On April 28, 1990, the Boston Celtics made NBA playoff history, setting a record that has remained untouched for almost 33 years.
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In their 157-128 victory over the New York Knicks in the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, the Celtics set the record for the most points scored by a team in an NBA playoff game.
Leading scorers
- Celtics’ center/power forward Kevin McHale led all scorers with 31 points. He shot 12 of 15 from the field and made all seven of his free throw attempts.
- Knicks’ center Patrick Ewing led the Knicks with 28 points. He made 11 of 18 field goal attempts.
- Other notable performers included Boston’s Reggie Lewis (21 points) and Robert Parish (18 points and 16 rebounds), and New York’s Gerald Wilkins (24 points).
Notable team stats
- The Celtics made 67 of 94 shot attempts (67%), while the Knicks made 51 of 100 shot attempts (51%).
- The Knicks outshot the Celtics from 3-point range, connecting on 3 of 11 attempts. The Celtics made just one of six 3-point tries.
- Boston was elite at the free throw line, making 30 of 33 attempts (91%).
On the wrong side of history. Twice
- New York starter Kiki VanDeWeghe earned an unfortunate place in NBA history in the Knicks’ loss. With the loss to the Celtics, he became part of the losing side of two historic points-scored games. He was also on the losing side of a 1983 contest that saw the Detroit Pistons score 186 points in a regular season game, the most points scored by a team in any NBA game ever.