1987–88 Boston Celtics season

The 1987–88 Boston Celtics season was the 42nd season of the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Coming from an NBA Finals defeat to their rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers in six games, the Celtics finished first place in the Eastern Conference with 57 wins and 25 losses, with Larry Bird being selected to the All-NBA First Team. Bird, Kevin McHale and Danny Ainge were all selected for the 1988 NBA All-Star Game. In the first round of the playoffs, they defeated the New York Knicks in four games. In the semi-finals, the Celtics trailed 3–2 to Dominique Wilkins and the Atlanta Hawks, but won the final two games. They advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for the fifth consecutive time, becoming the first team to do so since the 1968–69 Boston Celtics (which reached the previous thirteen). However, they would lose to Isiah Thomas and the 2nd-seeded Detroit Pistons in six games. This was the first time since the 1982-83 season that the Celtics failed to reach the NBA Finals.

Draft picks

Main article: 1987 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	22	Reggie Lewis	SF	United States	Northeastern
2	45	Brad Lohaus	C/PF	United States	Iowa
4	70	Tom Sheehey		United States	Virginia
4	91	Darryl Kennedy		United States	Oklahoma
5	114	David Butler		United States	California
6	137	Tim Naegeli		United States	Wisconsin–Stevens Point
7	160	Jerry Corcoran		United States	Northeastern

Roster

1987–88 Boston Celtics roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From
C	42	Acres, Mark	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1962–11–15	Oral Roberts
G	44	Ainge, Danny	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1959–03–17	BYU
F	33	Bird, Larry	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1956–12–07	Indiana State
C	53	Gilmore, Artis	7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	1949–09–21	Jacksonville
G	3	Johnson, Dennis	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1954–09–18	Pepperdine
G/F	35	Lewis, Reggie	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1965–11–21	Northeastern
F/C	54	Lohaus, Brad	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	1964–09–29	Iowa
F/C	32	McHale, Kevin	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1957–12–19	Minnesota
G	11	Minniefield, Dirk	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1961–01–17	Kentucky
C	00	Parish, Robert	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	1953–08–30	Centenary
G	4	Paxson, Jim	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1957–07–09	Dayton
C	5	Walton, Bill (IN)	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	1952–11–05	UCLA
F	31	Roberts, Fred	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	218 lb (99 kg)	1960–08–10	BYU

Head coach

K. C. Jones

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Roster

Roster Notes

Center Bill Walton missed the entire season due to a right foot injury.

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Boston Celtics	57	25	.695	–	36–5	21–20	19–5
x-Washington Bullets	38	44	.463	19	25–16	13–28	13–11
x-New York Knicks	38	44	.463	19	29–12	9–32	10–14
Philadelphia 76ers	36	46	.439	21	27–14	9–32	12–12
New Jersey Nets	19	63	.232	38	16–25	3–38	6–18

#	Eastern Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Boston Celtics	57	25	.695	–
2	y-Detroit Pistons	54	28	.659	3
3	x-Chicago Bulls	50	32	.610	7
4	x-Atlanta Hawks	50	32	.610	7
5	x-Milwaukee Bucks	42	40	.512	15
6	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	42	40	.512	15
7	x-Washington Bullets	38	44	.463	19
8	x-New York Knicks	38	44	.463	19

