1984 NBA Finals

The 1984 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1983-84 NBA season. In 1984, the Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in a seven-game Finals, winning Game 7 111-102. Larry Bird averaged 27 points and 14 rebounds a game during the series, earning the award of Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP). Bird was also named the league regular season MVP for that year.

This series was the long-awaited rematch of the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics after their rivalry was revived in 1979 with the Magic Johnson-Larry Bird pair entering the league. After the Lakers won Game 1, a crucial steal in Game 2 led to a tie game and the Celtics were able to win in overtime to tie the series. The Lakers won Game 3 easily and almost won Game 4, but were again thwarted. Now tied 2-2, the Lakers and Celtics each held serve at their home court to send the series to Boston for Game 7. Game 5 was a classic, with Bird coming up with a huge game in one of the (literally) hottest games ever in non-air conditioned Boston Garden. Game 7 was close (indoor temperatures hovered around 91 degrees during the game) but eventually went to the Celtics. Cedric Maxwell scored 24 points against the Los Angeles Lakers in the decisive Game 7 victory.

Los Angeles won all three games played on Sunday afternoons. Boston won the games played on Tuesday night, Wednesday night, Thursday night, and Friday night.

The Series schedule was an odd schedule, due entirely to the whims of television. Game One was played on a Sunday afternoon in Boston, about 36 hours after the Lakers had eliminated the Phoenix Suns in the Western Finals. The teams then had three plus days off, not playing until Thursday night. Then, after Game 3 on Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles, the teams had two plus days off, not playing again until Wednesday night. That in turn started a wearing back-and-forth across the country ... Wednesday night at LA, Friday night at Boston, Sunday afternoon at LA, and Tuesday night at Boston ... to end the series.

The following year, the Finals format switched to 2-3-2, where Games 1, 2 , 6 and 7 are hosted by the team with the best record. The change in format came after Red Auerbach complained about the constant travelling during the finals.

Finals series summary

Boston Celtics defeat Los Angeles Lakers, four games to three

Game 1

The Lakers opened the series with a 115-109 victory at Boston Garden.

Game 2

In Game 2, the Lakers led 113-111 with 18 seconds left when Gerald Henderson stole a James Worthy pass to score a game tying layup. The Lakers then inbounded the ball and Magic Johnson inexplicably dribbled the clock out during regulation time. The Celtics eventually prevailed in overtime 124-121.

Game 3

In Game 3, the Lakers raced to an easy 137-104 victory as Magic Johnson dished out 21 assists. After the game, Larry Bird said his team played like "sissies" in an attempt to light a fire under his teammates. It was Boston's worst playoff defeat in franchise history to that date.

Game 4

In Game 4, the Lakers had a five point game lead with less than a minute to play, but made several execution errors, including Magic Johnson's bad pass to Robert Parish late in the 4th quarter as the Celtics tied the game and then came away with a 129-125 victory in overtime. Johnson was infamously 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 came up with a crucial jumper with less than a minute in overtime, then M.L. Carr stole James Worthy's inbounds pass followed by a dunk to seal the win. The game was also marked by Celtic forward Kevin McHale's takedown of Laker forward Kurt Rambis on a breakaway layup which triggered the physical aspect of the rivalry. Larry Bird would go after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar later on in the third quarter, and 1981 Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell further antagonized the Lakers by following a missed James Worthy free throw by crossing the lane with his hands around his own neck, symbolizing that Worthy was "choking" under pressure. Also, Bird pushed Michael Cooper to the baseline following the inbound play during the second quarter.

Game 5

In Game 5, the Celtics took a 3-2 series lead with a 121-103 victory, as Larry Bird scored 34 points. The game was known as the "Heat Game", as it was played under 97-degree heat, and without any air conditioning, at Boston Garden. The Celtics did not warm up with their sweat pants on because of extreme heat, and oxygen tanks were provided to give air to exhausted players. It was also the last time that a team with home court advantage in the NBA finals played Game 5 on its own floor. The next year, the NBA Finals switched to the 2-3-2 format with Game 5 going to the team without home-court advantage.

Game 6

In Game 6, the Lakers evened the series with a 119-108 victory. In the game the Lakers answered the Celtics' rough tactics when Laker forward James Worthy shoved Cedric Maxwell into a basket support. After the game a Laker fan threw a beer at Celtics guard M.L. Carr as he left the floor, causing him to label the series "all-out-war."

Game 7

In Game 7, the heat that was an issue in Game 5 was not so bad (indoor temperatures hovered around 91 degrees during the game, due to additional fans being brought in to try to cool the air). 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. In the game the Lakers rallied from a 14-point-deficit to three with one minute remaining when Cedric Maxwell knocked the ball away from Magic Johnson. Dennis Johnson responded by sinking two free throws to seal the victory. Larry Bird was named MVP of the series.

The series was the eighth time in NBA history that the Celtics and Lakers met in the NBA finals, with Boston winning each time.

Quote from the Finals

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Cooper to Kareem, to Worthy, to Rambis. They should go the distance and, ohh, look out.

—Chick Hearn describing Kevin McHale's clothesline on Kurt Rambis in Game 4.

And it goes quickly in now to Magic, back over to Worthy and it's picked off! Goes to Henderson and he lays it up and in!! It's all tied up! A great play by Henderson!!

—Johnny Most describing Gerald Henderson's steal in Game 2.

For a minute I could hear Johnny Most going, "Henderson steals the ball!

—Gerald Henderson during a post-game interview following Game 2.

We've got some great players on this team, but we don't have the players with the heart sometimes that we need. And today, when you see Magic slapping high-fives and his guys throwing behind-the-back passes and shooting lay-ups on us all day long, it seems that someone would try to play stop on defense and, until we get our hearts where they belong, well, we're in trouble.

—Larry Bird commenting on his infamous "Celtics play like sissies" comment following Game 3.

The Boston Celtics are the NBA World Champions, in a grueling, seven-game series over the Los Angeles Lakers.

—Dick Stockton after Game 7 of the finals.

It feels great, whatever happened to the Los Angeles dynasty? You guys are talking about a dynasty, there it is (the O'Brien Trophy) right there, that's the dynasty. We're the best team in the world right now, the best out there.

—Red Auerbach during the championship celebrations with Brent Musburger after Game 7.

Team rosters

Television coverage

The 1984 championship series was the most watched in NBA history, with soaring TV ratings. All the playoff action was documented on the 1984 NBA Season documentary Pride and Passion, narrated by Dick Stockton. During that year Lesley Visser, Stockton's wife, became the first woman to cover the NBA Finals for CBS. She reported on the Celtics' sideline while Pat O'Brien reported on the Lakers' sideline.

See also

• 1984 NBA Playoffs

External links

• NBA History
• Boston Globe story about Game 5 (published 7 June 2009)