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 won the series over the Lakers, 4–1.
The Celtics made their ninth-straight trip to the 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.
This was the last NBA Finals that the Celtics played in that didn't go six or seven games until 2024.
Team rosters Boston Celtics
Los Angeles Lakers
Series summary The 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:
Box scores
Tom Heinsohn's final NBA game.
Player statistics
Boston Celtics
| align="left" | || 5 || || 39.8 || .470 || || .879 || 4.8 || 2.6 || || || 27.8 |- | align="left" | || 5 || || 30.2 || .391 || || .864 || 5.6 || 2.2 || || || 18.2 |- | align="left" | || 5 || || 44.2 || .702 || || .575 || 25.0 || 5.8 || || || 17.8 |- | align="left" | || 5 || || 31.2 || .391 || || .682 || 8.8 || 2.0 || || || 13.8 |- | align="left" | || 5 || || 20.8 || .361 || || .556 || 6.4 || 1.8 || || || 11.4 |- | align="left" | || 5 || || 31.0 || .460 || || .786 || 2.6 || 6.6 || || || 11.4 |- | align="left" | || 5 || || 17.4 || .396 || || .750 || 4.2 || 1.0 || || || 9.6 |- | align="left" | || 5 || || 13.6 || .341 || || .786 || 1.6 || 2.4 || || || 7.8 |- | align="left" | || 3 || || 7.0 || .286 || || 1.000 || 4.0 || 0.3 || || || 3.7 |- | align="left" | || 3 || || 3.7 || .375 || || .800 || 3.7 || 0.0 || || || 3.3 |- | align="left" | || 3 || || 9.0 || .250 || || 1.000 || 3.0 || 0.0 || || || 2.3
Los Angeles Lakers
| align="left" | || 5 || || 42.0 || .424 || || .864 || 5.6 || 3.4 || || || 33.8 |- | align="left" | || 5 || || 39.8 || .421 || || .676 || 11.0 || 0.8 || || || 17.8 |- | align="left" | || 5 || || 32.0 || .531 || || .656 || 6.8 || 2.4 || || || 14.6 |- | align="left" | || 5 || || 24.4 || .483 || || .700 || 3.0 || 2.2 || || || 14.0 |- | align="left" | || 5 || || 20.0 || .326 || || .778 || 3.0 || 5.2 || || || 8.8 |- | align="left" | || 5 || || 35.4 || .516 || || .545 || 17.8 || 2.0 || || || 7.8 |- | align="left" | || 5 || || 20.6 || .438 || || .667 || 5.4 || 1.4 || || || 7.2 |- | align="left" | || 5 || || 11.0 || .429 || || 1.000 || 2.0 || 1.4 || || || 4.2 |- | align="left" | || 5 || || 10.8 || .222 || || .500 || 2.4 || 0.6 || || || 1.4 |- | align="left" | || 5 || || 10.0 || .500 || || 1.000 || 3.0 || 1.0 || || || 3.5
Source:
See also 1965 NBA playoffs 1964–65 NBA season
References