9	Indiana Pacers	38	44	.463	19
10	Philadelphia 76ers	36	46	.439	21
11	New Jersey Nets	19	63	.232	38

Record vs. opponents

1987-88 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIL	NJN	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	–	2–4	2–3	5–1	2–0	1–1	2–4	2–0	1–1	4–2	2–0	0–2	3–3	5–0	3–3	6–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	3–3
Boston	4–2	–	3–3	2–3	2–0	0–2	3–3	2–0	1–1	5–0	2–0	0–2	3–3	5–1	5–1	4–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	5–1
Chicago	3–2	3–3	–	3–3	0–2	1–1	2–4	2–0	2–0	3–3	2–0	1–1	5–1	5–1	3–2	4–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–3
Cleveland	1–5	3–2	3–3	–	1–1	1–1	1–5	0–2	1–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	5–1	2–4	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	0–2	6–0
Dallas	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	–	3–3	1–1	4–1	4–2	2–0	5–0	1–4	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	5–0	3–2	5–1	5–1	3–2	3–3	1–1
Denver	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–3	–	1–1	4–1	4–2	1–1	5–0	3–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	3–2	2–3	4–2	5–1	4–1	2–4	2–0
Detroit	4–2	3–3	4–2	5–1	1–1	1–1	–	2–0	1–1	3–3	1–1	0–2	4–2	5–1	4–2	4–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–2
Golden State	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–4	1–4	0–2	–	0–5	0–2	3–3	0–6	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–4	1–5	2–3	3–2	1–5	1–4	0–2
Houston	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–4	2–4	1–1	5–0	–	2–0	3–2	1–4	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–1	4–1	4–2	2–4	3–2	3–3	2–0
Indiana	2–4	0–5	3–3	2–4	0–2	1–1	3–3	2–0	0–2	–	1–1	1–1	3–3	6–0	2–3	2–4	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–4
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–5	0–5	1–1	3–3	2–3	1–1	–	1–5	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–4	0–6	3–2	0–5	1–5	1–4	0–2
L.A. Lakers	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–1	2–3	2–0	6–0	4–1	1–1	5–1	–	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	5–1	3–3	4–1	5–0	4–2	4–1	1–1
Milwaukee	3–3	3–3	1–5	4–2	0–2	1–1	2–4	2–0	0–2	3–3	2–0	2–0	–	3–2	3–3	2–4	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–1
New Jersey	0–5	1–5	1–5	1–5	1–1	0–2	1–5	0–2	1–1	0–6	2–0	0–2	2–3	–	3–3	2–4	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–6
New York	3–3	1–5	2–3	4–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	2–0	1–1	3–2	2–0	0–2	3–3	3–3	–	3–3	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–3
Philadelphia	0–6	2–4	2–4	2–3	1–1	0–2	1–4	1–1	1–1	4–2	1–1	0–2	4–2	4–2	3–3	–	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–3
Phoenix	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–5	2–3	0–2	4–2	1–4	0–2	4–2	1–5	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	–	0–6	3–2	2–3	2–4	2–3	0–2
Portland	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–3	3–2	1–1	5–1	1–4	2–0	6–0	3–3	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	6–0	–	4–1	5–0	3–3	1–4	2–0
Sacramento	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–5	2–4	0–2	3–2	2–4	0–2	2–3	1–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–3	1–4	–	3–3	1–4	1–5	0–2
San Antonio	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–5	1–5	1–1	2–3	4–2	0–2	5–0	0–5	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	0–5	3–3	–	3–2	3–3	0–2
Seattle	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–3	1–4	1–1	5–1	2–3	1–1	5–1	2–4	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	4–2	3–3	4–1	2–3	–	1–4	2–0
Utah	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	3–3	4–2	0–2	4–1	3–3	1–1	4–1	1–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–2	4–1	5–1	3–3	4–1	–	2–0
Washington	3–3	1–5	3–3	0–6	1–1	0–2	2–3	2–0	0–2	4–2	2–0	1–1	1–4	6–0	3–3	3–3	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	—

Game log

Regular season

1987–88 game log
Total: 57–25 (home: 36–5; Away: 21–20)

