Belt game 3,080 · May 12, 1981 · playoffs
Boston Celtics take the belt
Boston Celtics beat Houston Rockets 109–80 at home to start reign 1,386 of the NBA belt, the 178th for the franchise.
Houston Rockets had held it since May 10, 1981, with 0 defenses over 2 days.
Boston Celtics held it for 172 days and 2 defenses, then lost it to Milwaukee Bucks on October 31, 1981.
1,386Reign number
178Team's reign
2Defenses
172Days held
Box score
Houston Rockets
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG | 3P | FT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moses Malone | 41 | 20 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7-14 | 0-0 | 6-10 |
| Allen Leavell | 24 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3-10 | 0-0 | 4-5 |
| Billy Paultz | 31 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5-12 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Robert Reid | 38 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3-11 | 0-0 | 3-4 |
| Major Jones | 13 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3-6 | 0-0 | 1-3 |
| Tom Henderson | 29 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3-8 | 0-0 | 1-3 |
| Mike Dunleavy | 14 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1-5 | 0-1 | 3-4 |
| Calvin Murphy | 12 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Bill Willoughby | 17 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1-7 | 0-0 | 2-4 |
| Calvin Garrett | 12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Rudy Tomjanovich | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Boston Celtics
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG | 3P | FT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cedric Maxwell | 39 | 28 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10-13 | 0-0 | 8-10 |
| Robert Parish | 36 | 18 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6-14 | 0-0 | 6-8 |
| Rick Robey | 12 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5-7 | 0-0 | 4-4 |
| Larry Bird | 38 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 5-16 | 0-0 | 2-2 |
| M.L. Carr | 17 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3-6 | 0-0 | 5-6 |
| Chris Ford | 29 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4-8 | 0-1 | 0-0 |
| Nate Archibald | 28 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3-11 | 0-2 | 0-0 |
| Kevin McHale | 15 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2-8 | 0-0 | 0-2 |
| Terry Duerod | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Eric Fernsten | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 2-3 |
| Gerald Henderson | 20 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Player box scores: Historical NBA Data and Player Box Scores by Eoin Moore (CC0).