June 4, 1976: Triple Overtime at the Boston Garden

Gar Heard's shot

June 4, 1976, 50 years ago: Game 5 of the 1976 NBA Finals is played at the Boston Garden. It’s been called the greatest game in NBA history.

The Boston Celtics made Paul Westphal the 10th pick in the 1972 NBA Draft. In his rookie season, 1972-73, the Celtics went 68-14, still the best record in team history. But they lost the Eastern Conference Finals to the New York Knicks. In 1974, coached by former Celtic star Tommy Heinsohn, they went all the way, beating the Milwaukee Bucks in the Finals. Westphal had a ring in his 2nd season.

But he would not have a place on the Celtics. In 1975, they traded him and a pair of 2nd round draft picks to the Phoenix Suns for Charlie Scott. With a starting five of Westphal and Ricky Sobers at guard, Garfield Heard and Curtis Perry at forward, and Alvan Adams at center, with guard Dick Van Arsdale and center Dennis Awtrey coming off the bench, coach John MacLeod's Suns made the Playoffs for only the 2nd time in team history, beating the Seattle SuperSonics and the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors, and advancing to their 1st NBA Finals.

And the Finals would be against Westphal's former team, the Celtics. Heinsohn had a starting five of guards Scott and Jo Jo White, forwards John Havlicek (who'd been with the Celtics since the 1962-63 title) and Paul Silas, and center Dave Cowens, and a bench that included forward Don Nelson, who'd been with them since their 1966 title, Heinsohn's team was strong and battle-hardened.

Surprising no one, the 1st 4 games were all won by the home teams: The Celtics won Games 1 and 2 at the Boston Garden, 98-87 and 105-90; while the Suns won Games 3 and 4, the 1st finals games in Arizona in any sport, at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the 1st saddle-roofed arena in North America, 105-98 and 109-107.

Game 5, at the Boston Garden, has gone down in legend. The Celtics jumped out to a 36-18 lead after 1 quarter, and led 61-45 at the half. But the Suns came back, closed to within 77-72 after 3 quarters, and regulation ended 95-95.

The 1st overtime could not find a winner, ending 101-101. Havlicek appeared to have hit a game-winning shot at the end of the 2nd overtime, making it 111-110 Boston. The fans incorrectly thought the game was over, and stormed the court. When referee Richie Powers tried to get it cleared, a Celtic fan assaulted him. The fan was arrested.

Westphal knew he had 2 seconds left. The recently-folded American Basketball Association had the 3-point field goal, but the NBA would not adopt it until 1979. And the Suns had to inbound the ball under their own basket, and get the ball all the way down the court, 94 feet.

Paul Westphal

Westphal called timeout -- knowing that the Suns didn't have any left. This resulted in a technical foul, giving the Celtics a single free throw, which White made, making it 112-110 Boston. But now, the Suns could inbound at halfcourt, in the hope of trying the game. It was the basketball equivalent of the football tactic of running the ball out of your own end zone, giving the other team 2 points for a safety, but giving your punter more room. It was the kind of tactic that would later make Scottish soccer manager George Graham say, "If it works, you're a hero. And if it doesn't work, you're a villain."

Perry made the inbound pass to Heard, who fired a turnaround jumper at the top of the key, over Nelson. He made it, sending the game to a 3rd overtime. Broadcasting the game on CBS, Brent Musberger yelled, "I don't believe it!" Even after the Bill Russell era, seasoned observers were not used to seeing the Celtics pushed this hard on their own parquet floor.

Gar Heard

But the Suns were exhausted, despite the Celtics' starting 5 averaging 50 minutes, to the Suns' 46, with Heard topping out at 61 minutes out of the 63. The Celtics took control from the opening tipoff of the 3rd overtime, taking a 128-122 lead. The Suns closed to 128-126, but that was as close as they got.

Scoring for the Celtics: White 33, Cowens 26, Havlicek 22, Silas 17, Jim Ard and Glenn McDonald each with 8, Nelson and Steve Kuberski each with 4, and Kevin Stacom played 3 minutes without attempting a shot.

Jo Jo White

For the Suns: Westphal and Sobers each scored 25, Perry 23, Adams 20, Heard 17, Awtrey 7, Van Arsdale 5, Nate Hawthorne 4, and Phil Lumpkin and Keith Erickson did not score, although Lumpkin had 4 assists and a rebound, and Erickson had an assist. Pat Riley, who, like Erickson, had been a reserve on the Los Angeles Lakers' 1972 title, did not get into the game, despite it lasting 63 minutes.

Emotionally drained, the Suns did not recover, and lost Game 6 at home, 87-80, and the Celtics were World Champions again.

Maybe both teams were drained: No player on either roster ever won another title, Havlicek retiring in 1978 with 8. The Celtics got old in a hurry, and needed a serious rebuild. If Kuberski's name doesn't mean anything to you, note this: He was the last Celtic to wear Number 33 before Larry Bird.

The Suns missed the Playoffs the next season, but they didn't need as much tinkering as the Celtics did. They made the Playoffs every season from 1978 to 1985, including returns to the Conference Finals in 1979 and 1984. In 1993, Westphal would coach them to the Western Conference title, but they lost the NBA Finals to the Chicago Bulls. That Finals, too, would have a triple-overtime game, Game 3 in Chicago. That one, the Suns won. So 2 NBA Finals games have gone to three overtimes, and the Phoenix Suns have been in both of them. 