November: 10–4 (home: 6–1; road: 4–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	November 6, 1987 8:00 p.m. EST	Milwaukee	W 125–108	Bird (28)	Bird (15)	Bird, Johnson (8)	Boston Garden 14,890	1–0
2	November 7, 1987 7:30 p.m. EST	@ Washington	W 140–139 (2 OT)	Bird (47)	Parish (13)	Johnson (17)	Capital Centre 19,643	2–0
3	November 9, 1987	@ New York	W 96–87				Madison Square Garden	3–0
4	November 11, 1987	Indiana	W 120–106				Boston Garden	4–0
5	November 13, 1987 7:30 p.m. EST	Cleveland	W 128–114	Bird (34)	Parish (16)	Johnson (13)	Boston Garden 14,890	5–0
6	November 15, 1987	@ Indiana	W 103–98				Market Square Arena	6–0
7	November 17, 1987 8:00 p.m. EST	@ Cleveland	L 88–109	Johnson (16)	Acres (8)	Bird (4)	Richfield Coliseum 14,621	6–1
8	November 18, 1987	New York	W 111–109 (2OT)				Boston Garden	7–1
9	November 20, 1987	@ Philadelphia	L 85–116				The Spectrum	7–2
10	November 21, 1987	@ New Jersey	W 107–97				Brendan Byrne Arena	8–2
11	November 23, 1987 7:30 p.m. EST	Chicago (at Hartford, Connecticut)	L 102–107	Johnson (23)	Lohaus, Parish (9)	Johnson (7)	Hartford Civic Center 15,134	8–3
12	November 25, 1987 7:30 p.m. EST	Atlanta	W 117–102	Daye (26)	Parish (13)	Ainge (10)	Boston Garden 14,890	9–3
13	November 27, 1987 7:30 p.m. EST	Seattle	W 117–112	Daye (27)	Bird (10)	Bird (9)	Boston Garden 14,890	10–3
14	November 28, 1987 9:00 p.m. EST	@ Milwaukee	L 97–112	Bird (28)	Parish (13)	Johnson (9)	MECCA Arena 11,052	10–4

December: 7–5 (home: 3–2; road: 4–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
15	December 1, 1987 7:30 p.m. EST	@ Atlanta	L 106–120	McHale (22)	Bird, Lohaus (8)	Johnson (8)	The Omni 16,451	10–5
16	December 2, 1987	New Jersey	W 130–99				Boston Garden	11–5
17	December 4, 1987 7:30 p.m. EST	@ Detroit	L 105–128	Bird (27)	Parish (11)	Johnson (6)	Pontiac Silverdome 34,523	11–6
18	December 9, 1987 7:30 p.m. EST	Denver	L 119–124	Bird (40)	Parish (14)	Johnson (15)	Boston Garden 14,890	11–7
19	December 11 8:00 p.m. EST	L.A. Lakers	L 114–115	Bird (35)	Bird, Parish (9)	Bird (8)	Boston Garden 14,890	11–8
20	December 15, 1987 7:30 p.m. EST	@ Washington	W 122–102	Bird (27)	McHale (8)	Johnson (8)	Capital Centre 15,890	12–8
21	December 16, 1987 7:30 p.m. EST	Utah	W 121–111	Bird (38)	Parish (14)	Johnson (11)	Boston Garden 14,890	13–8
22	December 20, 1987	Philadelphia	W 124–87				Boston Garden	14–8
23	December 22, 1987	@ Philadelphia	W 118–115				The Spectrum	15–8
24	December 26, 1987	@ L.A. Clippers	W 106–97				Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena	16–8
25	December 27, 1987	@ Sacramento	W 114–102				ARCO Arena	17–8
26	December 30, 1987 10:30 p.m. EST	@ Seattle	L 105–111	Bird (36)	Bird (15)	Bird (8)	Seattle Center Coliseum 14,850	17–9

