The 1988 Series That Changed Everything For Larry Bird's Celtics

Was this the last time the Celtics' Big Three looked like the Big Three? Nick Gelso breaks down the 1988 first-round series between the top-seeded Boston Celtics (57-25) and the eighth-seeded New York Knicks (38-44), the first chapter of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish's last real run at a title.

Game by game, with the archival tapes and the box scores: Bird's 113 points in four games, McHale's 97, Parish's 13.5 points and 11.5 rebounds a night, Johnny Newman's 34-point Game 3 for the Knicks and Patrick Ewing's 20 rebounds in the Game 4 clincher. Plus Rick Pitino's first playoff run as an NBA head coach and Don Nelson on the call.

The series (Basketball-Reference): Game 1, April 29, Boston Garden: Celtics 112, Knicks 92. Game 2, May 1, Boston Garden: Celtics 128, Knicks 102. Game 3, May 4, Madison Square Garden: Knicks 109, Celtics 100. Game 4, May 6, Madison Square Garden: Celtics 102, Knicks 94. Boston wins the best-of-five series 3-1.

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0:00 Coming Up: The Original Big Three
0:21 Welcome to the 1988 NBA Playoffs
0:52 Why I Picked This Series
1:35 What to Look For: Pitino, Don Nelson & the Garden
2:42 Setting the Stage: Bird’s Standing Ovation
3:37 The Big Three’s 1987-88 Season
4:27 The Knicks: Pitino, Ewing & the 8 Seed
4:51 Game 1: Celtics 112, Knicks 92
5:35 Game 2: Celtics 128, Knicks 102
6:47 Game 3: Knicks 109, Celtics 100
8:21 Game 4: Celtics 102, Knicks 94
10:03 What the Big Three Did: Series Numbers
10:55 Was This the Last Time the Big Three Looked Like the Big Three?
11:20 PrizePicks
12:40 What’s Next: Hawks, Pistons & the 1990 Knicks Rematch

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