• (EDITOR’S NOTE: First of occasional stories celebrating the 30-year anniversary of the 1985-86 NBA champion Celtics.)
The summer of 1985 was unpleasant for Larry Bird. After defeating the Lakers in the 1984 NBA Finals, he and the Celtics had fallen to them in six games in that year’s rematch.
The Celts had won the opener, the famed Memorial Day Massacre, by 34 points, but had steadily run out of steam thereafter, leaning heavily on their starters against the deeper Lakers.
“The problem in ’85 was, in Game 6 I think it was, I had a horrible game,” said Bird, who was 12-for-29 from the floor on the way to his 18 points that day.