January: 14–3 (home: 9–0; road: 5–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
27	January 2, 1988	@ Golden State	W 115–110				Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena	18–9
28	January 4, 1988 9:30 p.m. EST	@ Utah	W 107–99	Bird (28)	Parish (10)	Johnson (12)	Salt Palace 12,212	19–9
29	January 6, 1988	New York	W 117–108				Boston Garden	20–9
30	January 8, 1988 7:30 p.m. EST	Washington	W 125–109	Bird (35)	Bird (11)	Johnson (10)	Boston Garden 14,890	21–9
31	January 9, 1988	@ New York	L 98–106				Madison Square Garden	21–10
32	January 12, 1988 8:00 p.m. EST	@ Chicago	W 104–97	Bird (38)	Parish (16)	Ainge, Minniefield (9)	Chicago Stadium 18,676	22–10
33	January 13, 1988 7:30 p.m. EST	Detroit	W 143–105	McHale (31)	Bird, McHale (7)	Bird (13)	Boston Garden 14,890	23–10
34	January 15, 1988	Sacramento	W 122–86				Boston Garden	24–10
35	January 16, 1988	@ New Jersey	W 103–96				Brendan Byrne Arena	25–10
36	January 18, 1988	Golden State	W 121–101				Boston Garden	26–10
37	January 20, 1988	Phoenix	W 131–115				Boston Garden	27–10
38	January 22, 1988 8:00 p.m. EST	Atlanta	W 124–106	Bird (25)	Parish (12)	Ainge (11)	Boston Garden 14,890	28–10
39	January 23, 1988 7:30 p.m. EST	@ Cleveland	L 100–119	Bird (32)	McHale (17)	Johnson (5)	Richfield Coliseum 20,900	28–11
40	January 26, 1988 7:30 p.m. EST	@ Atlanta	W 102–97	McHale (21)	Parish (14)	Ainge (10)	The Omni 16,451	29–11
41	January 27, 1988 7:30 p.m. EST	Washington	W 106–100	Bird (49)	Parish (12)	Ainge (13)	Boston Garden 14,890	30–11
42	January 29, 1988 8:00 p.m. EST	@ Detroit	L 108–125	Bird (25)	Bird (11)	Bird (8)	Pontiac Silverdome 61,983	30–12
43	January 31, 1988	Philadelphia	W 100–85				Boston Garden	31–12

February: 9–5 (home: 5–0; road: 4–5)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
44	February 3, 1988	Indiana	W 118–103				Boston Garden	32–12
45	February 4, 1988 8:30 p.m. EST	@ Milwaukee	L 101–111	McHale (25)	Bird (12)	Johnson (6)	MECCA Arena 11,052	32–13
All-Star Break
46	February 9, 1988	@ Houston	L 120–129				The Summit	32–14
47	February 10, 1988	@ San Antonio	W 139–120				HemisFair Arena	33–14
48	February 12, 1988 8:30 p.m. EST	@ Dallas	W 105–104	Bird (39)	McHale, Parish (15)	Johnson (11)	Reunion Arena 17,007	34–14
49	February 14 3:30 p.m. EST	@ L.A. Lakers	L 106–115	Bird (25)	Bird (17)	Johnson (10)	The Forum 17,505	34–15
50	February 15, 1988	@ Phoenix	W 107–106				Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum	35–15
51	February 17, 1988 9:30 p.m. EST	@ Denver	L 125–138	McHale (33)	McHale (11)	Minniefield (6)	McNichols Sports Arena 17,022	35–16
52	February 19, 1988	@ Portland	W 124–104				Memorial Coliseum	36–16
53	February 22, 1988	New York	W 95–93				Hartford Civic Center	37–16
54	February 24, 1988	Portland	W 113–112				Boston Garden	38–16
55	February 26, 1988 7:30 p.m. EST	Milwaukee	W 132–96	Bird (32)	McHale (8)	Bird, Johnson (8)	Boston Garden 14,890	39–16
56	February 28, 1988 12 Noon EST	@ Detroit	L 101–106	McHale (33)	McHale (11)	Bird (9)	Pontiac Silverdome 37,462	39–17

