The Last Time the Celtics Played the Warriors
Believe it or not, the Celtics have played the Warriors in the Finals before.
On Sunday night, the Boston Celtics defeated the Miami Heat in a suspenseful Game 7.
The Celtics had a comfortable lead most of the game until the fourth quarter when the Heat went on this big run at around the 3-minute mark and caught up.
They cut the lead down so much, that with only 20 seconds left in the quarter, Miami had a chance to take the lead and it really looked like they were going to upset Boston.
However, the Leprechaun’s lucky clover was stronger than the magic in the city because Jimmy Butler took and missed a bad shot, which led to the Celtics grabbing a big rebound and forcing the Heat to play the foul game.
The Heat had a chance to bring the game within one but Max Struss missed a big 3-pointer and there wasn't enough time on the clock for them to catch up.
The Celtics won the game 100-96.
Now, they will be facing off against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals and will be rehashing a rivalry that started in the 60s.
The last time these two ball clubs faced off against each other was when Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell were in their primes and dominating the league with ridiculous numbers.
In the 1963-64 season, Chamberlain was the scoring leader, averaging 36.9 points per game and Russell was the rebounding leader, averaging 24.7 rebounds per game.
On a side note, they pulled this off wearing sneakers with no impact protection or support in them. So, these numbers are super impressive.
Anyway…
The Celtics were the top team in the league with a record of 59-21, and the San Francisco Warriors were the best team in the West with a record of 48-32.
Chamberlain and Russell had been competing with each other since the former entered the league a few years back and that didn't change in the 64’ Finals.
However, Boston’s roster was superior to San Francisco’s and they won the series 4-1 despite Chamberlain playing like the Finals MVP by being the highest scorer in every game and the best rebounder in the majority of them.
Final Thoughts
Basketball has changed a lot since the Swinging Sixties and the current Celtics and Warriors don’t have the same type of rivalry as the one from 1964.
Nonetheless, this series will be entertaining. But will the outcome be the same?
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