1985 NBA Finals

"Memorial Day Massacre" redirects here. For the Massacre of 1937, see Memorial Day massacre of 1937.

1985 NBA Finals

Team Coach Wins Los Angeles Lakers Pat Riley 4 Boston Celtics K.C. Jones 2
Dates:	May 27 - June 9
MVP:	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers)
Television:	CBS (U.S.)
Announcers:	Dick Stockton and Tom Heinsohn
Radio network:	WRKO (BOS) KLAC (LAL)
Announcers:	Johnny Most and Glenn Ordway (BOS) Chick Hearn and Keith Erickson (LAL)
Referees:
Game 1: Darell Garretson and Jess Kersey
Game 2: Jake O'Donnell and John Vanak
Game 3: Hugh Evans and Earl Strom
Game 4: Ed T. Rush and John Vanak
Game 5: Darell Garretson and Jake O'Donnell
Game 6: Hugh Evans and Earl Strom
Hall of Famers:	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1995) Larry Bird (1998) Dennis Johnson (2010) Magic Johnson (2002) Bob McAdoo (2000) Kevin McHale (1999) Robert Parish (2003) James Worthy (2003) Coaches: K.C. Jones (1989, player) Pat Riley (2008)
Eastern Finals:	Celtics defeat 76ers, 4-1
Western Finals:	Lakers defeat Nuggets, 4-1
< 1984 NBA Finals 1986 >

The 1985 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1984–85 NBA season.

The Boston Celtics were looking to repeat as NBA Champions for the first time since the 1968–69. The Celtics had homecourt advantage for the second year in a row as they finished the regular season with a 63-19 record while the Los Angeles Lakers compiled a 62-20 record. The Lakers looked to bounce back from the previous year's painful loss to the Celtics in the championship series, and were still seeking to beat Boston for the first time ever in NBA Finals history. Also for the first time, the Finals went to a 2-3-2 format with Games 1 and 2 in Boston while the next three games were in Los Angeles. The final two games of the series would be played in Boston, if required. This change of format came after David Stern had a conversation with Celtics legend Red Auerbach in 1984, who didn't like the frequent traveling between games.^[1]

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Celtics four games to two to defeat the Celtics for the first time in Laker history in the NBA Finals.

It would mark the last time the NBA World Championship Series branding would be in use as the NBA Finals branding would replace it the next season.

The video documentary Return to Glory recaps the 1985 NBA Playoff action. It would be the last documentary until 1989 narrated by Dick Stockton.

Television: CBS - Announcers: Brent Musburger (host), Dick Stockton (play-by-play), Tom Heinsohn (color commentatory), Pat O'Brien (Lakers' sideline), and Lesley Visser (Celtics' sideline).

Background

After losing to the Celtics in the previous year's finals, the Lakers entered the 1984–85 NBA season with a mission. Once again using the effective Showtime offense, they ran away with the Western Conference-leading 62 wins. They eliminated the Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets, going 11-2 in the three playoff rounds. James Worthy had emerged as a force in the wing position, while Magic Johnson continued his usual passing brilliance. In addition, Byron Scott provided scoring off the bench.

The Celtics repeated with the NBA's best record by winning 63 games. For the second straight season, Larry Bird won the MVP award, while Kevin McHale won Sixth Man Award for the second year running, despite making the transition from bench cog to starter late in the season with Cedric Maxwell nursing a knee injury. The Celtics defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons and Philadelphia 76ers, finishing with an 11-4 record heading into the finals.

Series summary

Game	Date	Home Team	Result	Road Team
Game 1	Monday, May 27	Boston Celtics	148-114 (1-0)	Los Angeles Lakers
Game 2	Thursday, May 30	Boston Celtics	102-109 (1-1)	Los Angeles Lakers
Game 3	Sunday, June 2	Los Angeles Lakers	136-111 (2-1)	Boston Celtics
Game 4	Wednesday, June 5	Los Angeles Lakers	105-107 (2-2)	Boston Celtics
Game 5	Friday, June 7	Los Angeles Lakers	120-111 (3-2)	Boston Celtics
Game 6	Sunday, June 9	Boston Celtics	100-111 (2-4)	Los Angeles Lakers

