76ers–Celtics rivalry 1 point, 91-90, coming back from a 7-point deficit with a few minutes left to win on a Larry Bird banker from the left side with barely a minute left. The Celtics then defeated the Houston Rockets on their way to their first title in 5 years. For the 1981-1982 season, the Celtics again had the best record in the NBA at 63-19, followed by Philadelphia at 58-24, with one of the Sixers' key victories in the regular season being a win in Boston to snap the Celtics' 18-game winning streak. In the 1982 Eastern Finals, Boston attempted to come
History of the Boston Celtics The Celtics won two more titles in the 1970s under coach Tom Heinsohn, and three more in the 1980s under the leadership of forward Larry Bird. After a 22-year drought, the Celtics got their latest title in 2008. The Celtics were formed in 1946 as a team in the Basketball Association of America, and became part of the National Basketball Association after the merger of the BAA and the National Basketball League to form the NBA in the fall of 1949. In 1950, the Celtics became the first franchise to draft an African American player, signing Chuck Cooper. The Celtics