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The teams traded games throughout the series. This was the last of Larrys three straight MVP seasons. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this. They beat the Rockets twice and the Lakers once to win NBA titles. Larry Bird is one of the ten greatest players in the history of the NBA. They beat the Rockets twice and the Lakers once to win NBA titles. The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers have met a record 12 times in the NBA Finals, starting with their first . Bird averaged 24 points per game as Boston won the series in six to net him his THIRD ring. Why did the Philadelphia 76ers trade Charles Barkley to the Phoenix Suns? A superstar. Larry Bird (Larry Legend; The Hick from French Lick) Position: Forward 6-9, 220lb (206cm, 99kg) School: Indiana State (Men) Draft: Boston Celtics, 1st round (6th pick, 6th overall), 1978 NBA draft. Paul George: 'I still believe we're gonna be a tough team to beat in seven games', Gilbert Arenas on Ja Morant: 'When we young, we do stupid sh**', Shai Gilgeous-Alexander not on injury report, Erik Spoelstra refuses to comment on when Kyle Lowry will return, Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala probable for Sunday against Lakers, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Copyright 2023 Sports Nostalgia HQ | Powered by Astra WordPress Theme, By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. Larry Bird Q&A: Being a white player in the NBA, trash - Andscape This was the Celtics' first appearance in The Finals since their 1976 championship winning team against the Phoenix Suns.The Celtics were not quite the same team as five years before, as they added the likes of Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and Kevin McHale, a trio that would come to be known as "The Big Three." M. L. Carr, Cedric Maxwell, and Nate Archibald were also capable players off the . Those same Lakers defeated Bird in both his finals losses. By the end of the 1984 season Bird had won his second NBA title, both with the Celtics. The Celtics and Lakers met in the NBA Finals in 1984, 1985, and 1987 with Bird and Cooper going at it. This was the last NBA Finals to use the 22111 format until 2014. Bird set a career-high with 60 points against the Atlanta Hawks during the 1984-85 season. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. It was a tough six game slugfest with the Houston Rockets but Bird and company were just too good. FGA, TRB, AST, PF, GS over 99% complete back to 1975-76. Larry Bird - College Basketball At Sports-Reference The couple has two adopted children named Conner Mariah.. Family. Larry wouldnt have been a controversial choice, but Cedric Maxwell was the emotional center of the Celtics and meant so much to the teams culture. The Boston Celtics won the 1981 NBA Championship in six games giving Larry Bird his first NBA title. He made the Finals five times in his thirteen-year career, winning the championship in 1981, 1984, and 1986. The Cs won games five and six by two points each to reach game 7. Larry Bird is one of the greatest NBA players of all time. The #1 and #2 seeds were set to face off in the Conference Finals. Noise Group Limited is a UK registered company. They easily won their first round series against the Washington Bullets as they were named at that time, then advanced and knocked off the New York Knicks in a seven-game series. Bird averaged 22.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game for the series. The Celtics won game 2 at home but lost two games in Philly to fall behind 3-1. The big reason of course for this is Magic Johnson and the Lakers. It was the beginning of one of the most legendary basketball rivalries in the history of the NBA, with Bird and Magic Johnson facing off against each other for the first time. The Lakers took game 1 in Boston and looked like they made take a commanding 2-0 lead when Gerald Henderson stole the ball and the series. You have to really understand the circumstances in each Finals run and see how he ended up with the record that he has right now. . Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Do you have a blog? In 1985, the Lakers beat the Celtics behind FInals MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He averaged 27.4 points, 14.0 boards and 3.6 assists per game for the series. In 1987-88, Bird was the first Celtic ever to record a 40-20 game, with a 42-point, 20-rebound effort against Indiana. In the playoffs, the team went 15-3 en route to winning the championship. The Lakers defeated the Celtics in the finals twice, preventing Bird from having any more NBA titles. The Rockets swept the Sacramento Kings in round 1, then took six games to get by a fun Denver Nuggets team starring Alex English and Fat Lever. It was Boston's worst playoff defeat in franchise history to that date. Big Names Off the Bench: Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge, Quinn Buckner, Scott Wedman. How Did The Legendary Rivalry of Magic Johnson And Larry Bird Turned . As with many teams in the 1990s, the Pacers were stopped by the Chicago Bulls, losing the series in seven games as the Bulls did not lose a home game in the series. Amazing! After altering wins with the Lakers, the Celtics won Game 7 and the series with a score of 111102. The 1984 NBA Finals was the first championship meeting between old rivals Boston and Los Angeles since 1969. Birds 2 Finals losses both came against the Lakers and Magic Johnson, 1985 & 1987. The Rockets fought back to win handily in game 5 at home but the Celtics closed out the series in game 6 in the Boston Garden to take their third title of the Bird era. What is Larry Bird's Record in the NBA Finals? The Los Angeles Lakers won both games in the regular season series: The Lakers opened the series with a 115-109 victory at Boston Garden. Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum were carrying their teams on the offensive [] The series was the eighth time in NBA history that the Celtics and Lakers met in the NBA finals, with Boston winning each time, and the first championship that the Celtics claimed at home since 1966. Milwaukee Bucks 4-0, 1986 NBA Finals: Celtics def. What surprises me more, though, is that former NBA player, 38-year-old JJ Redick, can't admit that the NBA of the 1980s was more physical than the game played today.. Nearly two weeks ago, Redick caused a stir by saying Bird shouldn't be considered . And, as if that wasnt enough, Bird found success after hanging up his sneakers. He averaged a career-high 29.9 points that year, falling just five points . At that time, Bird also expressed unhappiness over Mangurians decision to sell the team, and he was one of the players who defended Fitch after they were swept by the Bucks. After the tournament, both entered the NBA in the 1979-80 season with high . Houston had a tough road to the Finals: they beat the defending champion Lakers featuring both. It gave Bird his first finals loss in his third appearance. From a statistical perspective, he also averaged 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists across his career. It was clear that the Celtics were mentally exhausted after playing that many games in such a short span, which resulted in the Lakers beating Bird and the Celtics in six quick games. Also, Bird pushed Michael Cooper to the baseline following the inbound play during the second quarter. Birds Celtics also defeated a very different Rockets team in 1981. Houston had gone 40-42 in the 1980-81 regular season compared to Boston's 62-20 season under second-year Celtics sensation Larry Bird you may have heard of him. Some notable games between the two of them: At least when it comes to how they fared in theirhead-to-head matchups. Bernard Cardinal Law, Larry Bird and Mayor Raymond L. Flynn. The Celtics eventually prevailed in overtime 124-121, thanks to Scott Wedman's game-winning shot from the baseline with 14 ticks left. No stats available. Find out more. In total, Larry Bird went to five NBA finals in his career. Larry led the way and averaged 27-14-4 to lead the team to the championship, along with his first Finals MVP. What is Larry Bird's record in the NBA finals? - Quora In the final game of the tournament, Larry Bird and his erstwhile unbeaten Indiana State Sycamores lost to Magic Johnson and his Michigan State Spartans by the score of 7564. I wrote about his record in the NBA Finals here. How Many Finals MVPs Does Larry Bird Have? The Cs won a couple home games to start the series then lost a close one on the road. The Celtics again saw their Eastern Conference rivals matching up against the Milwaukee Bucks. Jordan averaged an insane 43.7 points, 5.7 assists and 6.3 rebounds for this. 1984 NBA Finals - Wikipedia How Larry Bird was robbed of the 1981 NBA playoff and - CelticsBlog As one of the greatest players to ever step foot in the . The type of player who didnt even care about stats but always seemed to put up the most absurd statlines ever seen. Bird finished second in the MVP voting to Malone and was unable to lead the Celtics back to the Conference Finals. The Cs won in a blowout in game 3 in Houston before Houston tied it up with a tight win in game 4. * Larry Bird was injured and missed the playoffs in 1989. After going 33-0, Bird led his team to the final of the tournament where he faced off against Magic Johnson and Michigan State. The Lakers fell in the Western Conference finals to a new team that sprung up seemingly out of nowhere. The Bucks now featured a young Terry Cummings along with Paul Pressey and Sidney Moncrief. It was one of the most dominant playoff runs that we had ever seen in basketball at this time and it was hard to imagine them as anything other than favorites entering that series against the Rockets, a team that they already beat in the championship before. Bird's Boston Celtics won the NBA championship three times during his career (1981 and '86 vs. the Houston Rockets, '84 vs. the Los Angeles Lakers), and Bird won Finals MVP in '84 and '86. Dennis Johnson responded by sinking two free throws to seal the victory. