40 years later, ‘Beat L.A.’ chants in Boston still resonate with Sixers legends: ‘I can’t believe it’

No one saw it coming. In fact, no one has seen it since, which is what makes the moment all the more remarkable.

An epic Eastern Conference finals between the 76ers and Boston Celtics, two fierce, longtime rivals, began with a 40-point thrashing by the home team Celtics and was winding down with that same team set to go down for the count.

With the outcome decided, the Sixers started to celebrate their eventual 120-106 Game 7 win over the Celtics. And then an improbable chant started to reverberate throughout venerable Boston Garden: “Beat L.A.! Beat L.A.! Beat L.A.!”

Celtics fans had come to the realization it would be the Sixers taking on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers, who’d already clinched their spot in the NBA Finals. Now those same fans who had taunted Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney & Co. throughout the series were throwing their support behind them.

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Forty years later, that moment remains indelibly etched in the minds of everyone who witnessed it.

“That was special,” said Sixers’ coach Billy Cunningham, whose club was in the process of averting the ignominy of blowing a 3-1 series lead to the men in green for the second straight year. “Initially, you‘re wondering, ‘What are they saying?’

“And then when you realized it, you think, ‘I can’t believe it.’”

The Celtics could. Even after coach Bill Fitch and his staff rallied the troops to square the series following the Sixers’ three straight wins, which were railed off in response to a 121-81 embarrassment in the opener.

“I think that was so cool,” said Cedric “Cornbread” Maxwell, a former Celtics forward who spent the past 28 years as their TV and radio analyst. “You talk about being respectful.

“The fans were saying, ‘It was a great series. We lost, it’s time to move on. We wish the Celtics won.’ It was the respect Boston had for the 76ers and Julius Erving.”

Coupled with their disdain for the “Showtime” Lakers.

“It told me the fans feel the same way we did about the ‘Fakers,’” said Robert Parish, the Celtics 7-foot-1 center. “That’s what we used to call them.

“They felt if the Celtics were not in position to defeat the Lakers, the next best thing was the 76ers. That was my take on it. They did not want the Lakers winning the championship.”

Alas, those wishes were spoiled when L.A. knocked off the new East champs in six games, with the Sixers simply unable to contain Kareem in the post. That set the stage for the acquisition of Moses Malone that offseason, and with his presence in the post the Sixers finally reached the Promised Land with a four-game sweep of those same Lakers in ‘83.

But it’s entirely possible if not for what took place May 23, 1982, none of that would’ve happened. If not for Toney going off for 34 points while Dr. J poured in 29, owner Harold Katz might’ve broken up that team rather than simply find a way to add Moses, the missing piece.

It was the culmination of a series that had a bit of everything, starting with the Sixers — having taken out the Hawks, then outlasting the Bucks in six games — simply not being ready for what they faced at the Garden two days later in Game 1.

“We were stretched by Milwaukee,” recalled Mike Bantom, the former Roman Catholic and St. Joseph’s star who’d been acquired from Indiana. “We flew from Milwaukee to Boston and played on a Sunday and they jumped all over us.

“But we won Game 2.”

According to Maxwell, that’s because the Celtics foolishly tried to pile on late in Game 1.

“We were beating them handily,” recalled Maxwell. “Then all of a sudden, we decided to call timeout and run an alley-oop for one of our subs, Charles Bradley, who dunked it.

“Billy Cunningham called a timeout. He felt we were rubbing salt in their wounds and took it personally. They say don’t mess with a sleeping giant. That was a mistake on our part and probably woke them up.”

Indeed, the Sixers climbed off the deck to even the series, 121-113, behind Toney’s 30, then pulled out a 99-97 Game 3 win at the Spectrum, followed by a 119-94 romp in Game 4.

But with a chance to finish off Boston in the Garden, this time the Celtics came to life in a 114-85 blowout. That immediately brought back memories of the year before when, in the exact same situation, Philadelphia had squandered a similar 3-1 series lead. Back then, not only did the Sixers drop Game 5, but they also fell in Games 6 and 7, holding the lead late in the finale before falling apart down the stretch.

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A year later, with Game 5 in the books, Celtic fans were singing a different tune.

