Games. * Larry Bird was injured and missed the playoffs in 1989. One of the most feared competitors during the 1980s was Larry Bird, who won three championships with the Celtics during the decade, destroying teams through his versatile style and killer, lights-out shooting. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its clubs. They beat the Rockets twice and the Lakers once to win NBA titles. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The Bucks won a five-game series over the Hawks to start the playoffs and got by Darryl Dawkins and his NJ Nets in round 2. His career was cut dramatically short by injury. His accolades are countless, with the former Indiana State man being an NBA legend. Milwaukee Bucks 4-0, 1986 NBA Finals: Celtics def. 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. 0:49. 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 fourth quarter, and missing two crucial free throws in OT as the Celtics tied the game and then came away with a 129-125 victory in overtime. Celtics Starters: Danny Ainge, Dennis Johnson, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. The Celtics blew out Houston in game 5 behind a big effort from Cedric Maxwell and then took a big lead and held on to win in game 6. Here are some of Larry Bird's notable career achievements and statistics: Three-time NBA champion (1981, 1984, 1986) . But what is Larry Birds record in the NBA Finals? 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. He was named NBA Head Coach of the Year in 1998. Featured Image Photo Credit: Adapted from:Bernard Cardinal Law, Larry Bird and Mayor Raymond L. FlynnbyBoston City Archivesis licensed underCC BY 2.0. If you were wondering about his career numbers while we wrap this up, he averaged 24.3 points, 10 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. In his last season as the teams head coach, Birds Pacers were the number one seed in the east and were not really tested throughout the first three rounds of the playoffs. Should individual honors and scoring records take precedence? It featured the first time that Larry Bird met Magic Johnson in the NBA Finals, their first head-to-head championship meeting since the 1979 NCAA title game. With Kareem ageing, the Celtics hoped that they could win the finals. Los Angeles Lakers 4-3, Larry Bird Championship #3: 1986 Boston Celtics, 1986 First Round: Celtics def. Bernard Cardinal Law, Larry Bird and Mayor Raymond L. Flynn. They lost twice to the same team: the Los Angeles Lakers. By the end of the 1984 season Bird had won his second NBA title, both with the Celtics. The league had changed the Finals homecourt schedule to the 2-3-2 format that year, allowing the team with the lesser record (LA) to host the middle three games. After the tournament, both entered the NBA in the 1979-80 season with high . This series was a rematch of the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics after their rivalry was revived in 1979 with the Magic JohnsonLarry Bird pair entering the league. 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 . When asked about what he remembers most about beating the Lakers in the 1984 NBA Finals, Carrs reply was: The final seconds of Game 7. The expected CelticsLakers finals, however, never happened. If you are thinking of buy an NBA jersey then check out the official retailers of the NBA below. Bird won three titles with the Celtics in 1981, 1984 and 1986, earning Finals MVP honors in the latter two. Larry Bird Playoffs Game Log. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. he guided the Pacers to a 58-24 record, which was the best in franchise history at the time. The Celtics snuck past the Philadelphia 76ers in 7 games after the Sixers had taken a 3-1 lead to open the series. The famous forward might not have been the most athletic man ever to hit the hardwood, but that wasnt a problem. The Detroit Pistons took two games off them in the second round but it didnt matter, Bird averaged 28 points per game as they won in six. The series was not a close one: the Cs took a 3-0 lead before Milwaukee won their second home game to stay alive. 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. Unfortunately for the Pacers and Larry Bird, the Lakers were just too much for the Pacers. Tatum and the rest of his team are eager to avenge the loss in the Finals . Bird set a career-high with 60 points against the Atlanta Hawks during the 1984-85 season. Larry Bird is one of the few basketball players in history that are widely recognized even by people who dont even know the sport. Funny story about that series, Boston was actually down 3-1 entering Game 5, and Bird ended up dropping 32, 25 and 23 points in each of those games to rally off three straight wins and advance his team to the Finals. In 1987-88, Bird was the first Celtic ever to record a 40-20 game, with a 42-point, 20-rebound effort against Indiana. He has been an NBA champion in 1981, 1984 and 1986 out of which he was the NBA Finals MVP in 1984 and 1986. As someone who watched Bird play and has now researched and written more than a half dozen articles about his career, I can help you out. These performances earned Bird his second MVP award. The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers have met a record 12 times in the NBA Finals, starting with their first . In the playoffs, the team went 15-3 en route to winning the championship. Bill suffered through injuries for much of his career but appeared in 80 games for the Celtics. She reported on the Celtics' sideline while Pat O'Brien reported on the Lakers' sideline. L.A. went on to blow out the Celtics in Game 3 but the resilient Celtics responded with a 129-125 OT win in Game 4 which was sealed by Carrs steal at the buzzer. The three finals victories are outlined above, but Bird also had two finals losses. He averaged 30.3 points, 13.