Larry Bird felt the Celtics would win it all in 1987 after dropping 43 points vs. Blazers

Considering the Boston Celtics were coming off an NBA title conquest in 1986, expectations were higher when the following season started. Defending the crown and hopefully making it back-to-back title wins was within reach, but they needed to play well for the team to achieve that.

Boston showed signs of that at one point in the 1986-87 season. Coming off an eight-game road trip in which they won six of their eight games, the Celtics' confidence was at an all-time high. Toward the tail-end of that stretch, they won three straight and kept the momentum going in two home games.

Riding the momentum

They defeated the New Jersey Nets, 116-103, on February 23 and the Portland Trail Blazer, 122-116, on February 25. In that game against the Blazers, Larry Bird scorched the hoop with 43 points. With Boston streaking, the Indiana State product declared that Boston would be the team to beat for the 1987 NBA trophy at the time.

"It brought us together as a club and we feel we're still the team to beat," Bird said after that win over the Trail Blazers via UPI .

Bird was not the only one getting the job done for the Cs. Kevin McHale and Robert Parish also made up a daunting frontline that would be tough to deal with for any opposing team. Double-teaming Bird would give either McHale or Parish more room to operate, so opposing teams found it challenging to match up with them.

Cruising towards playoffs

The Celtics became the best team in the Eastern Conference that year. They racked up a 59-23 win-loss record to assure themselves home-court advantage throughout the EC side of the playoffs.

After easily disposing of the Chicago Bulls in the first round, other East teams gave Boston quite a battle. The Celtics had to scrap past a stubborn Milwaukee Bucks team in seven games. Things didn't get easier in the EC Finals, with the Detroit Pistons pushing them to the limit in another 7-game series.

Regardless, their objective of reaching the NBA Finals was accomplished. Unfortunately, Bird and company needed to contend with another equally challenging team in their archrival, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Bird continued to fight in the final, but falling behind 3-1 in the series proved too much for the defending champs. The pivotal Game 4, in which Magic Johnson lifted the purple and gold with a game-winning hook shot , turned out to be the pivotal turning point of that series.

The Celtics returned to LA in Game 5 to come within a game of tying the series. However, the Lakers proved to be too much for the Celtics, with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson leading the way. KAJ finished with 32 points and 6 rebounds, while Johnson added 16 markers and 19 assists, handing the Lakers their 10th NBA title that year.

Related: "That's not why I play" - When Larry Bird denied himself a historical feat because he always focused on winning never on stats