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Some of Johnson's notable performances against Bird: As for some of Bird's notable performances against Johnson: Johnson and Bird played against each other 19 times in the playoffs over the course of three NBA Finals. My favorite quotes about Larry Bird - CelticsBlog And, to be clear, he came by it honestly. larry bird finals record - josieya Bird does not have any titles outside of the NBA, despite making the NCAA tournament final in 1979. Michael Cooper Explains What Made Larry Bird 'Larger Than Life' Three seasons later, the Celtics were in the finals again and this time they faced the Los Angeles Lakers and Magic Johnson for the first time. After that the series was all Lakers, they won four of the next five games to end the series in six and hand Larry his first Finals loss. Then head coach Bill Fitch resigned as head coach despite having the second-best coaching record in the NBA during his four-year stint in Boston. The Lakers then inbounded the ball and Magic Johnson inexplicably dribbled the clock out during regulation time. Games. The Cs turned up the D and Bird was everywhere. The first happened in 1985, a year after the Celtics had defeated the Lakers in the finals. Your email address will not be published. The Sixers had an incredible roster featuring three Hall of Famers in Julius Dr. At the macro level, the famous won three titles with the Boston Celtics. 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. One of the most exciting 3-0 series in league history, the Celtics made quick work of the up-and-coming Bulls featuring a young Michael Jordan. Nobody thought that the Celtics would beat the Lakers in 1984. Milwaukee Bucks 4-0, 1986 NBA Finals: Celtics def. 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. * Larry Bird was injured and missed the playoffs in 1989. This site is a participant in the Impact Affiliate Platform which is an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Fanatics.com . Larry Mangurian announced that he was selling the team because of difficulties with the owners of the Boston Garden. Larry Bird stats . . Noise Group Limited is a UK registered company. Carr. Reliving the almost-perfect championship series stint authored by Larry Bird became only the third player in NBA history to win three titles in a row. In his career, Larry Bird won three NBA regular season MVP awards. Adding one more hall of famer, Bill Walton, put this team over the top. The Houston Rockets were mostly a completely different team from the Moses Malone-led Rockets of the 1981 Finals. These Knicks really were Bernard Kings team. Unlike some of the other players that have gone down in NBA History, Larry didnt leave his team whatsoever. Johnson had the winning record in the regular season and playoffs, and he took down Bird twice in their three Finals showdowns although Johnson having the better team had something to do with that. Birds Boston Celtics finished 16-15 in NBA Finals games and 3-2 in NBA Finals series. The Pacers got their revenge on the Knicks, winning the eastern conference finals in six games to go up against the Lakers. The Larry Bird Finals Record is a statistic of the player who most often wins the NBA Finals. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this. Net Worth, Salary & Earnings of Larry Bird in 2023. It gave Bird his first finals loss in his third appearance. 1983: Moses Malone: C: October 9, 2019. The Bullets featured Jeff Ruland a really good, likely underrated, player who was at his peak. NAME. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Lakers in 1983 and the Detroit Pistons snuck by the Lakers in 1989. Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum were carrying their teams on the offensive [] he was voted the NBA Finals MVP. Chicago Bulls 4-1, 1981 Eastern Conference Final: Celtics def. The Laker momentum was stalled, and Larry Bird came up with a crucial jumper over Magic Johnson with 16 seconds remaining in overtime, then M.L. You can only imagine how fiery this rivalry was, with two consecutive seven-game series in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers have met a record 12 times in the NBA Finals, starting with their first . It seemed like it should be an easy series for the Celtics, with game one and two victories by double digits, but the Knicks home crowd helped their team to win all their series home games. It went back and forth but the Celtics were able to walk away with a massive victory to seal the series. Only game 3 finished within ten points with the Cs winning 111-107. Sample Searches for learning more about the power and flexibility of Stathead. "Wilt . What are the abbreviations on the NBA table. It was the same matchup with pretty much the same teams. In the Finals, Bird dropped a triple-double on the Rockets in a series-clinching Game 6, giving the Celtics another ring. In his second season with the Celtics, Boston finished first in the East as they had done the previous year. Get the latest news on Larry Bird, biographical info . NBA unveils two new postseason awards named after Larry Bird, Magic 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. 