Author Topic: 1969 NBA Finals Game 7 (Cooke's "celebration")  (Read 5341 times)

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1969 NBA Finals Game 7 (Cooke's "celebration")
« on: January 21, 2009, 07:12:46 PM »

Offline Hoyo de Monterrey

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Great forum idea... here's my favorite Celtics-Lakers story (quite abridged and taken quickly from wikipedia)

With Bill Russell and Sam Jones in their final season, Boston's dynasty was but a memory. The Celtics were the league's oldest team and struggled to make the NBA playoffs as the fourth and final seed in the Eastern Conference. They upset the 76ers in the first round and postponed New York's finals appearance for another year. Awaiting the Celtics were the powerful Los Angeles Lakers who had a nucleus of Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and newly acquired Wilt Chamberlain.

After losing the first two games in the Forum in L.A., no one thought Boston would even pull out a victory. However, they won game 3 and a buzzer-beater by Sam Jones tied the series up at 2 games apiece. The home team won games 5 and 6 which set up a dramatic seventh game. Before the game started, Laker's owner Jack Kent Cooke placed flyers in every seat stating "When, not if, the Lakers win the title, balloons will be released from the raftors, the USC marching band will play "Happy Days Are Here Again" and broadcaster Chick Hearn will interview Elgin Baylor, Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain in that order."

Celtics player coach Bill Russell got word of this and told his team "A lot of things can happen but the Lakers can not beat us. They can't beat us. But it's going to be funny watching them take down those balloons."

This display of arrogance by the Laker owner motivated the Celtics. Russell ordered his men to fast break at every opportunity, because in a running game, it all came down to determination: something the Celtics were good in, as he figured.

Boston, who had not won a game in the Forum all season, played tough through the first half and would keep the game close, with a score of 60-60. Remarkably, Boston would pull away and entered the fourth quarter up by 18. It seemed to be over when Lakers center Wilt Chamberlain was injured and replaced by reserve Mel Counts. The Celtics, however, would begin to show their age when they began missing shots and turning the ball over and Laker Jerry West pulled L.A. to within one. Despite having numerous opportunities, the Lakers couldn't get over the hump and Don Nelson would make an incredible foul-line jump-shot which bounced off the back-iron and fell back in. During this, another battle was heating up off the court between Jack Kent Cooke and Lakers coach Butch Van Breda Kolff. Chamberlain was pleading for Breda Kolff to put him back in, but he refused. Cooke then came down to personally order the defiant coach to insert Wilt to no avail. This would prove fatal as the Celtics held on and won 108-106.

The only consolation for Laker fans was the naming of Jerry West for the first NBA Finals MVP Award, but even he was saddened. West, along with the MVP Award, had also received a new car, which was a green Volkswagen Beetle. It was considered an insult to injury for their star player.
"Let me call him," Floyd said.

The man shook his head. "O.J. doesn't give out his cell," he said. "He'll call you."