Bill Russell famously once said: “The two greatest words in sports are ‘Game 7.’”
With the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder soon tipping off a Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals tonight, I thought it would be the perfect time to reminisce on some of the best Game 7’s in Celtics history. You can go into any era of Celtics history and find an all-time performance when the lights are at their brightest.
Russell was undefeated in his career in Game 7’s with a perfect 10-0 record with five
of those wins coming in the NBA Finals. The Boston Celtics as a franchise have played the most Game 7’s in NBA History at 38, the most recent a month ago when they lost to the Philadelphia 76ers. Despite this season, Boston has been pretty great in these do-or-die contests historically with a 27-11 record.
1957 NBA Finals: Hawks vs. Celtics
The first Game 7 played in both NBA and Celtics franchise history came in the 1957 NBA Finals when they faced off against the St. Louis Hawks on April 13th, 1957. With under a minute to go in the game, Bill Russell made a basket to tie it up and blocked the Hawks attempt to take the lead and eventually force overtime.
With the game still tied at the end of the first overtime, Bill Sharman had a chance to give the Celtics the win, but his jumper rimmed out and they headed for a second overtime. In the second overtime, Boston had a two-point lead with 2 seconds left and St. Louis had possession. They drew up a play for Bob Pettit who had 39 points up to that point, but both of his game tying attempts missed, giving the Boston Celtics a 125-123 win and their first NBA championship.
The 1957 Rookie of the Year Tom Heinsohn was remarkable in this game and carried the offense for Boston with 37 points and 23 rebounds on 17-33 shooting in 45 minutes played. Russell, also a rookie, finished with 19 points and 32 rebounds in 54 minutes. In later years, Heinsohn would call it the best game ever played which is high praise given that he was the Celtics coach during Game 5 of the 1976 NBA Finals in what was deemed “The Greatest Game Ever Played.”
1965 Eastern Division Finals: 76ers vs. Celtics
The 1965 Eastern Conference Finals was the definition of a back and forth series where both the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics traded victories going into Game 7. This was a battle of the big men as Wilt Chamberlain was trying to take down Bill Russell for the first time in his career. Wilt would have 30 points and 32 rebounds while Russell had 15 points and 29 rebounds. Sam Jones led the way for Boston with 37 points, but it was John Havlicek who was the hero of this Game 7.
In the final seconds of the game after Russell threw the ball out of bounds on an inbound play, the 76ers had the ball with the Celtics leading 110-109. Hal Greer went to inbound the ball for Philadelphia and when he threw it in play, John Havlicek intercepted it and Jones dribbled out the clock to propel Boston to collect their seventh straight NBA championship. This game will be remembered most for the iconic radio call from Johnny Most as he exclaimed in excitement: “Havlicek stole the ball! Havlicek stole the ball!”
1981 Eastern Conference Finals: 76ers vs. Celtics
In an inverse of the 2026 series between the Celtics and 76ers, Philadelphia jumped out to a quick 3-1 series lead over Boston in the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics were able to battle back into the series behind two huge games by Larry Bird to force a Game 7 back in the Boston Garden on May 3rd, 1981.
This game started with Boston trailing by 7 points at halftime, but this didn’t deter them as they were able to tie it up late in the fourth quarter. Boston’s defense would swarm Philadelphia in the paint and that led to Larry Bird hitting a huge bank shot to give the Celtics a 91-89 lead with 1:03 left in the game. With 29 seconds left, Maurice Cheeks would have a chance to tie the game at the free throw line, but he missed the first and the 76ers couldn’t get a last second shot off. Boston would win 91-90 and go on to the NBA Finals where they defeated the Houston Rockets for their 14th title.
1984 NBA Finals: Lakers vs. Celtics
Out of all the Game 7s on this list, the matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics in the 1984 NBA Finals might be the biggest of them all. The best rivalry in basketball history, the clash of the titans between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, all culminating in their first head-to-head Finals matchup. This series started with the Lakers stealing home court from Boston in Game 1, but the Celtics would bounce back to take a 3-2 series lead going into Game 6. Los Angeles won Game 6 at home, setting up winner-take-all battle in Game 7 back in Boston on June 12th, 1984.
Boston took the early advantage in this game, leading by 6 points at halftime, but the third quarter saw them start to pull away. They outscored the Lakers 33-26 and took a 91-78 lead going into the fourth quarter. Los Angeles didn’t roll over; they locked in defensively and held the Celtics to only 20 points in the final frame and cutting Boston’s lead to three points on a James Worthy jumper with 1:14 to go in the game. This would be the Lakers final basket of the game as the Celtics rattled off a 9-0 run to put the game out of reach and earn Boston their 15th championship.
