1984 NBA Finals
| Game 1: | Hugh Evans and John Vanak |
|---|---|
| Game 2: | Jack Madden and Jake O'Donnell |
| Game 3: | Paul Mihalak and Earl Strom |
| Game 4: | Darell Garretson and Jess Kersey |
| Game 5: | Hugh Evans and Earl Strom |
| Game 6: | Jack Madden and Jake O'Donnell |
| Game 7 | Darell Garretson and Earl Strom |
The 1984 NBA Finals, also known as Showdown '84, was the championship round of the 1983-84 NBA season. In 1984, the Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in a seven-game Finals, winning Game 7 111-102. Larry Bird averaged 27 points and 14 rebounds a game during the series, earning the Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP). Bird was also named the league regular season MVP for that year.
This series was the long-awaited rematch of the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics after their rivalry was revived in 1979 with the Magic Johnson-Larry Bird pair entering the league. After the Lakers won Game 1, a crucial steal in Game 2 led to a tie game and the Celtics were able to win in overtime to tie the series. The Lakers won Game 3 easily and almost won Game 4, but were again thwarted. Now tied 2-2, the Lakers and Celtics each held serve at their home court to send the series to Boston for Game 7. Game 5 was a classic, with Bird coming up with a huge game in one of the (literally) hottest games ever (97 °F (36 °C)) in the non-air conditioned Boston Garden. Game 7 was also contested in hot temperatures that hovered around 91 °F (33 °C). The score was close but the contest eventually went to the Celtics. Cedric Maxwell scored 24 points against the Los Angeles Lakers in the decisive Game 7 victory.
Los Angeles won all three games played on Sunday afternoons. Boston won the games played on Tuesday night, Wednesday night, Thursday night, and Friday night.
The Series schedule was an odd schedule, due entirely to the whims of television. Game One was played on a Sunday afternoon in Boston, about 36 hours after the Lakers had eliminated the Phoenix Suns in the Western Finals. The teams then had three plus days off, not playing until Thursday night. Then, after Game 3 on Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles, the teams had two plus days off, not playing again until Wednesday night. That in turn started a wearying back-and-forth across the country ... Wednesday night at LA, Friday night at Boston, Sunday afternoon at LA, and Tuesday night at Boston ... to end the series.
The following year, the Finals format switched to 2-3-2, where Games 1, 2, 6, and 7 were hosted by the team with the best record. The change in format came after Red Auerbach complained about the constant travelling during the finals. The 2-2-1-1-1 format would return for the 2014 NBA Finals.
...
Wikipedia