The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics four games to two in the best-of-seven NBA Finals series to conclude the 1984-85 NBA season. The victory gave the Lakers their ninth NBA championship and third in the last six seasons.

The Celtics entered the series as the defending champions, having defeated the Lakers in the 1984 Finals. This was the ninth meeting between the Celtics and the Lakers in the NBA Finals, with Boston having won the previous eight. After the series, Lakers owner Jerry Buss famously said, "It can never be said again that the Lakers have never beaten the Celtics."

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won NBA Finals MVP honors, the second time in his career he earned the award. At the time, he was just the third player to win the award multiple times, joining Magic Johnson and Willis Reed. As of 2008, Abdul-Jabbar, who also won in 1971 with the Milwaukee Bucks, is the only player to win the award with multiple teams.

The Celtics had home-court advantage for the Finals, which were played under the 2-3-2 format after previous series had used the 2-2-1-1-1 format. This reduced the amount of travel necessary for the series. The two teams split their regular-season meetings in 1984-85, with each team winning at home.

Team	Lakers	Celtics
Regular Season	62-20, 1st in Pacific Division	63-19, 1st in Atlantic Division
First Round	Def. (8) Phoenix Suns, 3-0	Def. (8) Cleveland Cavaliers, 3-1
Conference Semifinals	Def. (5) Portland Trail Blazers, 4-1	Def. (4) Detroit Pistons, 4-2
Conference Finals	Def. (2) Denver Nuggets, 4-1	Def. (3) Philadelphia 76ers, 4-1

In a game that was never in doubt, the Celtics stormed out to a 14-point lead at the end of the first quarter and rolled to a 34-point victory in what would become known as the "Memorial Day Massacre." Danny Ainge led the Celtics in the first quarter, scoring 15 of Boston's 38 points. Scott Wedman was the main offensive option in the second quarter, scoring 11 points to help extend Boston's lead to 30 points at halftime. Kevin McHale took over in the third quarter, scoring 13 points. The Celtics capped off the performance by scoring 40 points in the fourth quarter, finishing with 148.

Wedman finished 11-of-11 from the field, setting a Finals record for the most shots attempted without a miss. He was also a perfect 4-of-4 from 3-point range, finishing with 26 points. McHale matched Wedman with 26 points, and Ainge finished with 19. All 12 Celtics players scored in the game. James Worthy led the Lakers with 20 points, while Magic Johnson added 19 points and 12 assists. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, limited by foul trouble in the first half, finished with 12 points in 22 minutes.

Bouncing back from their Game 1 loss, the Lakers jumped out to an 18-point halftime lead and were never seriously threatened after that, cruising to a seven-point win to even the series at one game apiece.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar responded to criticism of his Game 1 performance by scoring 30 points, grabbing 17 rebounds and dishing out eight assists, flirting with a triple-double. Magic Johnson had 14 points and 13 assists for the Lakers, who also got 22 points off the bench from Michael Cooper. Larry Bird scored 12 of his 30 points in the third quarter in an attempt to spark a Celtics comeback. No other Celtics player reached the 20-point mark.

It wasn't quite at the level of Game 1, but in their first game at home in the series, the Lakers blew out the Celtics in Game 3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 10 points in the first seven minutes of the game to become the NBA's all-time leading postseason scorer. The game was marred by multiple altercations, one of which led to the ejection of Ray Williams after he punched Kurt Rambis. The Lakers took control of the game with a 27-11 run at the end of the first half, led by four consecutive Bob McAdoo jumpers.

James Worthy finished with 29 points to lead the Lakers. Abdul-Jabbar had 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting and added 14 rebounds and seven assists. Magic Johnson had 17 points, nine rebounds and 16 assists, finishing just one rebound shy of a triple-double. Like Boston did in Game 1, L.A. saw all 12 players on the roster score, including little-used 7-foot-5 backup center Chuck Nevitt. The Celtics' Big Three of Larry Bird (20), Kevin McHale (31) and Robert Parish (17) combined for 68 of Boston's 111 points.

In a close game throughout, the Celtics took a one-point lead with a 10-2 run late in the fourth quarter. The two teams went back and forth for the rest of the game, with Magic Johnson tying things up at 105. On the ensuing possession, the Lakers double-teamed Larry Bird, leaving Dennis Johnson open to hit the game-winning jump shot at the buzzer, evening the series at two games apiece.

Kevin McHale led the Celtics with 28 points and 12 rebounds, while Johnson finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and 12 assists. The Celtics outrebounded the Lakers 55-45, with Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar held to just six rebounds. Abdul-Jabbar led the Lakers with 21 points, and Magic Johnson finished with a triple double (20 points, 11 rebounds, 12 assists).

The Lakers used a 20-7 run at the end of the first half to take control of the game, taking a 13-point lead into halftime. Celtics coach K.C. Jones was ejected in the third quarter with the Celtics trailing by 16 points. Boston pulled to within four on multiple occasions, but never got any closer, as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson combined for seven consecutive Lakers baskets to keep L.A. in control and give the Lakers a 3-2 lead heading back to Boston.

Abdul-Jabbar finished with 36 points, shooting 16-of-28 from the field. He also had seven rebounds and seven assists. James Worthy added 33 points on 13-of-17 shooting, and Magic Johnson had 26 points and 17 assists. All five Celtics starters scored in double figures, with Robert Parish leading the way with 26 points. Dennis Johnson had 22 points and 17 assists. Larry Bird scored 20 points but continued to be plagued by both back problems and Michael Cooper's defense; Bird shot just 8-of-17 from the field.

For the first time in franchise history, the Celtics had to watch an opposing team celebrate a championship on their home court.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led the way for the Lakers, scoring 29 points on 13-of-21 shooting before fouling out late in the game. Lakers point guard Magic Johnson finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists, posting a triple-double in a series-clinching win for the second time in his career. (He also did it in 1982.)

Kevin McHale scored 32 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the losing effort. Despite being hampered by multiple injuries, Larry Bird had 28 points and 10 rebounds, but shot just 12-of-29 from the field. The Celtics starting backcourt of Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge combined to shoot 6-of-31 from the field in the game.

Abdul-Jabbar finished the series averaging 25.7 ppg, 9.0 rpg and 5.2 apg, earning series MVP honors. Johnson's average of 14.0 apg broke his own record of 13.6, set one year earlier.

When the NBA compilied its list of the 60 Greatest Playoff Moments to coincide with the league's 60th anniversary, this game was ranked No. 31 on the list.