1986 NBA Championship vs Houston Rockets

Lore & Background

The Celtics made the 1985 NBA Finals but lost 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 a rebuilding period, selected Ralph Sampson with the top pick in 1983 and Akeem Olajuwon with the top pick in 1984. 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.

Reader's Guide

The Celtics won the first two games at Boston Garden. The Rockets won Game 3 at home 106–104. The Celtics won Game 4 106–103. Game 5 featured Ralph Sampson's ejection after a brawl with Jerry Sichting; the Rockets won decisively. The Celtics closed out the series with a 114–97 win in Game 6. 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.
• It 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.
• 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.