NBA FINALS, 1976: GAME 5 {BOSTON CELTICS VS. PHOENIX SUNS} (TV)
Summary
Live coverage of Game Five of the 1976 NBA Finals between the Phoenix Suns and the Boston Celtics. Brent Musberger and Rick Barry call the action, with occasional supplemental commentary from Sonny Hill and Mendy Rudolph, from courtside seats at Boston Garden. As the program opens, Musberger goes over the trajectory of the series thus far; he explains that since the Celtics won the first two games and the Suns won the following two games, the team that wins tonight is in the best position to win the championship. The game opens with what the commentators view as a surprisingly physical first quarter; several minor fights erupt between players. The Celtics take a thirty-six-to-eighteen lead at the end of the first quarter and continue dominating through the second quarter. At halftime, the Celtics lead the Suns sixty-one to forty-five. The halftime segment consists of an update on the Belmont Stakes horse race from CBS Sports correspondent Jack Whitaker, as well as a brief special titled "Red Auerbach on Roundball," which focuses on the various passing techniques used during an offensive play. The Celtics continue to dominate the game throughout the third quarter; they are ahead eighty-three to seventy-four at the end of the period. Despite this healthy lead, the Celtics begin to loosen their grip on the game in the fourth quarter when a number of players find themselves in foul trouble. The fourth quarter ends when the Suns tie the score at ninety-five, sending the game into overtime. The tie has sent them into overtime, and after a brief explanation from announcer Musberger, the overtime period begins. At the end of the overtime period, the teams are still tied, but at 101 points. They go into a double overtime period and keep the contest incredibly close, down to the last few seconds. When it appears as if the Celtics have won the game, with a lead of 111 to 110 and two seconds left on the clock, pandemonium grips the stadium. Celtics fans pour onto the court, littering the floor and attempting to cut the nets off the hoops. One fan assaults referee Ritchie Powers and is detained by the police. The police finally restore order, but there is still some confusion both on the court and with the filming of the game. Once the game is rejoined in a third overtime period, it becomes clear that the referee had played out the last two seconds of the second overtime period, when the Suns scored to send the game into triple overtime. The Celtics pull ahead in the third overtime period to win the game, 128 to 126, ending what Musberger calls "the most incredible game in the history of the NBA." Includes promo. Commercials deleted.
Cataloging of this program was made possible by the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: June 4, 1976 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 3:02:25
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:54427
- GENRE: Sports; Specials
- SUBJECT HEADING: Basketball; Sports
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV, 1976
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Promos - "CBS Sports Presents Muhammed Ali vs. Gorilla Monsoon"
CREDITS
- E.S. Lamoreaux III … Executive Producer
- Charles H. Milton III … Producer
- Sandy Grossman … Director
- Brent Musberger … Announcer
- Rick Barry … Announcer
- Sonny Hill … Commentator
- Mendy Rudolph … Commentator
- Jack Whitaker … Commentator
- Red Auerbach … Host, For "Red Auerbach on Roundball" (halftime segment)
- Ritchie Powers
- The Boston Celtics
- The Phoenix Suns