#4 Lakers "Celebration" Game 7, Finals 1969

Lakers owner, Jack Cooke anticipated a Game 7 win for his team in 1969 and had the stadium and the band prepared for this occasion. He had not only balloons in the rafters but lots of post-game celebrations pre-planned.

Unfortunately, the Lakers comeback from a slow first quarter start didn't play to their advantage. The Celtics were not only getting points off the bench, but the Lakers also had to play their bench carefully at the end due to fouls and injuries.
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In a nail biting finish, the Lakers went from trailing 103-96 with five minutes remaining to leading 103-102 with two minutes to play. Finally, costly turnovers cost Lakers the game that ended at 108-106.
It was as Russel promised Jerry west, "Those fucking balloons are staying up there."
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