Boston Celtics: The 25 Most Hated Opponents
By Bill Speros
12. Andrew Toney
The sure-handed shooting guard whose footwork rivaled that of Magic Johnson played with Dr. J, Maurice Cheeks and Darryl Dawkins. Yet he was such a prolific scorer against the Celtics, only Toney earned the “Boston Strangler” moniker. The zenith of Celtic hatred toward Toney came in Game 7 of the 1982 Eastern Conference finals. The Celtics had rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the conference finals a year earlier to beat Philly.
In five regular-season games against Boston the following season, Toney shot 54.1 percent, hit 88.9 percent of his free throw and scorched Boston for 25.2 points a game. As it had a year earlier, Boston had pulled even against Philadelphia in the Conference Finals after trailing 3-1. There would no Philly choke job this time. On a warm and sunny Sunday afternoon in May, Toney silenced the would-be raucous Boston Garden crowd by scoring 34 points (14-of-23 shooting) to lift the Sixers to a 120-106 series-clinching win. After the game, the Garden throng paid Philadelphia the ultimate tribute by launching into the famous “Beat LA! Beat LA!” chant.
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