THE LEGEND

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Red Auerbach brought in K. C. Jones to stabilize the club for the 1983-84 season. Jones left the frontcourt of Larry Bird, Cedric Maxwell, and Robert Parish intact, but he remade the backcourt, bringing over Dennis Johnson from Phoenix and moving Gerald Henderson into the starting lineup. Kevin McHale provided instant offense off the bench.

The Celtics won 62 games during the regular season. Bird won the first of three consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player Awards, and McHale won the first of two straight NBA Sixth Man Awards. With the first-round bye privilege eliminated from the playoffs, Boston downed Washington, New York, and Milwaukee to earn the right to play the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1984 NBA Finals.

Los Angeles rolled into the Finals with an 11-3 postseason record and beat Boston handily in Game 1. A last-second steal and layup by Gerald Henderson put the Celtics into overtime in the next contest, and they came away with a 124-121 victory. After a drubbing in Game 3, Boston eked out yet another overtime win in Game 4 to even the series at two games apiece. The teams then traded wins in Games 5 and 6. The Celtics had never lost a seventh game in the NBA Finals, and Los Angeles was unable to break the string. Boston triumphed in Game 7, 111-102.

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