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. All three broke into laughter, led by Russell's infamous cackle. The Bucks were led in the series, as they had been in the regular season, by wing Marques Johnson and Hall of Fame guard Sidney Moncrief. Julius Erving | Biography, Stats, & Facts | Britannica We present them here for purely educational purposes. Regular Season Record: 62-20 (The Celtics tied with 76ers for 1st in the Atlantic Division, Eastern Conference and the NBA but the Cs got the #1 seed in a tiebreaker by winning the last game of the season vs the Sixers). The Celtics-Lakers rivalry is a National Basketball Association (NBA) rivalry between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. James Posey shared the culture that made the 2008 Boston Celtics experience so unique. Stephen Curry is now a career 21-4 (.840) in playoff series - Reddit Larry Bird had a winning record in NBA Finals games and series. Some notable games between the two of them: At least when it comes to how they fared in theirhead-to-head matchups. The Cs closed it out winning game four by 3 points. From a statistical perspective, he also averaged 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists across his career. We have seen some teams lose in the NBA Finals off of some injuries and other situations leading up to it that the box score doesnt show, so lets dive into Birds record. While Bird did not have the finals success of a Jordan or Russell, he still had a better record than greats including LeBron and Wilt. The Cs were heavily favored and had won 10 straight vs the Rockets, but Houston put up more of a fight than expected. Milwaukee Bucks 4-1, 1984 NBA Finals: Celtics def. But it was in 1986 when the Celtics faced the Houston Rockets for the championship when Bird . If you are thinking of buy an NBA jersey then check out the official retailers of the NBA below. Join our linker program. Background. Carr revealed that the motto of the 1983-84 Celtics was Dont be denied, and the team ended up winning the championship that no one thought they would win. Teaming with players like Larry Bird and Kevin McHale, Maxwell was an essential player on Boston teams that won NBA championships in both 1981 and 1984. [1] The Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeated the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers in seven games. While that body of work would give anyone the right to too their own horn, Larry Legend took a different course of action. He worked the first half, but was replaced by John Vanak for the second half. The Western Conference Finals also led to one of the greatest game-winners ever. The big reason of course for this is Magic Johnson and the Lakers. However, despite sweeping the Bulls in the first round again, they had serious issues the next few. Bird averaged 28.7 points, 10.5 rebounds and 6.6 assists across the regular season as the Celtics once again topped the eastern conference. Though just looking at his record can get a bit confusing. Larry Bird won three championships as a player, but did not win any as a coach. 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. The 86 Celtics are in the conversation for best team ever with Bill Walton joining Bird, Robert Parish and. Bostons setbacks didnt end on the basketball court. Michael Cooper Backs Larry Bird and Blasts JJ Redick, Calling Him a Poor Mans Danny Ainge. talent just don't get it. During a mid-1980's game vs. Utah when Bird was torching the Jazz, Larry looked over at . Certain completely unbiased fans, like myself, rank him very highly in that top ten. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this. Larry Joe Bird (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick, Kodak, The Great White Hope) Position: Small Forward and Power Forward Shoots: Right 6-9, 220lb (206cm, 99kg) . Bird did not technically average a triple double for the series because both his rebounds and assists were slightly below 10 and Ive rounded them, but, still, those stats are unreal. The NBA Finals series was closer than either of the Conference Finals. Larry Bird's Career Record vs. NBA Legends: He Beat Michael Jordan 23 NY Knicks 4-3, 1984 Eastern Conference Final: Celtics def. The Celtics won the first three games by an average of 6 points before the Hawks got their only win at home. However, its the only individual award Cedric Maxwell won in his career. Tatum and the rest of his team are eager to avenge the loss in the Finals . Bird had a good series in other categories, but did not score at his normal rate. Larry Bird, the former basketball player for NBA's Boston Celtics, is a true icon in the world of basketball. The Celtics were led by Bird, who won his first MVP award, and was complemented by 1981 Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell, first-time all-star and Sixth Man Award winner Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Gerald Henderson and Danny Ainge. The American greatest basketball still worked as a coach and executive in the NBA, which had indeed led him to get over the low . And after watching the Lakers face the Philadelphia 76ers twice during the 1982 and 1983 Finals, they were determined to win in 84. Bird and the Celtics lined up against the Los Angeles Lakers who took them to seven games. After a tough seven game series in the conference finals against the Sixers, Boston advanced to the finals to face the Rockets. Larry Bird had a winning record in NBA Finals games and series. 