Background
After losing to the Celtics in the previous year's finals, the Lakers entered the 1984–85 NBA season with a mission. Once again using the effective Showtime offense, they ran away with the Western Conference-leading 62 wins. They eliminated the Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets, going 11-2 in the three playoff rounds. James Worthy had emerged as a force in the wing position, while Magic Johnson continued his usual passing brilliance. In addition, Byron Scott provided scoring off the bench.
The Celtics repeated with the NBA's best record by winning 63 games. For the second straight season, Larry Bird won the MVP award, while Kevin McHale won Sixth Man Award for the second year running, despite making the transition from bench cog to starter late in the season with Cedric Maxwell nursing a knee injury. The Celtics defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons and Philadelphia 76ers, finishing with an 11-4 record heading into the finals.
From nba.com: "For the first time in years, the Finals returned to a 2-3-2 format, with the first two games in Boston, the middle three in Los Angeles, and the last two, if necessary, back in Boston. The situation set up an opportunity for the Lakers to steal one in the Garden, then pressure the Celtics back in Los Angeles. In whatever fashion, they figured on rectifying their humiliation from 1984."
Read more about this topic: 1985 NBA Finals
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