Yes, a quarter century has passed since the 1985 NBA championship series, when the Los Angeles Lakers finally vanquished the Boston Celtics franchise that had tormented them for years.

To celebrate that time when all the ghosts were finally sent packing in Boston Garden, I’m posting this excerpt from The Show, my oral history of the Lakers published by McGraw-Hill.

BREAKTHROUGH

Unfortunately, the Lakers couldn’t get out of town after the 1984 Finals, a series that had brought the franchise an eighth championship defeat at the hands of the Celtics without a single victory. They had to spend one more night in their hotel, trapped inside of Boston with the Celtic blues again. Needless to say, it was a sleepless night. Owner Jerry Buss chain-smoked. Michael Cooper spent the time in deep and miserable mourning sequestered in his room with his wife, Wanda. Coach Pat Riley quickly put away the white tuxedo he had planned to wear for the championship celebration and began thinking about next year.

Joined by his friends Isiah Thomas and Mark Aguirre, Magic Johnson talked the night away. About music. Cars. Old times. Anything but the series. Occasionally the conversation would drift that way, but they’d steer it away. He had not played well, and the loss was too tender a subject.

Isiah Thomas: “We talked until the morning came, but we never talked about the game much. For that one night I think I was his escape from reality.”

Early the next day Kareem had agreed to appear on the CBS morning news.

Josh Rosenfeld, former Lakers PR man: “When we showed up at the studio, Cedric Maxwell was there. The producer’s idea was to have Cedric and Kareem on together. We were there about 10 minutes, and Cedric was sitting across from Kareem. Cedric had said a lot of things during the series. Kareem asked the producer, ‘Is he on first, or am I on first?’ She said, ‘Oh, no, we want the two of you on together.’ Kareem got up and very politely said, ‘Thank you for inviting me. I can’t do that.’ This poor girl, the producer, she was frantic. She was in tears. She followed us out to the limo and said, ‘We can reformat the show. You can go on after Maxwell.’ Kareem said, ‘No, I’m not in the mood anymore, but thank you.’ Then he explained to me, ‘Maxwell accused Worthy of choking. I can’t be seen on national TV with him. It would be offensive to my teammates.’”

The Lakers’ humiliation would remain for months. Johnson returned to California, where he was set to move into his new Bel-Air mansion, only the furniture hadn’t arrived. His palace sat as empty as his heart, so he hid out for three days in his Culver City apartment. His mother, Christine, phoned to see how he was doing. He told her he just couldn’t talk about it.

Yet everywhere he turned there seemed to be something to read about it. The Celtics were having fun with their victory. McHale even dubbed him “Tragic Johnson.” Asked about the 1984-85 season, Bird said of the Lakers, “I’d like to give them the opportunity to redeem themselves. I’m sure they have guys who feel they didn’t play up to their capabilities.” Asked if he meant Magic, Bird replied, “You think we don’t love it? Magic having nightmares [about his poor play].”

Johnson retorted that he had no need for redemption.

Even worse than the Celtic cockiness was the trashing Johnson took from the LA newspapers. “I sat back when it was over,” he said later, “and I thought, Man, did we just lose one of the great play-off series of all time, or didn’t we? This was one of the greatest in history. Yet all you read was how bad I was.”

Michael Cooper: “Magic has had his trials and tribulations throughout his entire NBA career. That’s the thing I’ve always admired about him. He’s always met them head-on and conquered them to the best of his ability.”

His meeting this Celtics challenge began when the Lakers returned to Palm Springs for training camp that fall.

Byron Scott: “When we walked on the floor that first day of camp, we saw it in everybody’s eyes. This was going to be a serious year.”

Especially for Riley.

Gary Vitti, longtime Laker trainer: “Pat was screwed down pretty tight, like a spring. And it escalated from there.”

Byron Scott: “Riles made us aware of exactly what he wanted. He let us know from day one, ‘I’m gonna work you from the first day of camp to the last day of the play-offs.’ He didn’t let up. That’s the main reason we kept going all year, because we had a coach who wouldn’t let us stop.”

