BOSTON - For years, NBA teams had been hoping to snuff out Red Auerbach's victory cigar. In a tradition that was every bit as inevitable as another Celtics championship, Auerbach would light up a cigar on the bench whenever he felt like the Boston Celtics had assured themselves of another victory. He had been doing it for years, humiliating and angering the other teams in the league, but nobody could do anything about it. Nobody had ever come back to win once the cigar had been lit.
Before the 1965-66 season, Auerbach announced he would retire at the end of the season, effectively teling the rest of teams in the NBA that they had one more shot at him. And while Boston didn't win their division, they still qualified for the playoffs and eased into the NBA finals against the Lakers.
After taking a 3-games-to-1 lead in the series, the Celtics' eighth straight championship seemed like a forgone conclusion. It didn't matter that the Lakers won games 5 and 6 - nobody had ever won a Game 7 in Boston. Game 7 started out following the script, too, with the Celtics jumping out to a big lead as the Lakers' stars struggled from the field. Even when the Lakers started coming back, most people didn't seem too worried.
With the Celtics up by 6 with 20 seconds left, Auerbach lit his last victory cigar, sure his eighth straight title was in the books. But the Lakers weren't done, and they cut the lead to 2 with 4 seconds to play, putting Auerbach's victory cigar in true jeopardy for the first time. Then, inexplicably, the Celtics fans rushed the floor, thinking the championship was over. Celtics center Bill Russell was knocked to the ground, an orange juice bucket on the Celtics bench was knocked over, and officials had to scramble to clear the floor for the final 4 seconds.
When order was restored, the Celtics were able to inbound the ball and dribble out the clock, winning their eighth straight title, a mark that is still a record for American professional sports. And Auerbach's cigar stayed lit.
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