1981 NBA Finals
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| Dates | May 5– 14 | ||||||||||||
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| MVP |
Cedric Maxwell (Boston Celtics) |
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| Television |
CBS (U.S.) (Games 1, 2, 5, 6 live only in Boston, Houston and selected markets, tape-delayed most elsewhere) |
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| Announcers | Gary Bender, Bill Russell, and Rick Barry | ||||||||||||
| Referees | |||||||||||||
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| Hall of Famers |
Celtics: Nate Archibald (1991) Larry Bird (1998) Kevin McHale (1999) Robert Parish (2003) Rockets: Moses Malone (2001) Calvin Murphy (1993) Officials: Darell Garretson (2016) Earl Strom (1995) |
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| Eastern Finals | Celtics defeat 76ers, 4-3 | ||||||||||||
| Western Finals | Rockets defeat Kings, 4-1 | ||||||||||||
| Game 1: | Darell Garretson, John Vanak |
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| Game 2: | Jake O'Donnell, Ed T. Rush |
| Game 3: | John Vanak, Earl Strom |
| Game 4: | Darell Garretson, Ed T. Rush |
| Game 5: | Earl Strom, Paul Mihalak |
| Game 6: | Jake O'Donnell, Jack Madden |
The 1981 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1980–81 NBA season, pitting the 62-win Boston Celtics against the 40-42 Houston Rockets. This series has the distinction of featuring for the second time in NBA history, and last to date, a team with a losing record in the Finals. The previous team was the Minneapolis Lakers in 1959. This Finals also has the biggest disparity between finalist records at 22 games (62-20 for the Celtics, 40-42 for the Rockets).
Prior to the season, the NBA moved the Rockets and San Antonio Spurs from the Central Division of the Eastern Conference to the Midwest Division of the Western Conference. The Rockets and Spurs traded places with the Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks. The Midwest Division also took in the expansion Dallas Mavericks.
The Rockets that season were led by Moses Malone, who practically carried the Rockets to the NBA Finals. Meanwhile, Calvin Murphy, the shortest player in the league at the time, set two NBA records, sinking 78 consecutive free throws to break Rick Barry's mark of 60 set in 1976 and achieving a free-throw percentage of .958, breaking Rick Barry's record set with the Rockets in 1979. Other key contributors of the 1980–81 team were Rudy Tomjanovich, Robert Reid, Mike Dunleavy, Sr., Allen Leavell, Billy Paultz, Bill Willoughby, Calvin Garrett, Tom Henderson, and Major Jones. Houston tied with Kansas City for second place in the Midwest behind San Antonio with a regular season record of 40–42.
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