Summary
The NBA expanded its playoff system to include 16 teams, getting rid of the first-round byes and three-game miniseries. Eight teams from each conference entered the first round of the playoffs, where they played best-of-five series to determine who would advance in the conference semi-finals.
There was also a major change at the top of the league, as Larry O'Brien retired and David Stern replaced him as commissioner.
The Celtics and Lakers were the best regular-season teams, and the new playoff format didn't keep them from meeting in the final round. It was a long-awaited matchup between Larry Bird of Boston and Magic Johnson of Los Angeles, who had entered the league together in 1979 after Johnson's Michigan State team beat Bird's Indiana State team for the NCAA championship.
Of course, both superstars had great supporting casts. Bird was joined in the frontcourt by Robert Parish, Cedric Maxwell, and sixth man Kevin McHale. The starting guards were Dennis Johnson and Gerald Henderson, backed up by Quinn Buckner for defense and Danny Ainge for offense.
The Lakers had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who became the NBA's all-time leading scorer in the course of the season; forward James Worthy, a key man in their fast-break offense and also a clever low-post scorer; rookie guard Byron Scott; and, coming off the bench, scorer Bob McAdoo and guard Michael Cooper, one of the NBA's best defenders and three-point shooters.
Although the Celts won eight games more than the Lakers during the regular season, Los Angeles appeared to be the better team entering the championship, having won 30 of their last 42 games and going 11-3 in the earlier playoff rounds.
The teams split the first four games of the final series, but many felt the Lakers should have had a sweep. They were ahead 115-113 with 13 seconds left in Game 2 when Henderson intercepted a pass and made a layup to tie the score. The Celtics went on to win in overtime. In Game 4, the Lakers were up by 5 with a minute to play, but Boston again managed to tie it in regulation and win in overtime.
It was 97 degrees in Boston Garden at the tipoff for Game 5, but Bird was even hotter. He hit 15 of 20 from the field and scored 34 points in the Celtics' 121-103 victory. The Lakers evened it up with a home victory behind Abdul-Jabbar's 30 points, setting up a seventh game in Boston. Maxwell took over there, racking up 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists for a 111-102 win and the Celtics' 15th championship.
