The 1987 Bucks-Celtics playoff clash had everything: Coaching rumors, a gambling scandal, a fan-player altercation and seven dramatic games

In Game 3 of the 1987 Eastern Conference semifinals, Boston big man Kevin McHale turned around on the Celtics bench and grabbed a Milwaukee fan by the necktie. It was not the most explosive fight in the series and probably not the craziest thing that happened during the seven-game tilt between the Bucks and Celtics.

Needless to say, the current series between the Celtics and Bucks has a lot to live up to if it wants to match the madness of the series from 35 years ago, when reigning 1986 champion Boston gutted through injuries and defeated the Bucks in seven games.

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The Celtics were at their star-studded best, led by Larry Bird, Dennis Johnson, Robert Parish, Danny Ainge and McHale. Bill Walton, though injured for most of the series, was coming off the bench. Boston (59-23 in the regular season) eventually reached the NBA Finals and lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.

But Milwaukee (50-23) had its own star power, including Sidney Moncrief, Terry Cummings, Jack Sikma, John Lucas, Ricky Pierce and Paul Pressey, not to mention coach Don Nelson.

What else should you remember from that series?

Everyone knew this would be Don Nelson's last hurrah; the question was where he'd go next

Rumors swirled around Nelson, who had built Milwaukee into a consistent winner but had encountered a falling out with team owner Herb Kohl, and what felt like an imminent departure.

The New York Knicks were a potential match as his next destination. Or Dallas. Or the Los Angeles Clippers. His contract barred him from becoming a coach or director of player personnel anywhere else for two more years, so there was some buzz that he'd join former Bucks owner Jim Fitzgerald with Golden State in the capacity of general manager.

Future Bucks coach George Karl, then the coach of the Warriors, said he'd welcome seeing Nelson join the organization, viewing Nelson as a mentor. That ultimately soured when Nelson indeed joined the Warriors, Golden State worked out compensation for Nelson to become head coach as soon as the 1988-89 season, and he essentially took Karl's place on the sideline.

But it was true; this would be Nelson's last series in Milwaukee, and it came against the team with which he'd won five NBA championships as a player. In fact, his No. 19 jersey hung from the rafters at Boston Garden, where the series would come to an end.

Under Nelson, the Bucks went to three conference finals and nine conference semifinals but never to the NBA Finals.

Kevin McHale was hurt, but he wasn't taking one fan's language lightly

McHale didn't play in Game 1 as he nursed an ankle injury (as well as a stress fracture in his foot) and was gutting through the ailment for most of the series.

In Game 3, McHale fouled out with 24 seconds to go. Thereafter, he confronted a verbally abusive Milwaukee fan, grabbing him by the neck tie, before security swooped in to break it up.

McHale acknowledged afterward that it wasn't the smartest maneuver on his part, but also that the fan had been a problem.

"It's a shame that people think that they pay 25 bucks and can use that kind of language and sit back there and just curse and swear," McHale said. "You're almost defenseless. If someone did that to somebody on the street, they'd beat the crap out of him."

The Bucks won Game 3 in overtime, 126-121, getting 30 points from midseason acquisition John Lucas to pull Milwaukee within 2-1 in the series.

A gambling/drug scandal pops up in the middle of it all

That wasn't even the strangest part of Game 3.

A report citing grand jury testimony also surfaced saying that former Phoenix Suns guard Johnny High and others had implicated several NBA players for various sins, including Celtics guard Dennis Johnson (accused of drug use) and Bucks players Jack Sikma and Paul Mokeski (accused of of giving a Phoenix nightclub manager winning betting advice before a game in February).

The players denied all of it, including Mokeski in a tearful interview before practice. The NBA interviewed Bucks players and staff and came away satisfied that there was no wrongdoing. High, who publicly denied that he implicated Johnson, died in an auto accident just a month later.

There was actual basketball too, including two games that went to overtime

Game 3 and Game 4 were thrillers at the Arena in Milwaukee.

In the former (that 126-121 win), a Pierce jumper with 1:16 left in overtime put the Bucks ahead for good. Pierce, the NBA's sixth man of the year that season, and Moncrief hit key free throws in the final 18 seconds, and Lucas scored 12 of his 30 in the second half.

Lucas, the former No. 1 overall pick out of Maryland, was seen as a risky signing coming off a series of drug suspensions. But Lucas, who eventually became an NBA head coach and mentor to those enduring addiction, averaged 17.5 points per game in that half-season with Milwaukee and was a key figure in the playoffs.