Westphal, Havlicek, Cowens, Scott and White would be elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. So would the Suns' Riley and the Celtics' Nelson, each as coaches. Havlicek and Cowens were named to the NBA's 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams.

The Suns reached the NBA Finals again in 2021, but none of the games went to overtime. They lost to the Milwaukee Bucks. The Celtics have since been to 7 Finals, winning in 1981, 1984, 1986 and 2008; and losing in 1985, 1987 and 2010. (UPDATE: They have since won in 2024, and lost in 2022.)

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June 4, 1976 was a Friday. Football was out of season. The Stanley Cup Finals had been settled on May 16, with a 4-game sweep by the Montreal Canadiens over the Philadelphia Flyers.

 

April 15, 1965: John Havlicek Steals the Ball

April 15, 1965: Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, at the Boston Garden. The Boston Celtics led the Philadelphia 76ers 110-109, but a rare mistake by Russell gave the Sixers the ball with just a few seconds left on the clock.

If the Sixers could score, they would end (or, at least, interrupt) the Celtic dynasty, and head to the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, who had wrapped up the Western Conference Championship 2 days earlier.

Hal Greer was getting ready to inbound the ball, and if the Sixers could get it to Wilt Chamberlain, that would probably be it. First, Greer saw Chet Walker (Number 25 in the photo above), and tried to get the ball to him.

John Havlicek had other ideas. Johnny Most had the call, on WHDH, 850 on the AM dial (now WEEI):

Greer is putting the ball in play. He gets it out deep, and Havlicek steals it! Over to Sam Jones! Havlicek stole the ball! It's all over! It's all over! Johnny Havlicek is being mobbed by the fans! It's all over! Johnny Havlicek stole the ball! Oh my, what a play by Havlicek at the end of this ball game!

"I knew he had 5 seconds to inbound," Havlicek said at the time. "So I started counting to myself: '1,001, 1,002, 1,003.' Usually, something has happened by then. So, by 1,003 and a half, I started to peek a little more."

The film always confused me. The player dribbling the ball up the court is clearly a black man, who, as Most pointed out, was Sam Jones. Havlicek was still playing when I was a little kid, so I knew he was white. If Havlicek was the one who stole the ball, why was he not the man dribbling up the court? The film shows him jumping and just tipping the ball with his hand, and Jones retrieving it. It's a "Blink and you'll miss it" play.

But it's become the most famous single play in NBA history -- due to Most doing for it what Russ Hodges did for Bobby Thomson's home run to win the New York Giants the 1951 National League Pennant, and, in each case, the moment did the same for the man -- and 2nd only to Willie Mays' catch in the 1954 World Series as the most famous defensive play in the history of sports.

The Celtics went on to beat the Lakers in the Finals, having already done so in 1959 (while the Lakers were still in Minneapolis), 1962 and 1963; and did so again in 1966, 1968 and 1969, with Chamberlain and the 76ers finally breaking through in 1967, beating the San Francisco (now Golden State) Warriors.

Havlicek would be a member of 8 NBA Championship teams with the Celtics, the last in 1976. The current version of the NBA Championship Trophy, now named for former Commissioner Larry O'Brien, was introduced the following year, so "Hondo" never won the trophy he's holding in this photo. The predecessor Trophy, and this trophy until O'Brien's retirement as Commissioner in 1984, was named for the Celtics' founder and owner, Walter Brown.

Havlicek was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, and named to the NBA's 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams. The Celtics retired his Number 17. He died in 2019. I don't know if he ever met Mays.

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April 15, 1965 was a Thursday. Rock singer and songwriter Linda Perry was born that day.

As I said, the Lakers had beaten the Warriors to win the Western title 2 days earlier. The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-2 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit, to win Game 7 of their Stanley Cup Semifinal, and set up a Finals meeting with the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens won.

And these baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the California Angels, 5-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, where the Angels groundshared with the Dodgers until their stadium in suburban Anaheim opened the next year. Mel Stottlemyre pitched a 7-hit shutout. Roger Maris hit a home run. Mickey Mantle went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The New York Mets beat the Houston Astros, 5-4 at Shea Stadium. Bobby Klaus won it with a home run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The Washington Senators beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-1 at Milwaukee County Stadium. The Cubs' only run came on a home run by Ernie Banks. Hank Aaron did not play.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 6-4 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Al Kaline and Norm Cash hit home runs. Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-4 at Busch Stadium (formerly Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis. Gordy Coleman hit a grand slam. Vada Pinson also hit a home run. Frank Robinson went 2-for-4. Pete Rose went 0-for-4 with a walk. Lou Brock went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-3 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium.

* The Philadelphia Phillies and the San Francisco Giants were rained out at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on July 8. The Giants won the opener, 10-4. The Phillies won the nightcap, 4-2. Over the 2 games, Willie Mays went 3-for-8 with a home run and 3 RBIs.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates and the Los Angeles Dodgers were rained out at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on July 11. The Dodgers won the 1st game, 4-2. Sandy Koufax outpitched Joe Gibbon. The Pirates won the 2nd game, 4-3. Manny Mota won it with a home run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Over the 2 games, Roberto Clemente went 2-for-8.

* And the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox were not scheduled.