Game 1

May 27		Los Angeles Lakers 114, Boston Celtics 148				Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 14,890 Referees: No. 10 Darell Garretson No. 20 Jess Kersey	CBS
		Scoring by quarter: 24–38, 25–41, 30–29, 35–40
		Pts: James Worthy 20 Rebs: Kurt Rambis 9 Asts: Magic Johnson 12		Pts: McHale, Wedman 26 each Rebs: Kevin McHale 9 Asts: Dennis Johnson 10
		Boston leads the series, 1–0

The Celtics beat the Lakers 148-114 in a game that came to be known as the "Memorial Day Massacre." The game was a profound embarrassment for the Lakers. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had only 12 points and 3 rebounds in his matchup with Robert Parish, and Magic Johnson pulled down only one rebound. Danny Ainge of the Celtics started hot, scoring 15 points in the first quarter. Scott Wedman made all 11 shots he took from the field. Afterwards, Abdul-Jabbar apologized to his teammates for his terrible performance.

Before Boston's 131-92 victory over the Lakers in Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals, this was the most lopsided finals game in the history of the Lakers–Celtics rivalry.

Game 2

May 30		Los Angeles Lakers 109, Boston Celtics 102				Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 14,890 Referees: No. 11 Jake O'Donnell No. 9 John Vanak	CBS
		Scoring by quarter: 31–26, 33–20, 23–29, 22–27
		Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 30 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 17 Asts: Magic Johnson 13		Pts: Larry Bird 30 Rebs: Larry Bird 12 Asts: Dennis Johnson 8
		Series tied, 1–1

The Lakers responded with a 109-102 win, as Abdul-Jabbar totalled 30 points, 17 rebounds, 3 blocked shots, and 8 assists. Laker swingman Michael Cooper helped in the cause by finishing with 22 points on an 8 for 9 shooting performance. The series was evened at 1-1.

Game 3

June 2		Boston Celtics 111, Los Angeles Lakers 136				The Forum, Inglewood, California Attendance: 17,505 Referees: No. 25 Hugh Evans No. 12 Earl Strom	CBS
		Scoring by quarter: 29–25, 30–40, 26–35, 26–36
		Pts: Kevin McHale 31 Rebs: Kevin McHale 10 Asts: Danny Ainge 10		Pts: James Worthy 29 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 14 Asts: Magic Johnson 16
		Los Angeles leads the series, 2–1

The Celtics held a 48-38 lead in the second quarter before the Lakers, led by James Worthy, took a 65-59 lead at halftime. The Lakers pulled away in the second half and won the game 136-111. During the game, Abdul-Jabbar became the league's all time leading playoff scorer. Meanwhile, Larry Bird's shooting slump from game 2 continued. He shot 17 of 42 from the field. He had been troubled by a bad back and a sore right elbow, although most people believed he was having trouble with Michael Cooper's defense.

Game 4

June 5		Boston Celtics 107, Los Angeles Lakers 105				The Forum, Inglewood, California Attendance: 17,505 Referees: No. 4 Ed T. Rush No. 9 John Vanak	CBS
		Scoring by quarter: 28–32, 31–26, 23–26, 25–21
		Pts: Kevin McHale 28 Rebs: Kevin McHale 12 Asts: Dennis Johnson 12		Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 21 Rebs: Magic Johnson 11 Asts: Magic Johnson 12
		Series tied, 2–2

The Celtics tied the series in the fourth game with a 107-105 win, as Dennis Johnson hit a jumper as time expired.

Game 5

June 7		Boston Celtics 111, Los Angeles Lakers 120				The Forum, Inglewood, California Attendance: 17,505 Referees: No. 10 Darell Garretson No. 11 Jake O'Donnell	CBS
		Scoring by quarter: 31–35, 20–29, 30–31, 20–25
		Pts: Robert Parish 26 Rebs: Kevin McHale 10 Asts: Dennis Johnson 17		Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 36 Rebs: Kurt Rambis 9 Asts: Magic Johnson 17
		Los Angeles leads the series, 3–2

In this game, the Lakers stomped out the Celtics by jumping out to a 64-51 lead and stretched it to 89-72 before the Celtics cut the deficit to 101-97 with six minutes remaining. However, Magic Johnson made three shots while Kareem added four more shots and the Lakers came away with a 120-111 victory to take a 3-2 series lead. It was the first Game 5 to be played in the 2-3-2 Finals format in which the team without home court advantage hosted.