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game across his three seasons, winning Naismith College Player of the Year in 1979. Birds 2 Finals losses both came against the Lakers and Magic Johnson, 1985 & 1987. Larry Birds Celtics lost two NBA Finals. Larry Bird was a star. In this first iconic matchup, eight Hall of Famers saw play. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. The Lakers then inbounded the ball and Magic Johnson inexplicably dribbled the clock out during regulation time. NAME DATE SEASON SERIES TM OPP REC W% MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% PF +/-Magic Johnson: 5/27/1984: 1983-84 . In Game 7, the heat that was an issue in Game 5 was not as bad (indoor temperatures hovered around 91F (33C) during the game, due to additional fans being brought in to try to cool the air). While the 22111 format remained intact for the remainder of the playoff rounds, the 232 format would be used until 2013. Birds Pacers swept the Bucks and the Sixers in the first two rounds of the playoffs and looked likely to make it to the finals as they came up against the eight seed New York Knicks in the conference finals. We are compensated for referring traffic and business to Fanatics.com and other companies linked to on this site. Data runs from 1946-47 to present unless otherwise noted. Larry Bird Owns Many Records, But Only One Unique One Bird owns a unique NBA record. The Houston Rockets were led by their Twin Towers, Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson. Larry Bird beat iconic NBA players on his way to three NBA championships including Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Hakeem Olajuwon. Magic gets the edge because he finished his career stronger, he was able to get/maybe steal from Charles Barkley the 1990 MVP, and he got the Lakers to another finals in 91, after 88 and the injuries Boston was done being any kind of serious contender they never got past the second round again for the rest of Larry Bird's time but if you're talkin Peak vs. 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. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. 1984: Larry Bird: Boston Celtics: No stats available. He instead enrolled at the smaller Indiana State University. Bostons setbacks didnt end on the basketball court. Larry Bird stats . Larry Bird's Career Record vs. NBA Legends: He Beat Michael Jordan 23 Times, But Magic Johnson Won The Head-To-Head Matchups . His individual performance was recognised all across the NBA as he helped Boston to a then record breaking 67-15 regular season record. Larry Bird is one of the greatest NBA players of all time. Seriously, check out his Basketball Reference page. Furthermore, Johnson and Bird earned five of the 10 MVP awards handed out during the 1980s. If you click and purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks in main to two close overtime wins, Boston won the series in seven games despite Bird struggling in the deciding game. Birds Celtics also defeated a very different Rockets team in 1981. The Celtics swept the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals. It must have lit a fire underneath Larry because he didnt let anything get in his way during his sophomore season. Do you have a sports website? And, as if that wasnt enough, Bird found success after hanging up his sneakers. No one thought we could beat the Lakers. He finished 1986 with averages of 25-10-7. 1979 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, "Here Are Some Final Facts on NBA Playoffs", Lakers versus Celtics and the NBA Playoffs, The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1984_NBA_Finals&oldid=1141615206, 20th century in Los Angeles County, California, Basketball competitions in Inglewood, California, May 1984 sports events in the United States, June 1984 sports events in the United States, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, No. Its pretty easy to forget how many times Bird has been in the NBA Finals with all of the many accolades and unbelievably, but true, stories about him. Larry is a three time NBA MVP consecutively from 1984-86, which is still a record. Bird was named Finals MVP after averaging 27.4 points, 14.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game in the series. Averaging 30-10-7 with 3 steals. 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. The Larry Bird Finals Record is a statistic of the player who most often wins the NBA Finals. The 1981 Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell led the team in scoring after saying something like Get on my back boys before the game. Having finished second in MVP voting the prior year, Bird dominated the season and the voting. Bird's 3 wins came against the Rockets (1981 & 1986) and the Lakers (1984). Larry averaged 27-10-6. We present them here for purely educational purposes. His performances included scoring 60 points against the Hawks which is still a Boston record to this day. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? . That went to Birds teammate. Aside from stats, Larry Bird was a winner, bringing home multiple championship rings during his time with the Celtics. talent just don't get it. Who Did Larry Bird Lose To In the NBA Finals? The Celtics struggled to slow down finals MVP Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bird struggled compared to his incredibly high standards. Or write about sports? 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.
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