1986 NBA Finals- Celtics Defeat Rockets

The 1986 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1985-86 NBA season. It pitted the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics against the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets. The Celtics defeated the Rockets four games to two to win their 16th NBA championship. The championship would be the Celtics' last until the 2008 NBA Finals. Larry Bird was named the Finals MVP.
On another note, this series marked the first time the "NBA Finals" branding was used, as they dropped the "NBA World Championship" branding which had been in use since the beginning of the league.
CBS Sports used Dick Stockton and Tom Heinsohn as the play-by-play man and color commentator respectively. Meanwhile, Brent Musburger was the host and Pat O'Brien (the Rockets' sideline) and Lesley Visser (the Celtics' sideline) were the sideline reporters.

The 1986 Boston Celtics team, which finished the regular season 67-15, is generally considered to be the best of Larry Bird's career. Under head coach K.C. Jones, the 1986 Celtics were certainly the deepest team of Bird's career. In addition to longtime teammates Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, Bird was joined on the front line by former NBA MVP Bill Walton. Despite a career plagued by a series of serious injuries to his knees, ankles and chiefly his feet, Walton would win the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1986 appearing in a career high 80 games. The backcourt was almost equally talented, led by defensive stopper Dennis Johnson and shooting guard Danny Ainge. Off the bench, the Celtics featured former All-Star Scott Wedman and recent acquisition (from the Indiana Pacers) Jerry Sichting.
The Celtics steamrolled through the Eastern Conference Playoffs, sweeping the Chicago Bulls 3-0 in the first round. The highlight of the first round was undoubtedly the Celtics double-overtime classic game 2. Matched up against a far superior Celtics team, Michael Jordan exploded for 63 points at the Boston Garden and nearly lead his team to a st...

The 1985-86 Boston Celtics boasted one of the strongest, deepest frontcourts in NBA history, thanks to a daring trade that united the game's best passing center with its best passing forward. Acquiring Bill Walton from the Clippers in exchange for Cedric Maxwell was a gutsy move. For all his passing skills and brilliant all-around game, Walton usually was injured -- he had never played more than 67 games in any of his 11 pro seasons, and he had missed three full seasons due to injury.

1985-86 SEASON RESULTS
RECORD (PCT.)
67-15 (.817)
FIRST ROUND
Celtics 3, Bulls 0
CONFERENCE SEMIS
Celtics 4, Hawks 1
CONFERENCE FINALS
Celtics 4, Bucks 0
NBA FINALS
Celtics 4, Rockets 2

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

1985-86 Celtics: Play

But Celtics President Red Auerbach recognized that the upside overshadowed the risk, and that Walton's versatility could strengthen the Celtics in so many ways. He gave them a first-class center that enabled Head Coach K.C. Jones to give Robert Parish the rest he needed, and his emphasis on passing and team play helped him mesh well with the Celtics' talented scorers. Plus he knew how to win, having done so at UCLA and with the Portland Trail Blazers.

The acquisition of Walton, like that of versatile, team-oriented guard Dennis Johnson two years earlier, seemed to bring out the best in Larry Bird, the ultimate team-first player. Walton's great passing skills enhanced those of Bird, and when they were on the court together the ball would move from player to player with speed and precision till an open shooter was found. Bird enjoyed one of his finest seasons, ranking among the league leaders in five categories-fourth in scoring (25.8 ppg), seventh in rebounding (9.8 rpg), ninth in steals (2.02 spg), first in free throw percentage (.896) and fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.423). For good measure, he led the Celtics in assists at 6.8 apg. The result was a third consecutive Most Valuable Player award, putting Bird alongs...

The Boston Celtics defeated the Houston Rockets four games to two in the best-of-seven NBA Finals series to conclude the 1985-86 NBA season. The victory gave Boston its league-record 16th NBA Championship, but it would be the last for the Celtics until 2008.

The Rockets were making their second Finals appearance in franchise history, having lost to the Celtics in 1981.

Larry Bird won NBA Finals MVP honors, the second time in his career he earned the award. At the time, he was just the fourth player to win the award multiple times, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Willis Reed.

The Celtics had home-court advantage for the Finals. Boston swept the two regular-season meetings between the teams in 1985-86.