Magic has words with Boston's Danny Ainge, as Larry Bird tries to hold Magic back during Game 1 of the NBA Finals on May 27, 1985, at Boston Garden. The Lakers were on the wrong end of a 148-114 score in a game forever known as the Memorial Day Massacre. But the Lakers rebounded from that game and won four of the next five to win their third NBA championship in six years. It was also the first time the Lakers beat the Celtics in the finals after eight series losses. (Los Angeles Times)
Today has significance in Celtics history for a couple of reasons. First, The year was 1985 and the Celtics had won the title the previous year and were looking to repeat. They were at the peak of their 1980's run and they were facing the hated Lakers in the finals once again. The Celtics had a great season with Bird winning the MVP and McHale being named the top Sixth Man. The Celtics won 63 games that season, beating the Lakers by one win and thus, they had home court throughout the playoffs. They played game 1 of the Finals on Memorial day of 1985. The Celtics won that contest 148-114, a game that has since been remembered as the "Memorial Day Massacre." But, in spite of the good start of the series in that game 1 win, the Celtics lost that series in 6 games.
Lesson: One game does not a series make. The Celtics can't rest on the laurels of their game 3 win but have to come out strong to close out the series. If they let up, even the slightest bit, the Pistons are capable of taking advantage and taking back the series. The Celtics must keep playing as they did in game 3: playing aggressively from the start, playing tough team defense, moving the ball and finding the open man, and most of all, for 48 minutes.
Today is the anniversary of one of the most famous plays in NBA Playoff history. It was on this day in the 1987 playoffs that the Celtics were playing the Pistons and it seemed as though the Pistons had the game in hand. The Pistons were up 107-106 in the final seconds and they had possession. All they had to do was inbound the ball and hold the ball as the remaining 5 seconds expired. Dennis Rodman was already celebrating at mid court as Isiah Thomas lofted a soft pass to Bill Laimbeer on the baseline. Johnny Most tells it best:
I think my favorite part of that play was that instead of celebrating his game winning layup, DJ knew there was one second remaining and immediately turned to cover the inbound pass. The series was tied 2-2 and a win in that game would have put the Pistons up 3-2 with the next game on their floor. Instead, the Celtics went up 3-2. They lost game 6 in Detroit, but came back home to win that series in game 7, 4 games to 3.
Lesson: Never, ever give up! Never stop playing. Play as hard as you can from start to finish and never take a play off. It isn't over until that final buzzer sounds. Never give up on a play and never give up on a game and never underestimate the opponent.