March: 11–4 (home: 8–2; road: 3–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
57	March 1, 1988 8:00 p.m. EST	@ Milwaukee	L 116–117	Bird (31)	Bird, McHale (7)	Ainge (10)	MECCA Arena 11,052	39–18
58	March 2, 1988	New Jersey	L 107–117				Boston Garden	39–19
59	March 4, 1988	L.A. Clippers	W 121–90				Boston Garden	40–19
60	March 6, 1988 1:00 p.m. EST	Cleveland	W 127–98	Bird (31)	McHale (8)	Ainge, Johnson (6)	Boston Garden 14,890	41–19
61	March 9, 1988	San Antonio	W 117–116				Boston Garden	42–19
62	March 11, 1988	Indiana	W 122–112				Hartford Civic Center	43–19
63	March 13, 1988 12 Noon EST	Atlanta	W 117–100	Bird (28)	Acres (11)	Johnson (9)	Boston Garden 14,890	44–19
64	March 15, 1988	@ Indiana	W 119–113				Market Square Arena	45–19
65	March 18, 1988 8:30 p.m. EST	@ Chicago	L 103–113	McHale (33)	Bird, McHale (10)	Ainge (9)	Chicago Stadium 18,676	45–20
66	March 20, 1988 1:00 p.m. EST	Chicago	W 137–107	Bird (33)	McHale (10)	Johnson (10)	Boston Garden 14,890	46–20
67	March 23, 1988 7:30 p.m. EST	Washington	W 104–89	Bird (37)	Bird (14)	Bird (8)	Boston Garden 14,890	47–20
68	March 25, 1988	Philadelphia	L 93–97				Boston Garden	47–21
69	March 26, 1988	@ New York	W 118–106				Madison Square Garden	48–21
70	March 28, 1988	@ New Jersey	W 106–105				Brendan Byrne Arena	49–21
71	March 30, 1988	Houston	W 117–110				Boston Garden	50–21

April: 7–4 (home: 6–0; road: 1–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
72	April 1, 1988 8:00 p.m. EST	Detroit	W 121–110	Bird (32)	Bird, McHale (11)	Johnson (10)	Boston Garden 14,890	51–21
73	April 3, 1988 1:00 p.m. EDT	Dallas	W 110–101	Bird (32)	McHale (7)	McHale (10)	Boston Garden 14,890	52–21
74	April 8, 1988	New Jersey	W 127–90				Boston Garden	53–21
75	April 10, 1988	@ Philadelphia	W 117–108				The Spectrum	54–21
76	April 13, 1988 7:30 p.m. EDT	Milwaukee	W 123–104	Bird (26)	Bird McHale (10)	Bird (10)	Boston Garden 14,890	55–21
77	April 15, 1988 7:30 p.m. EDT	@ Cleveland	L 109–120	Bird (30)	Parish (9)	Bird (8)	Richfield Coliseum 20,149	55–22
78	April 17, 1988 3:30 p.m. EDT	@ Washington	L 92–98	Bird (23)	Bird (7)	Ainge (9)	Capital Centre 18,643	55–23
79	April 19, 1988 7:30 p.m. EDT	Detroit	W 121–110	McHale (33)	Parish (12)	Bird (9)	Boston Garden 14,890	56–23
80	April 21, 1988 7:30 p.m. EDT	Chicago	W 126–119	Bird (44)	Bird, Parish (10)	Johson (15)	Boston Garden 14,890	57–23
81	April 22, 1988 7:30 p.m. EDT	@ Atlanta	L 106–133	Ainge (25)	Parish (7)	Ainge, Johnson, ,Parish, Roberts (4)	The Omni 16,451	57–24
82	April 24, 1988 3:30 p.m. EDT	@ Chicago	L 108–115	Ainge (20)	Acres (9)	Ainge (11)	Chicago Stadium 18,636	57–25

1987–88 schedule

Playoffs

1988 playoff game log

First round: 3–1 (home: 2–0; road: 1–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 29	New York	W 112–92	McHale, Bird (29)	Robert Parish (13)	Dennis Johnson (9)	Boston Garden 14,890	1–0
2	May 1	New York	W 128–102	Larry Bird (36)	Kevin McHale (12)	Dennis Johnson (9)	Boston Garden 14,890	2–0
3	May 4	@ New York	L 100–109	Kevin McHale (24)	Robert Parish (11)	Larry Bird (12)	Madison Square Garden 19,591	2–1
4	May 6	@ New York	W 102–94	Larry Bird (28)	Robert Parish (12)	Dennis Johnson (12)	Madison Square Garden 19,591	3–1

Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4–3 (home: 3–1; road: 1–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	May 11, 1988 8:30 p.m. EDT	Atlanta	W 110–101	Bird (38)	Parish (14)	Ainge (12)	Boston Garden 14,890	1–0
2	May 13, 1988 8:00 p.m. EDT	Atlanta	W 108–97	McHale (32)	Parish (14)	Johnson (9)	Boston Garden 14,890	2–0
3	May 15, 1988 1:00 p.m. EDT	@ Atlanta	L 92–110	Bird (22)	Parish (13)	Bird (8)	The Omni 16,451	2–1
4	May 16, 1988 8:00 p.m. EDT	@ Atlanta	L 109–118	Bird (30)	McHale (12)	Johnson (10)	The Omni 16,451	2–2
5	May 18, 1988 8:00 p.m. EDT	Atlanta	L 104–112	Parish (24)	Parish (13)	Johnson (10)	Boston Garden 14,890	2–3
6	May 20, 1988 8:00 p.m. EDT	@ Atlanta	W 102–100	McHale (26)	Bird (11)	Ainge (14)	The Omni 16,451	3–3
7	May 22, 1988 1:00 p.m. EDT	Atlanta	W 118–116	Bird (34)	McHale (13)	Ainge (10)	Boston Garden 14,890	4–3

Eastern Conference Finals: 2–4 (home: 1–2; road: 1–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	May 25, 1988 8:00 p.m. EDT	Detroit	L 96–104	McHale (31)	Parish (13)	Johnson (10)	Boston Garden 14,890	0–1
2	May 26, 1988 8:00 p.m. EDT	Detroit	W 119–115 (2OT)	Parish (26)	Bird (12)	Johnson (10)	Boston Garden 14,890	1–1
3	May 28, 1988 3:30 p.m. EDT	@ Detroit	L 94–98	McHale (32)	Bird (11)	Bird (8)	Pontiac Silverdome 26,481	1–2
4	May 30, 1988 3:00 p.m. EDT	@ Detroit	W 79–78	Bird (20)	Bird (10)	Bird, Johnson (6)	Pontiac Silverdome 26,625	2–2
5	June 1, 1988 8:00 p.m. EDT	Detroit	L 96–102 (OT)	Bird (27)	Bird (17)	Johnson (8)	Boston Garden 14,890	2–3
6	June 3, 1988 9:00 p.m. EST	@ Detroit	L 90–95	McHale (33)	Bird (14)	Johnson (9)	Pontiac Silverdome 38,912	2–4

1988 schedule

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	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

Playoffs

The Celtics would end up losing to the Detroit Pistons in the conference finals, as an aging Celtics team was beginning to falter against a younger and fresher Pistons team led by Isiah Thomas. This also marked that franchise's "Bad Boy" era, noted for the team's penchant for fighting and rough, physical play. This would be the first time in five years that the Celtics would not make it to the finals and would not return to another finals until 2008.

Awards and records

Transactions

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (February 2013)

v t e Boston Celtics
Founded in 1946 Based in Boston, Massachusetts
Franchise	History All-time roster Draft history Accomplishments and records Head coaches Seasons Current season
Arenas	Boston Arena Boston Garden Hartford Civic Center TD Garden
Personnel	Owner(s) Boston Basketball Partners President Rich Gotham General manager Brad Stevens Head coach Joe Mazzulla
G League affiliate	Maine Celtics
Retired numbers	00 1 2 3 5 6 10 14 15 16 17 18 19 21 22 23 24 25 31 32 33 34 35 LOSCY MIC
NBA championships	1957 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1968 1969 1974 1976 1981 1984 1986 2008 2024
Rivalries	Detroit Pistons Los Angeles Lakers Miami Heat New York Knicks Philadelphia 76ers
Culture and lore	Broadcasters Radio network Celtic Pride Celtics/Lakers: Best of Enemies Lakers versus Celtics and the NBA Playoffs Mike Gorman Johnny Most "Havlicek stole the ball" 1961 Boston Celtics boycott Auerbach Center North Station The Sports Museum of New England Reebok Pro Summer League Newhart Uncut Gems Extended Family Starting 5 Jaylen Brown & Jayson Tatum
Category Commons

Misplaced Pages