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. His performances helped to take the Celtics to 62 wins in the regular season, topping the NBA. Your email address will not be published. Michael Cooper Explains What Made Larry Bird 'Larger Than Life' - MSN Bird won Finals MVP in 1984 when his Celttics defeated the Lakers in seven games. This Finals had everything. Houston Rockets 4-2, Larry Bird Championship #2: 1984 Boston Celtics, 1984 First Round: Celtics def. The Houston Rockets have long been a sneakily dangerous team even when they were losing, dating from when the Rockets faced the Boston Celtics in the 1981 NBA Finals with a losing record. Key Names off the Bench: Kevin McHale, Gerald Henderson, Rick Robey and M.L. Thanks in main to two close overtime wins, Boston won the series in seven games despite Bird struggling in the deciding game. Sadly for Bird, the Pacers lost the series in six games. And, as if that wasn't enough, Bird found success after hanging up his sneakers. Both teams could have easily succeeded in taking the Eastern Conference Finals. They lost twice to the same team: the Los Angeles Lakers. inWest Baden,Indiana BIrd averaged 27.4 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.0 assist per game for the series. Player stats broken down into various categories; i.e. Big Names Off the Bench: Jerry Sichting, Bill Walton and Scott Wedman. He made the Finals five times in his thirteen-year career, winning the championship in 1981, 1984, and 1986. In Game 6, the Lakers evened the series with a 119-108 victory. Larry averaged 27-10-7 and led the Celtics with 36 points in a game-five win that saw the Celtics beat the Hawks by 33 points. The next year, the NBA Finals switched to the 2-3-2 format with Game 5 going to the team without home-court advantage, which continued through 2013. NBA unveils two new postseason awards named after Larry Bird, Magic James Posey shared the culture that made the 2008 Boston Celtics experience so unique. Simmons says that he got the idea from watching basketball and looking at player statistics. Larry Bird won Finals MVP in 1984 & 1986, the trophy would go to his teammate Cedric Maxwell in 1981. His accolades are countless, with the former Indiana State man being an NBA legend. The games were closer than youd expect for a 1 seed vs 8 seed series. Data Provided By Bird also won Finals MVP in 1986 when he scored 24 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out 10 assists and had 2.7 steals per game. Johnson was called "Tragic Johnson" by Celtics fans due to the two crucial errors he committed in Game 4 (the Parish steal, followed by two botched free throws in OT). Larry Bird | Bio-married, divorce, affair, children - Playerswiki In Game 7, the Celtics got 24 points from Cedric Maxwell and 22 from DJ with Bird scoring 20 as they won the game 111-102 and the series for Bostons 15th NBA title. Despite the changes, it did not stop the Lakers from finishing with the best record (5428) in the Western Conference, powered by their one-two punch of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson. Bird won their first meeting in seven games, winning the NBA Finals MVP. All three broke into laughter, led by Russell's infamous cackle. The Western Conference Finals also led to one of the greatest game-winners ever. They quickly swept the Chicago Bulls, then marched down and knocked off the 76ers in a revenge series that wound up going into seven games. J Erving, The Sixers swept a weak Indiana Pacers team in round 1 (2-0) then went seven games to defeat a tough Milwaukee Bucks team starring Bob Lanier, Marques Johnson and. * 1981: Boston Celtics def. Former Celtics player M.L. The 1981 Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell led the team in scoring after saying something like Get on my back boys before the game. Larry Bird starred at Indiana State University before joining the NBA's Boston Celtics in 1979. . Both times it was to his rival dating back to college: Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers. Larry Bird Championships: He Defeated the Best! Do you have a sports website? This cost the Lakers valuable depth, as James Worthy, a key contributor off the bench, would now have to start in Wilkes' place. 1981 was against the Houston Rockets where Cedric Maxwell was the NBA Finals MVP. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its clubs. Larry Bird's Celtics made the Finals in 1985 and 1987 but lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. He instead enrolled at the smaller Indiana State University. Magic vs. Bird: Reliving rivalry 40 Years after first NBA matchup The Celtics and the Lakers are the two most storied franchises in the NBA, and the rivalry has often been called the greatest in the NBA. Unfortunately, the team was defeated by the Philadelphia 76ers in five games and they were sent home. What Was Michael Jordans Playoff Record? [2] It was also the last time that a team with home court advantage in the NBA finals played Game 5 on its own floor until 2014. Bird poured in 39 in game 7 to lead the Cs to 30.