The 1985 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

's 1984–85 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim A ...

was named

NBA Finals MVP The Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award (formerly known as the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1969 NBA Finals. The award is decided by a panel of e ...

for the second time (he had won the award under his birth name, Lew Alcindor, as a Buck in 1971). The Lakers had been unsuccessful in their previous eight attempts to defeat the Celtics in the NBA Finals, losing 7 times from

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

–

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. The Lakers, moreover, won the title in Boston, something no other NBA team has ever accomplished, and would be the only road team to clinch the title at

Boston Garden The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden" (lat ...

. The Cavaliers made the playoffs for the first time since 1978. It was also the first time that all three teams from

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

made the playoffs in the same year. The Denver Nuggets advanced to the conference finals for the first time since 1978 and would not advance that far again until 2009. The Philadelphia 76ers, on the other hand, advanced to the conference finals for the fifth time in six years, but would not reach that level again until 2001. It was also the first time that

Turner Broadcasting Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (lat ...

was covering the playoffs as TBS was the home for some playoff games. Games 3 and 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals at the

Spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors ...

forced a Phil Collins concert at the arena to be rescheduled to the fall of 1985, as noted by

Charlie Van Dyke Charlie Van Dyke (born Charles Leo Steinle; July 26, 1947) is a former radio disc jockey who is best known for his voice work on radio and television stations. He is recognized by his deep, booming voice. Originally from Dallas, Van Dyke was wor ...

when he sub-hosted an episode of '' American Top 40'' on

July 6 Events Pre-1600 * 371 BC – The Battle of Leuctra shatters Sparta's reputation of military invincibility. * 640 – Battle of Heliopolis: The Muslim Arab army under 'Amr ibn al-'As defeat the Byzantine forces near Heliopolis (Egypt ...

of that year. 1985 NBA Western Conference Semifinals - Game 2 - Portland Trailblazers at Los Angeles Lakers 1985-04-30 (ticket)

Bracket

First Round

Eastern Conference First Round

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (8) Cleveland Cavaliers

Dennis Johnson Dennis Wayne Johnson (September 18, 1954 – February 22, 2007), nicknamed "DJ", was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns, and Boston Celtics. He was a c ...

blocks a World B. Free 3 with 2 seconds left. This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning the first meeting.

(2)
Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...
vs. (7)
Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

* Michael Jordan hits his first playoff game-winner with 22 seconds left. This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bucks winning the first meeting.

(3) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (6)
Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bullets winning two of the first three meetings.

(4)
Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...
vs. (5)
New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

This was the first playoff meeting between the Pistons and the Nets.

Western Conference First Round

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (8) Phoenix Suns

This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first four meetings.

(2) Denver Nuggets vs. (7)
San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Spurs winning the first meeting.

(3) Houston Rockets vs. (6)
Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

This was the first playoff meeting between the Rockets and the Jazz.

(4) Dallas Mavericks vs. (5)
Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

This was the first playoff meeting between the Mavericks and the Trail Blazers.

Conference Semifinals

Eastern Conference Semifinals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (4)
Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning the first meeting.

(2)
Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...
vs. (3) Philadelphia 76ers

This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the 76ers winning three of the first four meetings.

Western Conference Semifinals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5)
Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

* The

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

coverage of this game would mark the final on-air assignment for

Frank Glieber Frank John Glieber (April 5, 1934 – May 1, 1985) was an American sportscaster. Early life and career Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Glieber was the oldest child of immigrants—John, a native of Austria, and Mary, a native of Ger ...

(calling the game alongside James Brown); as Glieber died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

three days later at the age of 51. This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning one series apiece.

(2) Denver Nuggets vs. (6)
Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Jazz winning the first meeting.

Conference Finals

Eastern Conference Finals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Philadelphia 76ers

Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded a ...

makes the game-saving steal to advance to the Finals for the Celtics. This was the 18th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning nine of the first 17 meetings.

Western Conference Finals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (2) Denver Nuggets

Dan Issel Daniel Paul Issel (born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. An outstanding collegian at the University of Kentucky, Issel was twice named an All-American en route to a school-record 25.7 points per ...

's final NBA game. This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first meeting.

NBA Finals: (E1) Boston Celtics vs. (W1) Los Angeles Lakers

* "Memorial Day Massacre" *

breaks

Jerry West Jerome Alan West (born May 28, 1938) is an American basketball executive and former player. He played professionally for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His nicknames included "Mr. Clutch", for his ability ...

's all-time playoff scoring record. *

hits the game-winner at the buzzer. * The Lakers become the only road team to win the NBA title in

and it did again the 2021-22 golden state warriors did in 2022 NBA Finals. This was the ninth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning the first eight meetings.

References

External links

Basketball-Reference.com's 1985 NBA Playoffs page
{{DEFAULTSORT:1985 Nba Playoffs National Basketball Association playoffs

Playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

Sports in Portland, Oregon fi:NBA-kausi 1984–1985#Pudotuspelit