Throwback Thursday: Cavaliers-Celtics in ’92

With the Cleveland Cavaliers playing the Boston Celtics tonight, I figured why not throw it back to a great series between the two teams in the 1992 Eastern Conference Semi’s?

A younger generation of Cavs fans may not know much about the teams from the mid-80’s/early 90’s. They were a lot of fun to watch, and I’ve heard so many great stories about those years in the old Richfield Coliseum.

This particular series was about the Cavs getting back to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since the Miracle at Richfield campaign in 1976.

In the process, it was all about point guard Mark Price and the Cavs three bigs in Brad Daugherty, Larry Nance, and John “Hot Rod” Williams.

This group had great chemistry, and they were all unselfish. The Cavs were a very balanced team in general, with a nice mix of starters and bench contributors.

The first game of the series was a blowout Game 1 win at home, and then the Celtics tied it up in Game 2 before heading back to Boston. The two venues were electric over the course these seven games.

The two games were great in the historic Boston Garden. Here are some highlights of the duel in  Game 3, in which the Celtics won behind the hot shooting of Reggie Lewis.

The tables were then turned in Game 4, in large part due to Nance’s 32-point performance. The key guy in this seven-game series for Cleveland was the Cavs center, though.

Daugherty led the team in points and rebounding in the series. That was commonplace in his time in a Cleveland uniform.

He was a precursor to bigs in today’s league. He was a great passer, and always was a threat with that mid-range J. That was definitely on display in this series.

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He got the better of the Celtics bigs, including the likes of Boston great Robert Parish.

The last three games were not as close, with the Cavs taking a 3-2 series lead after a home triumph in Game 5 from a clutch performance from guard Craig Ehlo.

Many people remember Ehlo because of “The Shot,” but he really was a big-time player for the Cavs as a defensive stopper and timely shooter. Game 6 was not a great one for the Cavs, however.

Boston got two nice performances from Celtics legends Larry Bird and Kevin McHale. That’s understandable, considering it was Bird’s last game in the Garden.

It all set up a very memorable 122-104 Game 7 win in the Coliseum. The Cavs showed up and showed out in that one, with all five starters getting double-figures.

The sixth man was huge in this one, too. Williams really ignited the Cavs with his 20 points off the bench.

He was one of the more memorable players to watch in this era of Cleveland basketball. This a nice tribute video from the NBA on “Hot Rod,” the former Energy Bunny for the Cavs.

Williams recenty passed from a bout with prostate cancer, but his energy and high-flying dunks will live on forever within this Cavs franchise. RIP Hot Rod, and let’s hope the Cavs get that dub over the C’s again tonight.