On this day in Boston Celtics history, in Game 5 of the 1987 NBA Finals, five Celtics players scored 20 points or more (tying an NBA record at the time) as the Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers 123-108. Point guard Dennis Johnson led all Celtics with 25 points and 11 assists, legendary forward Larry Bird added 23 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists, and Hall of Fame big man Kevin McHale 22 points and 14 boards. Shooting guard (and former team president) Danny Ainge had 21 points and 6 assists, while center luminary Robert Parish had 21 points and 7 rebounds.
Boston would improve their series record to two wins to Los Angeles’ three, a series the Celtics would eventually lose in six games. “Magic’s just a great basketball player,” Bird would say to the media of his rival and friend Earvin “Magic” Johnson after the series, whose transcendent play was too much for Boston to contain. “Unbelievable. I don’t know what to say.”
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From a hyper-competitive opponent like Larry Legend, it said quite a lot.
Jun 1987; Los Angeles, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird (33) in action against the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1987 NBA Finals at the Great Western Forum. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Finally, it is also the date we lost forward Bob Duffy in 1978. A native of Columbus, Ohio who was born in 1922, Duffy played his college ball at New Orleans’ Tulane.
He signed with the (now defunct) Chicago Stags in the inaugural season of the Basketball Association of America (BAA – a predecessor league of the NBA) once out of school but would end up a Celtic by the end of the season after a poor start with the Stags. Duffy played but 6 games with Boston, logging 1.3 points per game in that time. Rest in peace!
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics history: Celtics beat Lakers in G5 of ’87 Finals; Duffy dies