2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals: Cavaliers vs. Celtics
Jumping ahead to 2008, this was the first playoff series that LeBron James would face the Celtics as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Boston was powered by their Big 3 of Paul Pierce, Keven Garnett, and Ray Allen and they were giving the 23 year-old James fits throughout this entire series. The Cavaliers were able to play some strong defense to support James, and after they beat the Celtics in Game 6, they were in for a fight in Game 7 back in TD Garden on May 18th, 2008.
Game 7 saw an all-time duel between LeBron James and Paul Pierce who decided that they were going to be the one who sent their team to the Eastern Conference Finals. James scored 45 points on 14-29 shooting and was dominating Boston for most of the game and made it a one-point game with 2:20 left in the fourth quarter.
However, the Celtics did not let up in this game as PJ Brown hit a clutch midrange jumper with 1:21 to go make a three-point game. After that Pierce took over, playing elite defense on James on every possession. He hit two clutch free throws to finish the game with 41 points. Boston would go on to beat the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals and the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals to claim their 17th championship.
2017 Eastern Conference Semifinals: Wizards vs. Celtics
The 2017 Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup between the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards is one of my all time favorite series. Every game saw both teams battle tooth and nail, being led by two All-Star point guards in Isaiah Thomas and John Wall. Thomas made his impact felt in Game 2 when he scored 53 points on his sister’s birthday who he tragically lost at the beginning of these playoffs to give Boston a 2-0 advantage in the series. Wall would make his impact in a win or go home Game 6 for the Wizards where he hit a game-winning three to help bring Washington to a Game 7 in TD Garden on May 15th, 2017.
The first half saw both teams keep the game close with Washington taking a 55-53 into halftime. Bradley Beal went off for Washington, dropping 38 points on the night and the Wizards would open up their biggest lead of the game at 6 points midway through the third quarter. However, the Celtics would respond with a 9-0 run at the end of the quarter to take a 85-79 lead going into the fourth. Once the fourth quarter started, Kelly Olynyk became a folk hero in the city of Boston forever. He exploded for 14 points in the quarter and finished with 26 points on 10-14 shooting to lead the Celtics to a 115-105 win and a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.
2022 Eastern Conference Semifinals: Bucks vs. Celtics
On the five year anniversary of the game Kelly Olynyk knocked out the Wizards in the 2017 Eastern Conference Semifinals, another unlikely role player would have his own special moment in a Game 7. After a heartbreaking Game 5 loss at home to the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2022 Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Celtics were down 3-2 going back on the road. Jayson Tatum would put up a heroic 46 point Game 6 performance, setting the stage for Game 7 on May 15th, 2022.
The Bucks shot out to an early 10-point lead towards the end of the first quarter but that was before the Celtics started to pull away thanks to the help of Grant Williams having the game of his life. Williams would finish with 27 points on 10-22 shooting from the field and 7-18 shooting from three. Boston would ride the hot hand of Grant Williams to a dominant 109-81 victory and use this series as a stepping stone to eventually making the 2022 NBA Finals. Williams put out a video on his Instagram reminiscing on this game and said, “These were such cool moments to look back to because it shows that you had some type of defining moment in your career.”
2023 Eastern Conference Semifinals: 76ers vs. Celtics
Not only is the final Game 7 in this article the most recent victory for the Celtics, but it is also my all time favorite performance. A year after Grant Williams’ heroics, the Celtics found themselves experiencing deja vu in the playoffs once again. Down 3-2 in the series going on the road in the 2023 Eastern Conference Semifinals, this time against the Philadelphia 76ers. Jayson Tatum once again came up big in Game 6 on the road and this time was going to make his mark on Game 7 in TD Garden on May 14th, 2023.
The similarities continued into Game 7, where the 76ers took a 6-point lead at the end of the first quarter, but Jayson Tatum had 11 points for the Celtics. Once the second quarter hit, Tatum continued his hot shooting first half with 14 points in the second quarter and Boston had a 55-52 lead at the half. Boston would leave Philadelphia in the dust in the second half, led by Jayson Tatum dropping an NBA Game 7 record with 51 points on 17-28 shooting from the field and 6-10 shooting from three and the Celtics would win 112-88 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
