On this day in Boston Celtics history, the Celtics defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 102-87 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals at Milwaukee to win their 12th NBA Championship. It was Boston’s first championship with legendary big man Bill Russell, and head coach and former player Tommy Heinsohn’s first as coach.
Celtics center luminary Dave Cowens led the team with 28 points and 14 rebounds, forward John Havlicek added 16 points and 9 boards, and 6 assists while point guard Jo Jo White chipped in 16 points and 5 assists. Reserve forward contributed Paul Silas 14 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 steals for good measure. Dropping their usual man-to-man defense to double and triple Bucks star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar proved critical to the win.
It was Boston’s first championship since 1969.
“We were the David and they were the Goliath,” said then-coach of the Celtics Tommy Heinsohn to On Milwaukee’s Jim Owczarski many years later.
“It’s very frustrating because if we were healthy, I think we would have beat them in six games,” countered Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
It is also the birthday of former Celtic Keith Bogans, while only playing six games with the team, indirectly helped make the existence of the current roster possible.
Born on this day in 1980 in Alexandria, Virginia, Bogans made the deal that sent Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry to the Brooklyn Nets in 2013 possible by agreeing to a sign-and-trade.
While another iteration of the deal might have been had, the picks which landed Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Romeo Langford were acquired or derived from the deal he helped make possible.
Bogans averaged 2 points, 0.5 rebounds, and as many assists with Boston before being excused by the team indefinitely for unnamed personal reasons.
It is also the date of two playoff wins since the season of the Celtics’ last championship in 2007-08. The first was a 92-88 victory over the Orlando Magic in Game 5 of the 2009 Eastern Conference semifinals.
Scoring all 12 of his points in the fourth quarter, now-CBA star guard Stephon Marbury helped keep Boston’s postseason hopes alive, as did center Glen Davis, leading Boston with 22 points and 7 boards, while Paul Pierce contributed 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists.
“Stephon Marbury led the charge in the second half and made some things happen, and that energy fed me,” said Davis via the Associated Press.
“Things weren’t going right, and we’re looking for an answer … You help others, and motivate others, and that’s what Stephon Marbury did and that’s what we all did.”
The other win was a 92-91 squeaker against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of the 2012 Eastern Conference semifinals.
It took a triple-double from Rajon Rondo and 29 points and 11 rebounds from Kevin Garnett to secure the win, with the former putting up 17 assists, 13 points, and 12 boards.
“I feel like I could out-quick him. That’s what I did,” Rondo said via the A.P. “We knew they had a foul to give. I told Doc [Rivers] to get me the ball and I could use my speed.”
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