Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
As of the 2023 offseason, the Celtics and Lakers have a .5918 and .5915 all-time winning records respectively. As of the end of the 2023–24 season, Boston is the only team with a winning overall record against the Lakers. [3] The rivalry became slightly less intense when Larry Bird and Magic Johnson both retired in the early 1990s.
Most assists in a quarter, finals; 8 by Bob Cousy, Boston Celtics (vs. St. Louis Hawks) on April 9, 1957; 8 by Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers (vs. Boston Celtics) on June 3, 1984; 8 by Robert Reid, Houston Rockets (vs. Boston Celtics) on June 5, 1986; 8 by Michael Cooper and Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers (vs. Boston Celtics) on June 4, 1987
The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Celtics in the conference finals before losing to the Lakers in the 1980 NBA Finals, with Johnson earning Finals MVP honors for his Game 6 performance. Since then Bird won a championship in 1981, then Magic led the Lakers to the finals in 1982 and 1983, winning in the former.
Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers vs Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers: Lakers, 5–1 1950, 1954, 1980, 1982, 1983, 2001: 5 Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers vs New York Knicks: Lakers, 3–2 1952, 1953, 1970, 1972, 1973: 4 Boston Celtics vs St. Louis Hawks (Atlanta Hawks) Celtics, 3–1 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961: 4: Golden State Warriors vs ...
It was the first NBA Finals meeting between the Celtics and Lakers since 1969; they met 7 times in the Finals from 1959 to 1969, with Boston coming out on top each year. Going into the 1984 playoffs, the Lakers had already won 2 titles in the 1980s and the Celtics 1, making the revival of the Celtics–Lakers rivalry arguably inevitable and ...
Pierce made one final layup with five seconds left in the game, but the Lakers edged the Celtics with a 91–84 victory to take a 2–1 lead in the series. [12] Bryant was the leading scorer of the game with 29 points; Garnett's 25 points bested all other Celtics players for Game 3. Derek Fisher scored 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter.
The victory could be viewed as a statement win to start the second half of the season after the Lakers finished the first half of the season with a 23-18 record.
The Lakers had been unsuccessful in their previous eight attempts to defeat the Celtics in the NBA Finals, losing 7 times from 1959–1969 and 1984. The Lakers, moreover, won the title in Boston, something no other NBA team would accomplish until 2022 , and would be the only road team to clinch the title at Boston Garden .