In the first NBA game ever played in the month of June, referees Don Murphy and Manny Sokol whistled 21 fouls in the first 10 minutes. We present them here for purely educational purposes. The Boston Celtics were seeking to make up for the lost opportunity they squandered in the 1975 NBA Playoffs. Phoenix held Boston scoreless for nearly five minutes in the second period as they went to a 16-point lead. John Havlicek celebrated his eighth NBA title as a Celtic. Phoenix trailed by two at the end of the first quarter as they failed to take advantage of 11 first quarter Celtic turnovers. However, Boston coach Tom Heinsohn rushed Havlicek into the game with 7:24 left in the first quarter as Phoenix took an early 107 lead and the Ohio State product never came back out of the game. The officials apparently agreed with Barry and ordered the Celtics back onto the floor. The Suns had the lead in the game on only four occasions (twice in the second overtime) and never by more than 2 points. Top 5 players. John Havlicek (already of "Havlicek Stole the Ball" fame) responded with a drive and a leaning one-hander in traffic, that he banked in off the glass, putting Boston in front 111110 as the horn sounded. Land of Basketball is a fan website, for official NBA information visit National Basketball Association's website. Dave Cowens recorded a triple-double with 25 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists while Jo Jo White shot only 14 from the field in the first half before making 8-of-11 shots in the second half to keep Phoenix at bay. John Havlicek did not start for the Celtics due to a painful heel injury. Boston Celtics defeated Phoenix Suns, 4 games to 2. The game was close to the end, when Ricky Sobers hit a bank shot to put the Suns up by four with 90 seconds left. After clearing the court (the fan who attacked Powers was arrested) and getting the Celtics back on the floor, the officials put one second back on the clock. Kevin Stacom scored five straight points (his only points) to put Boston up for good 2220. 3rd seed in the West, 8th best league record, 1st seed in the East, 2nd best league record. Westphal then scored the next four points for Phoenix (as part of a brilliant performance that featured several leaping, spinning, acrobatic bank shots) cutting the gap to 128126, but he could not get the ball again; (although he very nearly did almost stealing a pass near half court as the third overtime wound down). The game also happened to be on the same day as the Indianapolis 500, but live flag-to-flag coverage of the event by ABC Sports was still ten years away. Prior to 1976, they only made the playoffs once, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 1970 NBA Playoffs. The Suns extended the lead to 23 in the third, but Boston began to charge back and cut the lead to two with three minutes left. With three seconds left in the first overtime and the score 101-101. They also led in the third overtime by 114112. That year, they finished with 60 wins, but lost to the Washington Bullets in the conference finals. The 197576 Finals had three straight off days between Sunday afternoon opener and Thursday night second game due to CBS-TV's concern with low ratings for professional basketball. Do you have a blog? Since the Series was 2-0 Boston after the first two games, Musburger and Barry wanted the Suns to win the next two games to tie the series (likewise with Game six). After falling behind by 11, Phoenix caught up again in the third and took a 6766 lead on a Ricky Sobers free throw with 7:25 left in the game. Alvan Adams and Dennis Awtrey both fouled out for the Suns. Suggestions? Celtics point guard Jo Jo White was named as the series MVP. But the Celtic heroes of old (Dave Cowens, John Havlicek) and new (Charlie Scott) took control from there. Musburger said that this was because he and Barry were paid by the game. Boston turned back the Suns in game one behind a balanced attack. Havlicek hit two free throws; then Cowens stole the ball, drove, scored, drew the foul and made the foul shot for a three-point play. Finals MVP: Jo Jo White(21.7/4.3/5.8), Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Sunday, October 11, 4:28AM. That was enough to get Phoenix a 10598 win. Boston again started the game slowly without John Havlicek in the starting line-up, not making a field goal in the first three minutes of the game and again prompting Tommy Heinsohn to rush Havlicek into the game again. Finished with 60 wins, but we know we 're going to beat. Their surge to an 8780 win and their 13th championship Stacom scored five straight points ( only! We 're going to take advantage of 11 first quarter as they went to 16-point! 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