BOSTON GARDEN - April 29, 1966
The Sports Time Traveler made a quick trip to Boston 60 years ago to catch game 7 of the 1966 NBA Finals, which took place here yesterday.
BACKGROUND
The NBA Finals this year were supposed to be a laugher. The Celtics, winners of the last 7 consecutive NBA championships, and featuring a starting line-up in which all 5 players are headed for the Hall of Fame, were supposed to sail over the Lakers.
And in game 1, at the Boston Garden, everything started on script. The Celtics raced to 38 - 20 lead a minute into the 2nd quarter.
That’s when the Lakers unveiled their little man offense. Relying primarily on 3 guards, 6’2” Jim King, 6’3” Jerry West, and 6’1” rookie Gail Goodrich, the Lakers outscored the Celtics 21 - 3 to tie the game. Then, Elgin Baylor, the veteran skywalker, suffering from extensive knee damage that severely limited his output during the season, managed to dig down and take over the game. He finished with 36 points, and the Lakers forced the game into overtime.
In the OT, Mr. Clutch, Jerry West scored 9 of the Lakers’ 12 points. He finished with a magnificent 41 points on 15 for 27 shooting, and Los Angeles stunned Boston with a 133 - 129 opening game victory.
But any celebration was short-lived for the Lakers. The Celtics won by 20 in game 2. Baylor paid for his expended energy in the opener. He could only manage 13 points on 5 for 16 shooting.
The Celtics won by 14 in game 3. Again, Baylor was held under 20, missing 12 of his 20 shots.
In game 4, the Celtics bolted to a double-digit halftime lead and won the game despite a brilliant 45 point offensive explosion by Jerry West. Baylor, again, was held in check, missing 15 of his 25 shots.
And so the Lakers were right where the experts predicted, a game away from losing a series that could easily have been a 4 game sweep.
And then something happened.
The Lakers didn’t give up despite the nearly impossible 3 games to 1 deficit.
In game 5, Elgin Baylor played his best game of the series, scoring 41, and the Lakers eked out a 4 point victory in the Boston Garden.
Down 3 games to 2, the Lakers came back home for game 6, where they raced to a 10 point halftime lead and won the game 123 - 115. With the Celtics defense focusing on West and Baylor, little Gail Goodrich popped in 13 of 22 shots to be the hero of the day.
So the Lakers had somehow forced a game 7, that would be back in the Boston Garden. I just had to experience this.
Game 7
There was an added element of drama to this contest. Red Auerbach, the long-time coach of the Celtics, had announced he would be stepping down at the conclusion of the NBA Finals, and that Bill Russell would become the player-coach of the Celtics for the 1966-67 season. That meant this game would be the very last for the legendary Auerbach.
Buoyed by the home court advantage and the knowledge that they were playing the final game for the mastermind of the Celtics dynasty, Boston began the game in magical fashion, holding the Lakers scoreless until there was 7:25 left in the first quarter at which time the Celtics led 10 - 0. Spotting the Bill Russell led Celtics 10 points in the Boston Garden was a disastrous way to start the deciding contest.
And it didn’t get better.
In the 2nd quarter, Jerry West scored a basket 15 seconds into the period. And that was the last Lakers’ field goal for nearly the next 10 minutes of game time, the vast majority of the entire period. The Lakers didn’t score another basket until Gail Goodrich hit a shot with 2:05 left in the half.
The Celtics managed to hold Elgin Baylor to just 2 points in the 1st half, during which he missed all but 1 of his 9 shots.
Jerry West was also held in check, shooting just 2 for 9.
What was probably most surprising about the 1st half was that the Celtics only managed to forge a 15 point lead.
Celtics 53 - Lakers 38 - HALFTIME
In the beginning of the 2nd half, it didn’t get much better for Los Angeles. The Celtics pushed the lead to 19 at 59 - 40 early in the 3rd quarter. And they maintained a 16 point lead going into the final period.
Celtics 76 - Lakers 60 - End of 3rd Quarter
The Lakers could not find a way to rally. But they did chip away at the lead in what seemed like a meaningless manner. They pulled to within 7 points with 3:15 to play at 89 - 82 when Jerry West made a free throw.
NOTE From The Sports Time Traveler.
Now let’s watch the rest of the game with video that was shown on a sports TV show decades later in which Tom “Satch” Sanders and Sam Jones of the Celtics are providing their commentary.
I have provided time stamps on the video for the key moments.
We return now to 1966.
23:00 - Watch as Bill Russell, not known for his offensive prowess, cans a beautiful turnaround jumper in the lane to put the Celtics up 91 - 82 with 2:30 to play in the game.
23:20 - With 1:15 to go in the game, the score remains 91 - 82 Celtics. Jerry West drives to the baseline and shoots. He misses, but he was fouled in the act of shooting.
West, an 86% free throw shooter for the season, misses the first 2 free throws. But he makes the 3rd, and the score is now 91 - 83 Celtics.
NOTE From The Sports Time Traveler.
I interrupt with a note from the present time. Until 1981, shooting fouls while in the penalty were 3 to make 2.
