 In the 1968 Eastern Division Finals , the Sixers yet again met the Boston Celtics , again with home court advantage , and this time as reigning champions . Despite the Sixers ' injury woes , coach Hannum was confident to " take the Celtics in less than seven games " : he pointed out the age of the Celtics , who were built around Bill Russell and guard Sam Jones , both 34 . But then , national tragedy struck as Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4 , 1968 . With eight of the ten starting players on the Sixers and Celtics being African @-@ American , both teams were in deep shock , and there were calls to cancel the series . In a game called " unreal " and " devoid of emotion " , the Sixers lost 127 – 118 on April 5 . After attending Dr. King 's funeral , Chamberlain called out to the angry rioters who were setting fires all over the country , stating Dr. King would not have approved . In Game 2 , Philadelphia evened the series with a 115 – 106 victory , and won Games 3 and 4 , with Chamberlain suspiciously often played by Celtics backup center Wayne Embry , causing the press to speculate Russell was worn down . Prior to Game 5 , the Celtics seemed dead : no NBA team had overcome a 3 – 1 series deficit before . However , the Celtics rallied back , winning Games 5 and 6 122 – 104 and 114 – 106 respectively , powered by a spirited John Havlicek and helped by the Sixers ' terrible shooting . 
