- 1981 NBA Finals
NBA Finals summary
year = 1981
runnerup =Houston Rockets
runnerup_coach =Del Harris
runnerup_games = 2
champion =Boston Celtics
champion_coach =Bill Fitch
champion_games = 4
date=May 5 -May 14
MVP =Cedric Maxwell
(Boston Celtics)
television = CBS (U.S.)
announcers =Gary Bender ,Bill Russell , andRick Barry
HOFers =Nate Archibald (1991)Larry Bird (1998)Moses Malone (2001)Kevin McHale (1999)Robert Parish (2003)
radio_network =
radio_announcers =
referees_1 =Darrell Garretson ,John Vanak
referees_2 =Jake O'Donnell ,Ed T. Rush
referees_3 =John Vanak ,Earl Strom
referees_4 =Darrell Garretson ,Ed T. Rush
referees_5 =
referees_6 =Jake O'Donnell ,Jack Madden
ECF result = Celtics defeat 76ers, 4-3
WCF result = Rockets defeat Kings, 4-1The 1981 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the
1980-81 NBA season , pitting theBoston Celtics against theHouston Rockets .Background
For the 1980-81 season
Houston Rockets (head coached byDel Harris ),Moses Malone practically carried the Rockets to the NBA finals. Meanwhile,Calvin Murphy , the shortest player in the league, set two NBA records, sinking 78 consecutive free throws to breakRick Barry 's mark of 60 set in 1976 and achieving a free-throw percentage of .958, breaking Rick Barry's record set with the Rockets in 1979. Other members of the 80-81 team wereRudy Tomjanovich , Robert Reid,Mike Dunleavy, Sr. ,Allen Leavell ,Billy Paultz ,Bill Willoughby ,Calvin Garrett ,Tom Henderson , andMajor Jones . Houston tied with Kansas City for second place in the Midwest behind San Antonio with a regular season record of 40-42.Houston's playoff run began by drawing the defending NBA-champion
Los Angeles Lakers andMagic Johnson in the first round. The Rockets upset Los Angeles, two games to one, then got past theSan Antonio Spurs andGeorge Gervin , four games to three, in the Western Conference Semifinals. This set up an unlikely Conference Finals matchup with Kansas City. The Kings, led byOtis Birdsong ,Scott Wedman , andPhil Ford fell to the Rockets in five games.Games
* "Boston Celtics win series in 6 games (4-2)"
Trivia
*Robert Reid and
Allen Leavell also played for the Rockets in the1986 NBA Finals , which similarly ended in a 4-2 series win for the Boston Celtics. Reid, who wore No. 50 in the 1981 Finals, switched to No. 33 when he rejoined the Rockets in 1983, at the same time asRalph Sampson , who wore No. 50 at this point.Television coverage
*Before 2003, the 1981 NBA Finals received the lowest television rating of all-time. The 1981 Finals drew a 6.7 rating, according to Nielsen Media Research. Meanwhile, the 2003 Finals between the
San Antonio Spurs andNew Jersey Nets drew a 6.5 rating. The 1981 finals were the last to be broadcast on tape-delay, with weeknight games airing after the late local news in most cities. Games 3 and 4 were played back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday, May 9 and 10, to give CBS two live Finals games.
*Brent Musburger narrated the duration of the 1981 NBA Playoffs on videotape, simply titled "The 1981 NBA Playoffs and Championship Series".Team rosters
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title = Boston Celtics 1980-81 NBA Champions
list1 =ee also
*
1981 NBA Playoffs External links
* [http://www.nba.com/history/finals/19801981.html NBA History]
* [http://www.nba.com/ NBA Official Website]
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