Game 6

June 9		Los Angeles Lakers 111, Boston Celtics 100				Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 14,890 Referees: No. 25 Hugh Evans No. 12 Earl Strom	CBS
		Scoring by quarter: 28–26, 27–29, 27–18, 29–27
		Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 29 Rebs: Johnson, Rambis 10 each Asts: Magic Johnson 14		Pts: Kevin McHale 32 Rebs: Kevin McHale 16 Asts: Danny Ainge 11
		Los Angeles wins the series, 4–2

In the last game, the Lakers were led by Abdul-Jabbar who scored 29 points as the Lakers defeated the Celtics 111-100. Celtics' forward Kevin McHale scored 32 points in the losing effort. Thanks to Michael Cooper's defense and an injured right hand (which led to Bird's offensive numbers plummeting midway through the postseason, and was later revealed to have been suffered during a fight with a Boston bartender named Mike Harlow), Larry Bird had a mediocre 12-for-29 shooting performance in the final game. It was the first (and to date, the only) time an opposing team had claimed an NBA championship in the Boston Garden. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was named MVP of the series, only his second Finals MVP award (he also won it in 1971). In the Lakers' four victories, Abdul-Jabbar averaged 30.2 points, 11.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.0 blocks. In one memorable sequence, Abdul-Jabbar grabbed a rebound, drove the length of the court and swished a sky-hook. He also dove for a loose ball. "What you saw," Laker head coach Pat Riley told Sports Illustrated, "was passion."

During a postgame interview with Brent Musburger, Lakers owner Jerry Buss stated that "this trophy removes the most odious sentence in the English language: It can never be said again that 'the Lakers have never beaten the Celtics'"—a reference to the Lakers' eight failed attempts at beating Boston in the World Championship. Since 1985, the Lakers have won 3 out of 4 times they faced the Celtics in the Finals, with head-to-head wins in 1987 and 2010, while Boston notched its 9th Finals win over L.A. in 2008.

Quotes of the Finals

No contest, Game 1, but it's just Game 1, given to the Boston Celtics by a wide margin.

—-CBS's Dick Stockton after the 'Memorial Day Massacre' in Game 1.

And Larry (Bird) walks through the lane coming to the right. And he gets the pass. Goes into the lane, jump pass back out to D.J., D.J., throws and the shot is good and no time left. It's all over, it is all over, and it's good by D.J. from the left side, IT'S ALL OVER!!!! Boston wins the all-important fourth game.

—-Boston Celtics announcer Johnny Most calling Dennis Johnson's game winner in Game 4.

The Lakers are winning it. Three in six years and LA comes to Boston and wins the world title!

—-Dick Stockton calling the final seconds of Game 6.

Celebration

The Lakers were invited to a reception at the White House with President Ronald Reagan, where Kareem Abdul-Jabbar presented the President with a jersey. The following Tuesday would be declared "Laker Day" by Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley with a parade beginning at 9th and Broadway.

Team rosters

Aftermath

The Celtics made key off-season moves that would set the tone for the 1985-86 NBA season, acquiring Bill Walton and Jerry Sichting to strengthen an already fragile bench. With contributions from everywhere the Celtics won 67 games, 40 of which came at home, the best home record all-time in an NBA season. They would lose just once en route to their third straight trip to the NBA Finals. Unfortunately, a third consecutive Lakers-Celtics final never materialized.

The Lakers, despite winning 62 games, fell in five games to the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Finals, the last straw came when Rockets forward Ralph Sampson sank a 20-foot jumper at the buzzer in Game 5. The Celtics would win their 16th NBA championship in six games over the Rockets in the finals. The Lakers suffered primarily due to the departures of key bench players such as Bob McAdoo and Jamaal Wilkes, as well as the aging of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. After the season, the Lakers would bring in Mychal Thompson in midseason to back up Kareem, as well as promoting then-second year forward A. C. Green to the starting unit. Led by MVP Magic Johnson, the Lakers regained the NBA title by defeating the erstwhile defending champion Celtics in 1987, their first of two consecutive.

See also

• 1985 NBA Playoffs

References

1. ^ Associated Press (June 8, 2008). "Stern says Auerbach helped come up with 2-3-2 Finals format". ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2008/news/story?id=3432867. 

External links

• NBA History