1966 NBA Finals

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[edit] Series Summary

This was the iconic Celtics' 8th consecutive NBA Championship--no other team in any sport has won eight consecutive league titles. Before Game 2, after the L.A. Lakers' comeback overtime win in Game 1, Auerbach, who had challenged the entire league to topple the Celtics from their reign by announcing he would retire after 1965-1966 before the season had started (thus giving his detractors "one last shot" at him), announced Bill Russell as the Celtics coach for 1966-1967 and beyond. He would be the first African-American to coach in the NBA. Laker coach Fred Schaus privately fumed that Red's hiring had taken away all of the accolades his Lakers should have received following their tremendous Game 1 win. The Celtics won the next three games and looked ready to close out L.A. in Game 5. However, the Lakers won the next two games, setting the stage for another classic Game 7 in the Boston Garden. The Celtics raced out to a huge lead, and held off a late Los Angeles rally to capture the NBA title and send Red Auerbach out a champion.

Game	Date	Home Team	Result	Road Team
Game 1	April 17	Boston	129-133	Los Angeles
Game 2	April 19	Boston	129-109	Los Angeles
Game 3	April 20	Los Angeles	106-120	Boston
Game 4	April 22	Los Angeles	117-122	Boston
Game 5	April 24	Boston	117-121	Los Angeles
Game 6	April 26	Los Angeles	123-115	Boston
Game 7	April 28	Boston	95-93	Los Angeles