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.
Read more about this topic: 1985 NBA Finals
Famous quotes containing the word aftermath:
“The aftermath of joy is not usually more joy.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)