NBA Finals History: The 10 Best NBA Finals series of all time

#8 1974 - Celtics beat the Bucks 4-3

Milwaukee Bucks vs Boston Celtics, 1974 NBA Finals

The Bucks came into the Finals on the back of a league-leading 59-23 record in the regular season, and they rounded it off with an 8-1 record through the first 2 rounds of the playoffs. The Celtics, on the other hand, had to battle past the Buffalo Braves in 6 games, before winning 4-1 against reigning champions the New York Knicks.

The Celtics prevailed in a 98-83 win in Game 1 at the Milwaukee Arena, but the Bucks rode Abdul-Jabbar's stellar 36 point, 15 rebound showing to win Game 2 105-96. The Celtics held serve on their first home game with a 95-83 win on the back of Dave Cowen's 30-point outing, but they ceded the homecourt advantage back to the Bucks in game 4 as Kareem's 34 point, 14 rebound performance steered the Bucks past a stuttering Celtics offense 97-89.

In a decisive game 5, Dave Cowens and an aging John Havlicek netted 28 points each to offset Kareem's 37 point, 11 rebound showing and won by a margin of 96-87. Kareem had no intention of letting the series go in 6, and the Bucks wrested control of the series back in game 6 at the Garden with a clutch 102-101 win, despite Havlicek scoring 36 points.

But the Bucks blew it at home, suffering a blowout game 7 loss at home as 5 players scored in double figures for the Cs, leading to a 102-87 victory. John Havlicek was named the Finals MVP for averaging 26.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.9 steals through the series.