The Celtics made their ninth-straight trip to the championship finals after beating the Philadelphia 76ers in a highly contested Eastern Division Finals that ended on John Havlicek's steal of the ball.
The Lakers made it to their third Finals in four seasons after beating Baltimore in six games, though it came at a cost as Elgin Baylor suffered a knee injury that would sideline him for the rest of the playoffs.
Celtics win series 4–1 Source:[2] Boston beat the Lakers 112 to 99.
In the closing minutes of the game, ABC cut away to a previously scheduled program.
[citation needed] Source:[2] 5 Barnett | 12 Wiley | 14 Imhoff | 20 Nelson | 21 King | 25 Ellis | 35 LaRusso | 40 McGill | 42 Hazzard | 44 West | Coach Schaus