Celtics-Lakers NBA Championship Rivalry

In 1959, two titanic teams ended up in the NBA championships - The Boston Celtics and the Minneapolis Lakers.

Under Coach Red Auerbach and fielding such greats as Bob Cousy, 1957 Rookie of the Year Tommy Heinsohn, and Bill Russell, the Celtics swept the Lakers to handily win the first contest, but many more would follow.

During the 1960s, the Celtics and Lakers would meet in the finals six more times, with each championship series going to the Celtics. The Celtics would repeat 3 times against the Lakers winning back to back championships in 1962 and 1963, in 1965 and 1966 and again in 1968 and 1969.

The 60s featured matchups between the Celtics' Bill Russell, Bob Cousy and Sam Jones versus the Lakers' Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor and League MVP Jerry West.

Despite the towering presence of Chamberlain, the Lakers came up short in 6 appearances including a 7 game series in 1966, and again in 1969 when the seventh game was decided by a single bucket.

After the 1970s where the Celtics and Lakers continued to appear in the finals and win 3 championships between them, but not against each other, they had steady, but unremarkable seasons and playoff appearances.

As the 1980s opened, The Celtics and Lakers received a shot in the arm from Larry Bird and Ervin "Magic" Johnson, respectively.

After playing in the 1979 NCAA championship against each other with Magic's MSU Spartans handily defeating Bird's ISU Sycamores, they found that they would be seeing a lot of each other over the coming years.

Boston's Larry Bird, coupled with Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Danny Ainge, Bill Walton and Dennis Johnson would face off against the equally talented Lakers' Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, James Worthy, Byron Scott and Michael Cooper for many years to come.

The first championship between the Lakers and Celtics since 1969 took place in 1984. Again, the two teams went seven games with the Celtics again victorious, securing their eighth straight championship against their west coast rivals. Larry Bird won one of his three MVP titles at the culmination of the title run.

The tide quickly turned for Boston and the Lakers proved that they were not always to be the Celtics' doormat.

In 1985, the NBA Championship hosted both teams for the second year in a row, only to see the Lakers win in six games, with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar taking MVP honors.

To settle the 80s, both teams of titans met again in 1987 where the Lakers again won in six games, this time crowning Magic Johnson as MVP.

In the 1990s, the Celtics declined, with Bird, Parish and McHale retiring or being traded, and after the tragic death of Reggie Lewis, Boston struggled to return to greatness.

The Lakers also had some rough times as Kareem, Magic and others began to age and retire, but in the second half of the 90s new hope came in the form of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. That partnership would yield a three-peat from 2000-2002.

21 years after the last Lakers/Celtics Face-off, they have now returned to do battle for the 2008 NBA Championship.

20 Ray Allen G
42 Tony Allen G
93 P.J. Brown F-C
28 Sam Cassell G
11 Glen Davis F
5 Kevin Garnett F
50 Eddie House G
43 Kendrick Perkins C
34 Paul Pierce C-F
66 Scot Pollard C-F
41 James Posey F
0 Leon Powe F
13 Gabe Pruitt G
9 Rajon Rondo G
44 Brian Scalabrine F-C


3 Trevor Ariza F
24 Kobe Bryant G
17 Andrew Bynum C
5 Jordan Farmar
2 Derek Fisher G
16 Pau Gasol F-C
28 Didier Ilunga-Mbenga C
11 Coby Karl G
31 Chris Mihm C
14 Ira Newble G-F
7 Lamar Odom F
10 Vladimir Radmanovic F
21 Ronny Turiaf F-C
18 Sasha Vujacic G
4 Luke Walton F

Game 1 - Boston dominated the second half to win 98-88 in Boston.

Game 2 - Boston nearly rolled to an easy victory before the Lakers unloaded a 41 point 4th quarter. Boston held on late to win 108-102.

Game 3 - Despite being down by 2 at the end of the third, the Lakers, lifted by Kobe Bryant's 36 point performance, pushed through the 4th quarter to win a game marked by poor shooting on both sides, 87-81.

Game 4 - Despite an 18 point deficit at halftime that grew to 24 in the 3rd quarter, the Celtics came roaring back with a tremendous defensive effort, taking the lead late in the game to win 97-91

Note: No team has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the NBA finals.

Game 5 - Shades of Game 4 as the Lakers jump to an early 19 point lead, only to have the Celtics even it up in the third quarter. Despite a 38 point effort from Paul Pierce, Kobe Bryant sealed the Celtics fate late with a steal turned into a dunk, and the Lakers never looked back, winning 103 - 98.

Game 6 - Boston dominated early and never looked back. Up by 23 points at halftime, Boston stretched their lead over the night. 3 Celtics put in 20+ point performances including Rajon Rondo who also contributed 7 rebounds, 8 assists and 6 steals, and Ray Allen who tied the Finals record with 7 3-pointers. The Lakers never had a chance to breathe in the second half as the Celtics took out their frustrations to the tune of 131 - 92. This is the Celtics' 17th NBA Championship, and their first since 1986.

MVPs
Paul Pierce won the NBA Finals MVP title, while Kobe Bryant was named 2008 MVP during the regular season.

The Celtics were defeated by Orlando 4-3 in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.

The Lakers won the NBA Finals against Orlando winning 4-1. This is the Lakers 15th NBA championship, only 2 behind the Celtics.

For the 12th time in NBA history, and the second time in three years, the Lakers and Celtics will be meeting in the NBA Finals.

The Lakers and Celtics have split two regular season games.

Finals Results

Game 1 - LA 102 - BOS 89
Game 2 - BOS 103 - LA 94
Game 3 - LA 91 - BOS 84
Game 4 - BOS 96 - LA 89
Game 5 - BOS 92 - LA 86
Game 6 - LA 89 - BOS 67
Game 7 - LA 83 - BOS 79

LA Lakers go on to repeat as NBA Champions in seven games.