Lakers Look Back: 1985 NBA Finals and the Memorial Day Massacre

In honor of Memorial Day, I thought it would be fun to look back on the 1985 NBA Finals, of which Game 1 was dubbed the Memorial Day Massacre. It was the Lakers and Celtics (who else?) in the NBA’s final round, with both teams looking to earn yet another championship.

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In Game 1, Boston beat the Lakers 148-114, officially dubbing the game the Memorial Day Massacre. In front of nearly 15,000 people at the Boston Garden, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored just 12 points while Magic Johnson pulled down just one rebound.

Boston had a 38-24 lead at the end of the first, and never looked back, sealing what was, at the time, the most lopsided victory in NBA Finals history.

Here’s the box score (which consists mainly of just points) for both sides from the game, courtesy of NBA Stats.

Here’s the video of the action, as well.

For the Lakers, they would bounce back nicely from the blowout win, defeating the Celtics in four of the next five games to win the series in six games, avenging a loss to Boston in the Finals from a season before. It was the first time in history that the Lakers won the NBA championship on the floor of the Boston Garden.

Looking back on this Memorial Day, what’s your favorite Lakers championship year of all time? Be sure to sound off in the comments section below.

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