1981 Boston Celtics, East finals, Philadelphia 76ers: Always a bitter rivalry, this was another case of familiarity breeding contempt as the teams met in the conference finals four times in a five-year stretch. The prize this time was almost certainly an NBA championship as the West finals had Houston playing Kansas City, a pair of below-.500 teams.
The 76ers won Game 1 in Boston by one point and Game 4 in Philadelphia by two points, with Bobby Jones saving the game by racing back on defense to intercept a pass intended for Larry Bird. Philadelphia led by six points with less than two minutes to play in Game 5 in Boston, and Sixers GM Pat Williams was accepting congratulatory handshakes while the Celtics were staging a rally to steal a 111-109 win.
In the third quarter of Game 6 in Philadelphia, Celtics forward Cedric Maxwell was bumped into the stands and ended up tackling a fan who threw something at him. He also took a beer dousing in the fourth quarter, but all that did was fire up his team, which rallied from a 17-point deficit for a 100-98 win. Maxwell wasn’t even fined, let alone suspended.
Game 7 was back in Boston, and again, the Sixers held a late lead only to watch the Celtics rally for a narrow win. This time, Philadelphia led, 89-81, with less than five minutes to play but Bird capped a 10-0 burst with a running banker for the lead. Maurice Cheeks had a chance to tie it but split a pair of free throws, leaving the Sixers one point short. The Celtics won the last three games by a combined five points and went on to take the title, beating Houston.