Now back once again to 1966.
24:35 - With just over 50 seconds left in the game, Sam Jones hit a “35-foot bomb for Boston,” according to the AP article on the game in today’s newspapers. It was a classic set shot, and the ball hit the backboard and caromed into the basket. It’s the dagger for any Lakers’ hopes.
The Celtics lead 93 - 83 with 50 seconds to go.
Stay with the tape as Walt Hazzard drives into the lane and swishes a 10 footer to make it 93 - 85 with just over 40 seconds to go.
Stick with the tape further as the Celtics struggle momentarily to get the ball up the court.
25:00 - John Havlicek passes to Bill Russell on the left side about 40 feet from the basket. Russell holds the ball at his side as two Lakers are focused on the big man. Russell seems in no hurry to do anything as he scans the far side of the court. Then with amazing quickness, big Bill Russell shows off his tremendous speed as he dashes for the basket. He slams down a breathtaking two-handed dunk. It’s a double-dagger! The Celtics lead by 10 at 95 - 85 with under 40 seconds to go in the game.
STICK WITH THE TAPE!
Seconds later, the camera shows Red Auerbach raising his arms skyward, and the announcer says, “There you see Red Auerbach, a deliriously happy man!” But the ball is in play, and the camera pans back to the action just in time to catch a smooth jumper by Jerry West with approximately 30 seconds to go.
The Celtics now lead 95 - 87. There are just 25 seconds to play.
25:18 - Russell inbounds the ball to John Havlicek. Hondo has trouble as Leroy Ellis is hounding him as he goes for the steal. Havlicek slips to the floor but manages to scuttle the ball over to Bill Russell.
At this point, the fans have moved down to literally the out of bounds lines of the court, and some fans are actually standing on the court in the far corner. Amidst this chaos, Jerry West, just a few feet away from fans who are on the court, steals the ball from Russell and almost in one motion, jumps and sinks a 10 footer.
Jerry West has just scored 4 points in about 10 seconds, and suddenly it’s a 6 point game with 15 seconds to play. Celtics lead 95 - 89.
Now, Red Auerbach, has to call timeout.
But Red is not strategizing with the team. He’s using the timeout to light up his victory cigar!
Meanwhile, the police are doing nothing during the timeout to move the fans away from the very edges of the court.
26:22 - Watch as #24, Sam Jones, tells Red Auerbach that something needs to be done to move the fans away from the court. Auerbach responds and personally appeals to the ushers at the baseline to move the fans. Then Red moves back to the bench and takes another puff of his victory cigar.
There are still 15 seconds to play. Celtics 95 - Lakers 89.
27:10 - The Celtics inbound the ball and K.C. Jones immediately gets double teamed. He is called for an offensive foul. The Lakers get the ball back with 14 seconds to go and Jim King drives and makes a nifty reverse layup.
It’s now Celtics 95 - Lakers 91 with under 10 seconds to go.
27:45 - The Celtics again have trouble inbounding the ball, and they lose it out of bounds. The Lakers are getting the ball under the basket with 6 seconds to play.
The inbound pass goes to a wide open Leroy Ellis, a player not known for outside shooting. But he swishes a jumper, and it’s now a 2 point game!
Celtics 95 - Lakers 93 - 4 seconds remaining
Bill Russell manages to inbound the ball cleanly to K.C. Jones. K.C. is immediately met by a double team. Instead of fouling, the Lakers go for the steal. But K.C. adeptly dribbles out of trouble and throws the ball into the frontcourt to Havlicek. As soon as Havlicek touches the ball, the final buzzer goes off. The Celtics have survived. They win the game and the NBA Championship 95 - 93.
FINAL NOTE From The Sports Time Traveler
Jerry West, who scored 4 of the 8 points in the frantic finish, led all scorers with 36 in the game. For the series, he averaged 34 points on 52% shooting. But none of that mattered to Jerry West. For him, the loss was devastating. He had now been to the Finals 4 times in 5 years, and every time his Lakers had lost to the Celtics.
But the fact is that the Lakers were simply outmanned by the Celtics. And West’s sidekick, Elgin Baylor, was a fraction of the player he had been in prior years.
The fact that the Lakers had come back from down 3 games to 1, and had come back from 10 points down with under 40 seconds to play to nearly tie game 7, should be celebrated. It was a heroic effort.
Watching the tape decades later, Satch Sanders said the Lakers should have fouled K.C. Jones with 4 seconds left. But it’s hard to 2nd guess the Lakers. K.C. was not a great foul shooter, averaging just 69% in 1966. However, the Lakers were out of timeouts, so there was no time to strategize. And they had just made the comeback by repeatedly getting Boston to turn over the ball. Moreover all K.C. would have needed to do if he was fouled was make just 1 of 2 foul shots to ice the game (I’m assuming the Lakers were in the penalty) in this time when there was no 3 point shot. The Lakers needed one more miracle to tie the game and they didn’t get it.
But that doesn’t detract from making this perhaps the most frantic finish to a Finals in NBA history.