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. 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. Hey, it's enough to make Allen Iverson burn his Celtics throwbacks. If you remember, there was Kevin McHales hit on Kurt Rambis, and there was Larry Bird bumping Michael Cooper out of bounds. Michael Jordans Prime: The Greatest of All Time, Who has the most rings in the NBA? Bird was very honest when taking up the role saying he would only coach the team for three years. Averaging 30-10-7 with 3 steals. He instead enrolled at the smaller Indiana State University. inWest Baden,Indiana Larry Bird | Bio-married, divorce, affair, children - Playerswiki The Sixers took an 89-82 lead with five+ minutes to go. Indiana State University, High School: Right, Born: In addition to Nique, the Hawks starred Kevin Willis. It didnt take the Lakers long to learn, but in that series, it was the element of surprise that we needed. It's clear the two dominated the decade, but who got the better of who? This was a fantastic series overall. I wrote about his underrated defense here. From a statistical perspective, he also averaged 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists across his career. Furthermore, Johnson and Bird earned five of the 10 MVP awards handed out during the 1980s. Larry Bird | Boston Celtics | NBA.com Even with Jordan exploding, only game two was close at 135-131. Bird's Pacers fell in the East finals in '98 and '99, then came up short in the NBA Finals in 2000 against the Los Angeles Lakers. It did not slow Bird down as he won a title the next season with the now legendary 86 Celtics. This was brought on after Ralph had an altercation with a Boston player in game five. He held this role for five seasons before being offered the Indiana Pacers head coach role. Unfortunately, the team was defeated by the Philadelphia 76ers in five games and they were sent home. 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. This was Birds last finals appearance, meaning that he went to five NBA finals overall, winning 3. Larry Bird's continuing influence on the game of basketball crossed a new threshold . 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. Larry Birds First NBA Championship 1981. Both teams could have easily succeeded in taking the Eastern Conference Finals. Cedric 'Cornbread' Maxwell speaks out on GOAT, today's NBA, Larry Bird Michael Cooper Explains What Made Larry Bird 'Larger Than Life' - MSN Dominique was an offensive force, but, unlike MJ, he was not noted for doing much else . the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. The Philidelphia 76ers were led by NBA Hall of Famer Julius Erving, Andrew Toney, and Darryl Dawkins. . And they werent. Only the strong survive. The Celtics beat the Lakers 4-3, winning by nine points in the deciding Game 7. This was the last of Larrys three straight MVP seasons. Bird outscored Dr. J 26.7 to 19.9 ppg in the series, led all players in rebounds and was second on Boston in assists. So, for me, being back in the old Boston Garden for Game 7, with twelve seconds left on the clock, and knowing that we were going to be world champions when absolutely no one gave us a chance but usthat is the thing that I remember the most.. Finals stats: 19.4 points, 11.7 assists and 7.9 rebounds in 50 games Finals rank: . Two years after his first finals loss to the Lakers, the re-match was on. Larry Bird reached 5 NBA Finals, wining 3 and losing 2, he played his entire career with the Boston Celtics. Larry Bird is one of the greatest NBA players of all time. The Cs won in a blowout in game 3 in Houston before Houston tied it up with a tight win in game 4. The Celtics made short work of the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals, winning in five games. The Larry Bird Finals Record was first recorded by Bill Simmons in his book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. The Celtics then took the series lead for the first time by winning Game 5 but the thoroughbred Lakers sent the series to a Game 7 with their own double-digit win. Aside from stats, Larry Bird was a winner, bringing home multiple championship rings during his time with the Celtics. Johnson and Bird met at the NBA Finals three times in 1984, 1985 and 1987. So for an entire decade, the NBA Finals included one of the two marquee franchises. Despite this, Bird did not win any championships during his college career. It was a tough six game slugfest with the Houston Rockets but Bird and company were just too good. This struggle did not deter Bird. Larry Bird - College Basketball At Sports-Reference As for their averages, Johnson posted 20.7 points, 13.5 assists and 7.5 rebounds per game in their head-to-head matchups in the Finals compared to Bird's 25.3 points, 11.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists. Larry led the team to a Game 7 victory while averaging 26-13-5, putting up a great stat line of 23-11-5 with 5 steals in the deciding Game 7. Bird won two finals against very different Houston Rockets teams and one against the Showtime Lakers featuring Kareem and Magic.