1975–76 Boston Celtics season

1975–76 Boston Celtics season
NBA Champions
Head coach	Tom Heinsohn
General manager	Red Auerbach
Arena	Boston Garden Hartford Civic Center
Results
Record	54–28 (.659)
Place	Division: 1st (Atlantic) Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	NBA Champions
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WBZ-TV, WATR
Radio	WBZ Radio, WTIC

The 1975–76 Boston Celtics season was their 30th in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and concluded with their 13th championship.

Offseason

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College

Roster

1975–76 Boston Celtics roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From G 42 Anderson, Jerome 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1953-10-09 West Virginia C 34 Ard, Jim 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1948-09-19 Cincinnati F 31 Boswell, Tom 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1953-10-02 South Carolina C 18 Cowens, Dave 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1948-10-25 Florida State F 17 Havlicek, John 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 1940-04-08 Ohio State C 33 Kuberski, Steve 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1947-11-06 Bradley F 30 McDonald, Glenn 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1952-03-18 Long Beach State F 19 Nelson, Don 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1940-05-15 Iowa G 11 Scott, Charlie 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1948-12-15 North Carolina F 32 Searcy, Ed 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1952-04-17 St. John's F 35 Silas, Paul 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1943-07-12 Creighton G 27 Stacom, Kevin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1951-09-04 Providence G 10 White, Jo Jo 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1946-11-16 Kansas	Head coach Tom Heinsohn Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve	Inactive
C	Dave Cowens	Jim Ard
PF	Paul Silas	Steve Kuberski	Tom Boswell
SF	John Havlicek	Don Nelson	Sam Quinn
SG	Charlie Scott	Glenn McDonald	Jerome Anderson
PG	Jo Jo White	Kevin Stacom

Regular season and postseason recap

The Celtics lost Don Chaney to the American Basketball Association before the 1975–76 season. To fill the gap in the backcourt they traded Paul Westphal to the Phoenix Suns for Charlie Scott, who had averaged more than 20 points in each of the previous three seasons. Despite an uncharacteristically weak bench, the Celtics finished in first place in their division and the second best record in the NBA this season. Boston earned a shot at another NBA title by defeating the Buffalo Braves and then the Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs.

Boston's opponents in the 1976 NBA Finals were the Phoenix Suns, who had posted a 42–40 regular-season record. The Team in Green was the oddsmakers' choice in the contest. The Celtics took the first two games at Boston Garden, but the Suns came back to win games 3 and 4 on their home court. Game 5 ranks among the all-time thrillers in NBA history. The Suns trailed by 5 points with less than a minute left on the clock, but Westphal made up the deficit almost single-handedly, sending the game into a first overtime period, which ended in a tie.

John Havlicek's basket with 2 seconds remaining in double overtime gave the Celtics a one-point lead, which Boston stretched to two points after sinking a technical foul. Then the Suns' Garfield Heard hit a last-second basket to send the contest into a third overtime. The longest game in NBA history finally ended, after three extra periods, with the Celtics winning 128–126. Two days later Boston captured yet another NBA championship, the 13th in franchise history.

Season standings

Atlantic Division

Team	W	L	PCT.	GB
Boston Celtics C	54	28	.659	-
Buffalo Braves	46	36	.561	8
Philadelphia 76ers	46	36	.561	8
New York Knicks	38	44	.463	16

Playoffs

East First Round

The Celtics had a first round bye.

East Conference Semifinals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (5) Buffalo Braves: Celtics win series 4-2

• Game 1 @ Boston: Boston 107, Buffalo 98
• Game 2 @ Boston: Boston 101, Buffalo 96
• Game 3 @ Buffalo: Buffalo 98, Boston 93
• Game 4 @ Buffalo: Buffalo 124, Boston 122
• Game 5 @ Boston: Boston 99, Buffalo 88
• Game 6 @ Buffalo: Boston 104, Buffalo 100

East Conference Finals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Cleveland Cavaliers: Celtics win series 4-2

• Game 1 @ Boston: Boston 111, Cleveland 99
• Game 2 @ Boston: Boston 94, Cleveland 89
• Game 3 @ Cleveland: Cleveland 83, Boston 78
• Game 4 @ Cleveland: Cleveland 106, Boston 87
• Game 5 @ Boston: Boston 99, Cleveland 94
• Game 6 @ Cleveland: Boston 94, Cleveland 87

NBA Finals

(E1) Boston Celtics vs. (W3) Phoenix Suns: Celtics win series 4-2

• Game 1 @ Boston: Boston 98, Phoenix 87
• Game 2 @ Boston: Boston 105, Phoenix 90
• Game 3 @ Phoenix: Phoenix 105, Boston 98
• Game 4 @ Phoenix: Phoenix 109, Boston 107
• Game 5 @ Boston: Boston 128, Phoenix 126 (3OT)
• Game 6 @ Phoenix: Boston 87, Phoenix 80

Player statistics

Legend
GP  Games played	GS  Games started	MPG  Minutes per game
FG%  Field goal percentage	3FG%  3-point field goal percentage	FT%  Free throw percentage
RPG  Rebounds per game	APG  Assists per game	SPG  Steals per game
BPG  Blocks per game	PPG  Points per game

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

References

• Celtics on Database Basketball
• Celtics on Basketball Reference