1984-85 Los Angeles Lakers: Return To Glory Part 3/6

After losing to the Boston Celtics in the Finals the previous year, redemption was the only thing on the minds of the Los Angeles Lakers entering the 1984-85 season. The Lakers cruised to a fourth straight Pacific Division title despite losing Jamaal Wilkes for the season in mid-February because of torn knee ligaments. Los Angeles (62-20) took the division by an NBA-record 20 games. The club, at the height of its "Showtime" era, set two other NBA marks by posting a phenomenal .545 team field-goal percentage and handing out 2,575 assists.

Los Angeles reached the NBA Finals after eliminating Phoenix, Portland, and the Denver Nuggets, chalking up an 11-2 record on the way. Facing Boston again in the championship round, the Lakers were humiliated in the first game, 148-114, a contest remembered as the "Memorial Day Massacre." But Los Angeles bounced back to take four of the next five games, led by 38-year-old series MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The 1985 series marked the ninth time that Los Angeles and Boston had met in the NBA Finals but the first time that the Lakers had come away with the crown.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Kareem
• Abdul-Jabbar
• Magic
• Johnson
• James
• Worthy
• Byron
• Scott
• Bob
• McAdoo
• Larry
• Bird
• Kevin
• McHale
• Robert
• Parish
• Dennis
• Danny
• Ainge
• 1985
• NBA
• Finals
• yt:crop=16:9

[KHayes666]

Every time I watch this all I can think about is KC leaving Maxwell, Carr, Buckner, Clark, Kite and Williams rotting on the bench as the Lakers ran the exhausted Celtic starters into the ground in Game 6.

Still, the Lakers earned the championship no doubt about it. The better team won.

[VainiusRingaudas]

I love eastern conference more than west, but i love jazz and lakers because of few games i can watch them play real basketball, maybe houston too

[xtracool32]

All Celtic fans look the same!