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and 7.1 assists for the series. At the macro level, the famous won three titles with the Boston Celtics. Milwaukee Bucks 4-1, 1984 NBA Finals: Celtics def. Larry Bird was named MVP of the series. Birds missed game winner in game four turned out to be vital in the series as the Lakers did not let their 3-1 lead slip, winning the series in six games. In the Western Conference Finals the Rockets handled the defending champion Lakers in five games. Meanwhile, the Clydesdales, AKA the Celtics, were coming off a season where they went 56-26 and were swept by the Milwaukee Bucks in round 2 of the playoffs. This was brought on after Ralph had an altercation with a Boston player in game five. 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. How Many Games Did Larry Bird Miss A Season Due To Injury | StatMuse Keep reading to learn more about each championship win, the series leading up to the finals, and each Larry Bird championship season. We had Larry Bird, Kevin Mchale, Robert Parish, and Dennis Johnson on the Celtics. Your default site has been set for 7 days, Scoring the rivalry: How Magic Johnson and Larry Bird played in their legendary head-to-head matchups. Seriously, check out his Basketball Reference page. The Sixers had an incredible roster featuring three Hall of Famers in Julius Dr. Whether he makes an All-Defense team this season remains to be seen, but few wings in the association deserve more recognition than McDaniels this campaign. The Celtics ended the series shooting 52% from the field while holding the Bucks to 44% shooting. We are compensated for referring traffic and business to Fanatics.com and other companies linked to on this site. . Which player is ultimately better all-time is a different conversationbecause that includes a lot more than their individual matchups. . If you are thinking of buy an NBA jersey then check out the official retailers of the NBA below. Larry Bird, the former basketball player for NBA's Boston Celtics, is a true icon in the world of basketball. The 1987 NBA Finals again saw the Los Angeles Lakers up against Birds Celtics. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Instead of battling fatigue and exhaustion from their grueling Semi-Finals series, they went on to beat the Milwaukee Bucks in five games. Furthermore, Johnson and Bird earned five of the 10 MVP awards handed out during the 1980s. Houston Rockets 4-2, who would briefly play with Bird later in his career, the greatest non-final series in NBA history, Bernard Cardinal Law, Larry Bird and Mayor Raymond L. Flynn. Having finished second in MVP voting the prior year, Bird dominated the season and the voting. However, this was not the case. The Celtics snuck past the Philadelphia 76ers in 7 games after the Sixers had taken a 3-1 lead to open the series. Larry Bird's Famous Wife Not Everyone Knows - msn.com Bird has four siblings' all brothers named Mike . At the risk of boring you with a list of his all-time accomplishments, well run through an abbreviated version of Birds body of work. The NBA unveiled two new postseason awards on Thursday morning: the Eastern Conference Finals MVP and Western Conference Finals MVP. Bill suffered through injuries for much of his career but appeared in 80 games for the Celtics. The top 31 players and coaches, In 1981, the Celtics beat a Houston Rockets team featuring, In 1984, Birds Celtics beat the Showtime Lakers featuring, In 1986 the Celtics defeated a pretty different Houston Rockets squad. 1st seed in the West, 2nd best league record. The last four games all came down to the last shot, with all the games being decided by two points or less. NBA Finals: Ranking the top Finals performers in NBA history - HoopsHype The Knicks were led by the explosive scorer Bernard King, who averaged 29-5-3 in the series. Have the Phoenix Suns ever won the NBA title? Bird scored 53 points against the Indiana Pacers, which broke Sam Jones' record set in 1965. The Celtics struggled to slow down finals MVP Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bird struggled compared to his incredibly high standards. In Game 5, the Celtics took a 3-2 series lead with a 121-103 victory, as Larry Bird scored 34 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. Bird averaged 27.2 points, 9.6 boards and 7.0 assists for the series. The Bullets were the 8th seed in the East winning only 35 regular season games and finishing last in the Atlantic division. All-NBA First-Teamers NOT in the Hall of Fame, Basketball Positions 101: Understanding the Different Roles on the Court, The Best NBA Players to NOT Make the Hall of Fame, The Best All-Defensive Team in NBA History, The All-Time Worst NBA Finals Performances by a Superstar by Position. The Rockets fought back to win handily in game 5 at home but the Celtics closed out the series in game 6 in the Boston Garden to take their third title of the Bird era. Larry led the way with an average of 25 points per game. (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick, Kodak, The Great White Hope), Position: Certain completely unbiased fans, like myself, rank him very highly in that top ten. Los Angeles Lakers 4-3, Larry Bird Championship #3: 1986 Boston Celtics, 1986 First Round: Celtics def. Safe to say he absolutely dominated in every facet of the game for that second ring. he was voted the NBA Finals MVP. Jayson Tatum's 25th birthday | ksdk.com