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A Must Read for NBA Fans

Hey guys, I know you’re as excited for game 7 as I am, and I encourage you to relive the magic over and over with a great book on what some would call “the ultimate showdowns…” That’s right folks, a book only on game 7’s in NBA history. It’s pretty cheap as far as books go, so grab yourself a copy HERE. Don’t believe me? Read what other people say about it HERE.

In honor of game 7 on Sunday in the Hawks and Celtics series, here’s a little look at how the series went way back in  ‘8:

THE SEVENTH GAME of the 1988 East semifinals between the Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks is nothing short of breathtaking — an example you would send to people from another planet who wanted to learn more about the game.

“That was some of the best basketball I’ve ever seen in my lifetime,” Celtics coach K.C. Jones said after his team’s 118-116 victory. “The last three minutes were the best I’ve ever seen.”

How great? The numbers are staggering:

·        The teams’ combined shooting percentage of 58.8 is the second-best in NBA playoff history;

·        The teams combined for only 15 turnovers and made 36 of 40 free-throw attempts;

·        In the fourth quarter, each team scored on 17 of its 22 possessions;

·        In the fourth quarter, Boston made 12 of 15 shots from the field while Atlanta made 14 of 21.

The home team won the first four games of the series. Larry Bird scored 24 of his 38 points in the first quarter of Game 1, while Kevin McHale poured in 32 points on 13-for-17 shooting in Game 2, a pair of Celtics victories. Back in Atlanta, the Hawks evened the series by getting their running game going. Kevin Willis led the way with 23 points and 13 rebounds in a Game 3 rout; Dominique Wilkins pumped in 40 points and Doc Rivers handed out 22 assists in Game 4.

Then, with the series tied 2-2, the Hawks stunned the Celtics with a 43-point fourth quarter to steal Game 5 at Boston Garden, where the Celtics had won 133 of their previous 142 games.

Back home in Game 6, Atlanta was poised to close out the series and advance to the conference finals. In a game that was taut throughout, the Celtics squeezed out a 102-100 victory when the Hawks’ Cliff Levingston — option No. 3 on the inbounds play — got the ball with four seconds left, drove and missed an off-balance, left-handed shot with one second to go.

In the locker room afterward, surrounded by scribes from around the country and scores of cameras, microphones and notepads, Bird declared the series as good as over.

“They had their chance,” he said. “They had a big chance to beat us. I think now we’re gonna come out and play like we did tonight, except we’ll be at home. Our shots are going to be dropping a little bit better and we’re gonna be running a little bit faster. I’d say Sunday is going to be a big win for the Celtics.”

The Hawks, however, came into Game 7 with the poise often lacking from a team with less experience and facing the Celtics mystique in Boston.

“Winning Game 5 in the Garden gave us a lot of confidence, and I think that showed in the way we came out,” recalled Atlanta guard Randy Wittman.

 Pretty great stuff huh?  Let’s hope things go differently this time around…

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 4th, 2008 at 1:39 am and is filed under Commentary, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.