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Cowens’ improved his scoring average to 18.8 points per game during his
second season, and the new-look Celtics finished first in
 the Atlantic
Division with a 56-26 record. With John Havlicek (27.5 ppg), Jo Jo White
(23.1 ppg) and Cowens at their best, the Celtics rolled past the Atlanta
Hawks and into an Eastern Conference Finals showdown with the New York
Knicks. The matchup quickly became a mismatch, as New York proved too deep
and too talented for a Boston team that relied so heavily on its three
stars. The 4-1 drubbing confirmed that there was much work to be done.
Auerbach’s offseason acquisition of Paul Silas proved to be another stroke
of genius. The fast-breaking Celtics rampaged to a franchise-best 68-14
record, tops in the NBA, as Cowens upped his game to yet another level.
Posting career-highs in scoring (25.5 ppg) and rebounding (16.2 rpg), the
player once shunned by Adolph Rupp captured the All-Star Game MVP award en
route to playing 41.8 minutes per night and being named the NBA’s Most
Valuable Player – joining legends Bill Russell and Bob Cousy as the only
Celtics so honored.
But
those who know Cowens know how little those accomplishments mean when
compared to winning championships. With an Eastern Conference Finals
rematch looming with the New York Knicks, Cowens was determined to make
amends for the previous season’s heartbreak. The series, however, started
ominously; an injured John Havlicek stripped the team of its leading scorer,
and head coach Tommy Heinsohn struggled to match the Knicks’ depth. Boston
fell into a 3-1 hole, putting them on the brink of elimination. Led by
Cowens, the Celtics stormed back to tie the series and send a
winner-take-all game back fabled Boston Garden.
Heinsohn’s controversial decision to start Havlicek in Game 7 has been
debated ad nauseam throughout the years, but one thing is certain; any
cohesiveness built during the previous two games failed to materialize when
it mattered most. The Knicks took Game 7, 94-78, sending Cowens and his
running mates to yet another disappointing offseason.
Despite a second consecutive playoff ouster at the hands of the Knicks,
Auerbach decided that the nucleus of the team was good enough to win a
championship. He had Cowens, Havlicek and White at the core, augmented by
such key talent as Paul Silas, Don Nelson, Don Chaney and Paul Westphal. It
was an effective blend of youth and veteran leadership, of superstars and
role players. Cowens returned to the 1973-74 Boston Celtics with a
vengeance, posting averages of 19.0 points, 15.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists,
leading Boston to a 56-26 record and the top spot in the Atlantic Division.
Defeating the Buffalo Braves 4-2 set up a third Eastern Conference Finals
tilt with the Knicks, and this time Cowens and the Celtics played solid
basketball from the opening tip. New York was a proud squad, but it was
also aging and injured. Boston was hungry and motivated. The result: A
4-1 series domination that exorcised two years worth of playoff demons, and
secured the team’s first trip to the NBA Finals since Russell’s retirement
following the 1969 season.
Awaiting the Celtics were the Milwaukee Bucks, who boasted an aging star in
Oscar Robertson and a young phenom in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It was an
instant classic, going the full seven games and overrun with drama. Neither
team, it seemed, could maintain homecourt advantage; Boston wrested it away
from the Bucks by winning Game 1 in Milwaukee, only to give it back by
dropping Game 3 in the Garden. With the Celtics up 3-2 and looking to close
out the championship at home, an Abdul-Jabbar sky-hook in double-overtime
gave the Bucks new life and forced a Game 7.
Back
in Milwaukee, playing for the championship before a hostile crowd, Dave
Cowens prepared for the game of his life. The Bucks defensive strategy was
built around hounding Havlicek and slowing Jo Jo White, gambling that
Jabbar’s length would negate the undersized Cowens. Two seasons earlier
this might have been a sound plan, but such a blueprint in these Finals
proved fraught with danger. Cowens’ versatility allowed him to roam free on
offense, operating away from the basket and drawing Jabbar out of his
comfort zone. Defensively, Cowens’ would not be denied; he crashed the
boards with a relentless zeal, helping to wear down a Bucks team still
fatigued from its Game 6 miracle. In the finale Dave Cowens delivered 28
points and 14 rebounds, leading Boston to a 15-point victory (102-87).
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