1972–73 Boston Celtics season Knicks: "Knicks win series 4–3" 1972–73 Boston Celtics season The 1972–73 Boston Celtics season was their 27th in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Celtics finished the season with the best record in the league at 68–14. This mark is the Celtics franchise best. Third-year forward Dave Cowens won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award ahead of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Tiny Archibald. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics lost to the eventual NBA champion New York Knicks. This table only displays picks through the second round. (1) Boston Celtics vs. (4) Atlanta Hawks: "Celtics win series 4–2" (1) Boston
2010–11 Boston Celtics season Conference standings during the All-Star break. However, after center Kendrick Perkins, who was working his way back from a torn ACL in last year's Finals, was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder mid-season, the Celtics then started to play mediocre basketball after the trade, winning just 15 of their final 27 games. Still, they managed a 56–26 record and enter the playoffs as the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference. They swept the New York Knicks, in four games in the first round to advance to the Conference Semifinals where they faced the Miami Heat, the team the Celtics defeated