Celtics

However, Magic Johnson made three shots while Abdul-Jabbar added four more shots, and the Lakers came away with a 120â€"111 victory to take a 3â€"2 series lead. The series shifted to Boston with only one full day off for both teams. In Game 6, the Lakers were led by Abdul-Jabbar who scored 29 points as the Lakers defeated the Celtics 111â€"100. Magic had a triple-double with 15 points, 14 assists, and 10 rebounds; Worthy had 28 points on 11 for 15 shooting. It was the only time a visiting team claimed an NBA championship in Boston Garden.
Before the start of the shortened 2011â€"12 season, the Lakers traded Lamar Odom to the Dallas Mavericks after Odom requested to be traded. On the trade deadline long time Laker Lajur Fisher along with a first round draft pick were traded to the Houston Rockets for Jordan Hill. With the 10th overall pick in the 2005 draft, the Lakers selected Andrew Bynum, a center from St. Joseph High School in Metuchen, New Jersey.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was named MVP of the series, making him the oldest player ever to win the MVP of an NBA Finals series. The Lakers also returned to the Finals with the help of the mid-season acquisition of Pau Gasol, and the two teams finally met again in the 2008 NBA Finals. The Celtics won in six games with an impressive come-from-behind victory in Main 4 and a blow-out of the Lakers in Game 6. The next season, the Lakers and Celtics played a terstruktur season game on Christmas Day. The Lakers won that game, making Phil Jackson the fastest coach to win 1, 000 games.
The team also traded Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins to Washington for Kwame Brown and Laron Profit. Jackson returned to coach the team after Rudy Tomjanovich resigned midway through the previous season. On January 22, 2006, Bryant scored 81 points against Toronto, the second-highest total in NBA history.
By contrast, the aging Celtics struggled to obtain the fourth seed, with Russell and Jones playing in their final seasons. Despite this, the Celtics upset the Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks and made it to the Finals. After Jackson's retirement, former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown was hired as head coach on May 25, 2011.
Mikan was fired in January when the team was 9â€"30, and Kundla was rehired. This was the Celtics' 17th championship, their first since 1986, extending their record for most NBA championships won by a single team.
They also set an NBA record for most playoff games ever needed to win a championship, with 26, surpassing the previous record of 24 by the Lakers in 1988. Game 1 became known as the "Memorial Day Massacre" as the Celtics soundly beat the Lakers 148â€"114. Celtic reserve forward Scott Wedman made all 11 out of 11 field goal attempts. The Lakers responded in Main 2 with a 109â€"102 victory as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 30 points, 17 rebounds, eight assists, and three blocks.
They went on to win the 2009 NBA Finals that season, but the Celtics were eliminated by eventual Eastern Conference champions Orlando Magic. The Lakers acquired Wilt Chamberlain in 1968, which brought the personal rivalry between him and Bill Russell, previously a feature of the Celtics-76ers rivalry, to Celtics-Lakers. The Lakers posted the best record in the West during the 1968â€"1969 season.
Although they had losing records the next two seasons, they made the playoffs each year. Mikan came back for the last half of the 1955â€"56 season, but struggled and retired for good after the season. Led by Lovellette's 20. 6 points and 13. 5 rebounds, they advanced to the Conference Finals in 1956â€"57. The Lakers tempo one of the worst seasons in team history in 1957â€"58 when they won a league-low 19 games. They had hired Mikan, who had been the team's general manager for the previous two seasons, as head coach to replace Kundla.
Michael Cooper had 22 points, making 8 out of 9 field goals attempted. In Game 3, the Celtics had a 48â€"38 lead in the second quarter before the Lakers, led by James Worthy, took a 65â€"59 lead at halftime and then pulled away in the second half to come away with a 136â€"111 victory. Worthy had 29 points while Abdul-Jabbar had 26 points and 14 rebounds. The Celtics tied the series in Game 4, 107â€"105 as Dennis Johnson hit a jumper at the buzzer. In Main 5, the Lakers raced out to a 64â€"51 lead and stretched it to 89â€"72 before the Celtics cut the deficit to 101â€"97 with six minutes remaining.