History of the Boston Celtics Conference Finals. The first few games of the series started with the Celtics once again dominating at the TD Banknorth Garden, the Celtics home turf. Game 1 saw Paul Pierce come back after apparently suffering a knee injury earlier in the game, and taking over the game for a 98–88 Celtics win. But in Game 2, Boston nearly lost a 20-point lead, ultimately winning, 97–91. Squandered leads would later become the story of the series. When the Lakers returned to Staples Center and won Game 3, 87–81, then took a 24-point lead in the second quarter of Game 4, some
Original Celtics fourth place, while first-half winner Cleveland slumped badly to fifth place. Cleveland’s fall was precipitated by the hasty mid-season departure of star Honey Russell, who was exiled to Chicago after a disagreement with team owner Max Rosenblum. The Celtics easily disposed of the weakened Cleveland team in three straight games to take the ABL championship. In 1926, the American Basketball League, developed by sports entrepreneur George Preston Marshall, effectively railroaded the team into joining its ranks by prohibiting member teams from playing against them. The Original Celtics responded by winning the next two ABL titles. During their first full season