On this day, 1981 - Boston Celtics' win NBA

Sport360 staff 17:33 14/05/2016
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  • The Big Three (L-R): McHale, Parish and Bird.

    The Boston Celtics are the winningest franchise in NBA history with 17 championships, but their 14th title on this day in 1981 was the first won by legend Larry Bird and his Big Three teammates Kevin McHale and Robert Parish.

    The Houston Rockets, were the last team to reach the Finals despite finishing with a losing record (40-42) in the regular season.

    It was sixth man Cedric Maxwell, however, who would be named Finals MVP for his team-high scoring average of 17.7 points and 9.5 rebounds.

    Boston would go on to dominate the ‘80s, winning the title again in ‘84 and ‘86 while reaching the Finals in ‘85 and ‘87.

    Here are the other memorable events that happened on this day:

    1754: Members of the Society of St Andrews Golfers played their first round over the St Andrews links. The society was the forerunner of the Royal & Ancient.

    1927: BBC Radio broadcast their first cricket commentary, the Rev FH Gillingham commentating on the Essex versus New Zealand match from Leyton.

    1967: NY Yankees legend Mickey Mantle hits his 500th home run.

    1997: Barcelona win the European Cup over Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in Rotterdam, with Brazilian legend Ronaldo scoring a penalty in the first half.

    2000: Wimbledon drop out of the top flight after 14 years with a 2-0 defeat at Southampton as Bradford avoided relegation by beating Liverpool 1-0.

    2014: Sevilla won the Europa League final, beating Benfica 4-2 on penalties in Turin after a goalless 120 minutes.

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