“When we left after Game 5, they were rocking the bus, screaming at us. ‘We’ll see you next week.’” said Bantom, who came off the bench to defend Larry Bird and Kevin McHale. “We’re laughing, ‘No, you won’t because we’re not coming back there.’’’

Bantom was wrong. The Celtics followed up their Game 5 win by holding the Sixers to just 35.1% shooting to even the series with a 88-75 win.

“What I remember was Celtics fans during Game 5 chanting, ‘See you Sunday,’” Maxwell said.

“We played on a Wednesday and were going to Philly to play on Friday. We won there and came home and they’re chanting. ‘Today is Sunday!’ And then we peed the bed.”

That’s in part because the Sixers came out with an entirely different mindset.

“We had a team meeting before that game and Mike Bantom made a comment,” Bobby Jones said. “He said, ‘The thing that really irks me is I don’t think the Celtics respect us.’ He said we needed to be more physical.”

Bantom, who had kept a low profile since the trade to his hometown team, wasn’t even sure he’d been heard.

“I remember at the end of the Game 6, McHale and Cedric were all laughing and celebrating,” said Bantom, who spent 30 years working for the NBA in a variety of positions.

“So when we got to Game 6 and they beat us, all we heard was, ‘Here we go again. These guys are losers. They’re chokers.’ It kind of pissed me off because we were much better than we’d shown.”

Bantom expected to see emotion from his teammates at practice before Game 7. Instead, the team went through a routine shootaround with little fanfare.

“We were about to walk out of the locker room and I felt the need to say something,” Bantom said. “I told them, ‘I don’t understand why we’re not beating these guys. They don’t respect you and we’re letting them laugh at us.’ I didn’t know how much it resonated.”

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But before anyone could find out, the Sixers encountered various distractions, including phone calls throughout the day and night to their hotel rooms. That typified what had gone on throughout the series.

“I remember when they threw bricks at the bus and cracked the window,” Jones said. “There was a lot of that. I think the Celtics fans felt we’re impinging on their territory. That they deserved to be in the Finals every year. We had the attitude we’re as good or better than you are.”

“I can tell you whatever Celtic fans did, it was worse in Philly,” countered Maxwell. “They would be in front of the Spectrum, 200-300 people, and they’d give you the finger.

“It was moms, dads, even kids. Like they’d say, ‘Good job, Joey.’”

So it all came down to one game. Would the Celtics complete another comeback from 3-1 down? Would the Sixers rise up to silence the doubters?

“I was doing radio with Steve Fredericks,” said former Sixer Doug Collins, who was one year removed from a career marred by foot injuries. “Before the game, they had all these fans in white sheets.

“They were the ghosts of Celtics past hovering around the bench: Heinsohn, Cousy, Havlicek. But Andrew was amazing that game. That’s where he got nicknamed the ‘Boston Strangler.’”

Whenever the Celtics seemed poised to make their move in Game 7, Toney had the answer, shooting 14-for-23 while handing out six assists.

“They were the better team,” said Parish, whose 23 points and 14 rebounds went to waste. “That’s what it boils down to. It doesn’t matter whether you’re playing home or away. Sometimes your best is just not good enough. I thought we played good enough to win. But the 76ers just played better.”

And when it was over, after the “Beat L.A.” chants had died down and the jubilant Sixers began celebrating, Cunningham did something totally out of character.

“Billy had never done this before,” Jones said. “He said he wanted a prayer and asked me to lead it. It was a special moment for all of us, so satisfying to win.”

A year later, with Malone helping lead the way, they took it a step further, winning it all.

Times have been lean for the Sixers ever since. Their recent second-round loss to the Heat marks the latest of many frustrations over the ensuing four decades.

The Celtics, however, knocked off the Milwaukee Bucks and headed back to the conference finals for the 13th time since that “Beat L.A.” chant, and have three championships and six trips to the NBA Finals.

The Sixers haven’t fared as well.

They’ve made just two trips back to the conference finals since they actually did beat L.A. in 1983, and none since Allen Iverson & Co. fell to Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and the Lakers in 2001.

Which only makes that magical day in 1982 that much sweeter.