memorial Day.
• Until the 2018 series, it was the last to conclude before June 10.
• CBS Sports used Dick Stockton and Tom Heinsohn as play-by-play and color commentator, with Brent Musburger as host and Pat O'Brien and Lesley Visser as sideline reporters.