Sikma threw away an inbound pass in the final seconds of regulation, and Bird found Parish for a tying layup with 7 seconds left. Pressey then collided with Bird on the quick follow-up inbound, but no foul was called, mirroring a situation in Game 2 (we'll get to that one).

Game 4 went to Boston in double overtime, 138-137, a contest featuring 26 lead changes and a big performance from third-year pro Darren Daye, who'd played just 16 combined minutes in the first three playoff games. He scored the final four points in the second overtime, including two clinching free throws after an offensive board, after Parish had fouled out. Cummings lost a pass from Lucas off his shoulder, leading into a rushed final shot by Lucas as the final buzzer sounded. Milwaukee's deficit in the series was 3-1, and most people thought it was over.

The whistles (or lack thereof) around Paul Pressey were massive

Pressey, whom many identify as "the original point forward" in Nelson's system, played a key role in the series.

In Game 2 (a 126-124 Boston win), Johnson was fouled by Sikma with 29 seconds left and made two go-ahead free throws. Pressey tried the same driving move with 10 seconds left, but neither Bird nor Parish was whistled for a foul when there was contact.

"I got fouled," Pressey said. "That's a play where you get a basket or a foul 85 to 90 percent of the time. But I don't make the calls. Maybe the official was out of position."

In Game 7, Pressey fouled out with 3:30 to go, which proved to be a significant turning point in the deciding game. Pressey finished Game 7 with 28 points and six assists, but the biggest loss was his defense on Bird.

"We were right there until we lost him," Nelson said of the 119-113 loss in Game 7. "The most important matchup problem we had was defending Bird. Sidney Moncrief was our man when Paul went out, but Larry's just too big for Sid."

Bird scored next six points as a late lead for the Bucks evaporated.

The Sidney Moncrief renaissance included a literal takedown of Danny Ainge

For the first time in his career, Moncrief was truly limited by injuries. He played in only 39 games in the regular season with bad knees after missing no more than nine games in any of his previous seven seasons. When he did play, his production was way down, to 11.8 points and 25.4 minutes per game.

But in the playoffs, Sid was back, big time.

Moncrief scored 33 points in 38 minutes in Game 5 while Cummings struggled with his shot, and Cummings then scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to help the Bucks rally for a 129-124 win, including the go ahead basket with 54 seconds left.

"Going into the playoffs, we didn't think he'd be having games like that," Nelson said of Moncrief. "But he's been getting better and better. This is the Sid we were used to every night. Now you know why the Bucks have been so good for so many years. Sid has been the heart and soul of this team since I've been here."

In Game 6, he was even better, scoring 34 points in 39 minutes with six rebounds and four assists. It was the second straight game Moncrief set a new personal-best playoff high for scoring.

But it gets better. In the second quarter, Moncrief went up for a layup and drew a hard foul on Danny Ainge, who essentially landed on Moncrief's shoulders.

Moncrief gathered himself, grabbed Ainge with a single-leg takedown and threw him to the floor, employing a technique described perfectly by Mary Schmitt of the Milwaukee Journal: "...took him down on his back in the kind of strong, swift motion that earns guys wrestling scholarships to the University of Iowa."

Both players were assessed "fighting fouls" that didn't count against their personal foul count, and both kept playing. In fact, Moncrief got to shoot free throws on account of the initial foul.

Ainge, who scored 30 points in Game 2, was already a villain to Bucks fans. Nelson had called him a "cheap-shot artist" during the 1983 playoff tilt between the two franchises.

The Bucks forced Game 7 back at Boston with a 121-111 win.

Game 7 day was depressing — for both the Bucks and Brewers

Boston scored a 119-113 win in Game 7, despite the Bucks leading with 110-103 5:23 left. Ainge left the game with an knee sprain with 4:46 to go, and the Celtics were still hobbled as Parish and McHale nursed ankle issues.

The Celtics still outrebounded the Bucks, 57-27, and when Johnson deflected a rebound off Sikma out of bounds with the Bucks trailing, 117-113, with 1:08 to go, it felt over.

Ainge was able to play in four games in the Eastern Conference finals against Detroit and played a huge role, with nine points in the final 3:05 to help Boston win Game 7 of that series, 117-114. He played in all six games of the series loss to the Lakers.

Then, there's the insult to injury. The same day the Bucks were eliminated and Nelson coached his final game with the Bucks, the 1987 Brewers incurred their 11th straight loss to set a new franchise-record losing streak. They'd go on to lose a 12th straight, pairing with the 13 straight victories to start the year to make "Team Streak" a thing.

JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bucks-Celtics 1987 playoff clash featured fan altercation, scandal