The 1965 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1965 NBA playoffs, which concluded the National Basketball Association 1964–65 season. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Division champion Los Angeles Lakers and the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics. The Celtics made their ninth-straight trip to the championship finals after beating the Philadelphia 76ers in a highly contested Eastern Division Finals that ended on John Havlicek's steal of the ball. The Lakers made it to their third Finals in four seasons after beating Baltimore in six games, though it came at a cost as Elgin Baylor suffered a knee injury that would sideline him for the rest of the playoffs. The Celtics won the series over the Lakers, 4–1.[1]
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| Dates | April 18–25 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hall of Famers | Celtics: John Havlicek (1984) Tom Heinsohn (1986, player - 2015, coach) K.C. Jones (1989) Sam Jones (1984) Bill Russell (1975, player - 2021, coach) Satch Sanders (2011) Lakers: Dick Barnett (2024) Elgin Baylor (1977) Jerry West (1980) Coaches: Red Auerbach (1969) Officials: Mendy Rudolph (2007) Earl Strom (1995) | |||||||||
| Eastern finals | Celtics defeated 76ers, 4–3 | |||||||||
| Western finals | Lakers defeated Bullets, 4–2 | |||||||||
Series summary
editThe Celtics' average margin of victory in this series was 12.6 points, as they averaged 123.4 points a game, in contrast to the Lakers' 110.8 points per game.
| Game | Date | Home team | Result | Road team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | April 18 | Boston Celtics | 142–110 (1–0) | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Game 2 | April 19 | Boston Celtics | 129–123 (2–0) | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Game 3 | April 21 | Los Angeles Lakers | 126–105 (1–2) | Boston Celtics |
| Game 4 | April 23 | Los Angeles Lakers | 99–112 (1–3) | Boston Celtics |
| Game 5 | April 25 | Boston Celtics | 129–96 (4–1) | Los Angeles Lakers |
Celtics win series 4–1
Source:[2]
Game 4
editBoston beat the Lakers 112 to 99. In the closing minutes of the game, ABC cut away to a previously scheduled program.[citation needed]
Player statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
- Boston Celtics
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Jones | 5 | 39.8 | .470 | .879 | 4.8 | 2.6 | 27.8 | ||||
| John Havlicek | 5 | 30.2 | .391 | .864 | 5.6 | 2.2 | 18.2 | ||||
| Bill Russell | 5 | 44.2 | .702 | .575 | 25.0 | 5.8 | 17.8 | ||||
| Satch Sanders | 5 | 31.2 | .391 | .682 | 8.8 | 2.0 | 13.8 | ||||
| Tom Heinsohn | 5 | 20.8 | .361 | .556 | 6.4 | 1.8 | 11.4 | ||||
| K. C. Jones | 5 | 31.0 | .460 | .786 | 2.6 | 6.6 | 11.4 | ||||
| Willie Naulls | 5 | 17.4 | .396 | .750 | 4.2 | 1.0 | 9.6 | ||||
| Larry Siegfried | 5 | 13.6 | .341 | .786 | 1.6 | 2.4 | 7.8 | ||||
| John Thompson | 3 | 7.0 | .286 | 1.000 | 4.0 | 0.3 | 3.7 | ||||
| Ron Bonham | 3 | 3.7 | .375 | .800 | 3.7 | 0.0 | 3.3 | ||||
| Mel Counts | 3 | 9.0 | .250 | 1.000 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 2.3 |
- Los Angeles Lakers
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerry West | 5 | 42.0 | .424 | .864 | 5.6 | 3.4 | 33.8 | ||||
| LeRoy Ellis | 5 | 39.8 | .421 | .676 | 11.0 | 0.8 | 17.8 | ||||
| Rudy LaRusso | 5 | 32.0 | .531 | .656 | 6.8 | 2.4 | 14.6 | ||||
| Dick Barnett | 5 | 24.4 | .483 | .700 | 3.0 | 2.2 | 14.0 | ||||
| Walt Hazzard | 5 | 20.0 | .326 | .778 | 3.0 | 5.2 | 8.8 | ||||
| Gene Wiley | 5 | 35.4 | .516 | .545 | 17.8 | 2.0 | 7.8 | ||||
| Don Nelson | 5 | 20.6 | .438 | .667 | 5.4 | 1.4 | 7.2 | ||||
| Jim King | 5 | 11.0 | .429 | 1.000 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 4.2 | ||||
| Darrall Imhoff | 5 | 10.8 | .222 | .500 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 1.4 | ||||
| Bill McGill | 5 | 10.0 | .500 | 1.000 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 3.5 |
Source:[2]
Team rosters
editBoston Celtics
editLos Angeles Lakers
editThis article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2016) |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "NBA History: 1965 Finals". NBA.com. Archived from the original on August 17, 2011. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
- ^ a b "1965 NBA Finals summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 4, 2017.