Riley later explained that his team’s psyche was fragile. They had won two championships on their talent, but the Celtics had challenged them with psychological warfare in 1984 and won. The Lakers would have to either form as a team and fight back or fall apart.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “That first series that we gave them in ‘84 really seasoned us. It gave us the mental tenacity that we didn’t always exhibit. We couldn’t outrun everybody. We had to understand that sometimes there were other ways to skin the cat.”

It was something that Paul Westhead had lost his job trying to tell them.

By the 1985 play-offs the Lakers had regained their composure and their strength. The frontcourt was bolstered by the return of Mitch Kupchak and Jamaal Wilkes to go with Kareem, Worthy, Rambis, McAdoo, and Larry Spriggs. The backcourt showed Magic, Scott, Cooper, and McGee. As a group, they were driven by their ‘84 humiliation.

“Those wounds from last June stayed open all summer,” Riley said as the play-offs neared. “Now the misery has subsided, but it never leaves your mind completely. Magic is very sensitive to what people think about him, and in his own mind I think he heard those questions over and over again to the point where he began to rationalize and say, ‘Maybe I do have to concentrate more.’ I think the whole experience has made him grow up in a lot of ways.”

After all, Johnson was a mere 25, and at a time when most pro players were just beginning to feel comfortable in the game, he already owned two championship rings. Across pro basketball, observers sensed that he was about to add to his jewelry collection. The Celtics, however, were conceding nothing. With a 63-19 regular-season finish, they had again claimed the home-court advantage. The Lakers had finished 62-20. And neither team  dallied in the play-offs. Boston dismissed Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadel- phia in quick succession. The Lakers rolled past Phoenix, Portland, and Denver.

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 immense opportunity for the Lakers to steal one in the Garden, then pressure the Celtics back in Los Angeles.

Yet on the eve of the Finals they were struck by old doubts.

James Worthy: “We really weren’t sure of ourselves. We got back to the Finals and said, ‘Golly, we got the Celtics again. How’re we gonna do it?’ We just came out and played like a bunch of women, really. Didn’t have any aggressiveness. No killer instinct. We paid the price for it.”

Which was one final, profound embarrassment. Game 1 opened on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27, with both teams cruising on five days’ rest. The Lakers, however, quickly took on the appearance of guys who had just come off two weeks on the graveyard shift. The 38-year-old Kareem, in particular, slogged up and down the court, while Boston center Robert Parish seemed to glide. Often Kareem would just be reaching the top of the key to catch up to the play when all of a sudden the action raced the other way. He finished the day with 12 points and three rebounds. And Johnson had only one rebound. Meanwhile the famed Showtime running game had been slowed to a belly crawl.

And the Celtics?

They placed a huge red welt on the Lakers’ scar from the previous year, 148-114. Scott Wedman hit 11 for 11 from the floor, including four three-pointers. Danny Ainge fired in six straight buckets at the end of the first quarter to finish the period with 15 points. “It was one of those days,” Boston coach K. C. Jones said, “where if you turn around and close your eyes, the ball’s gonna go in.”

Abruptly, the Celtics quieted their trash talking, as if they sensed that they had gone too far. They hadn’t expected it to be this easy. And the last thing they wanted to do was rile the Lakers. “It’s definitely time to back off,” Maxwell said. “It’s not like backgammon or cribbage, where if you beat someone bad enough you get two wins.”

But it was too late. The teams didn’t play again until Thursday, and there was an uneasy air in Boston despite the big win.

The next morning in the Lakers’ film sessions, Kareem moved to the front row, rather than recline in the farther reaches as he usually did. And he didn’t blink when Riley ran and reran the gruesome evidence of his terrible performance. In fact, the captain went to each of his teammates later and personally apologized for his effort.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “That horrible game, the Memorial Day Massacre. That was mainly me. I remember watching the film of that game. The camera would follow the ball, and I would always be at the back of the pack. I’d be out of camera range, always bringing up the rear. I realized I simply wasn’t keeping up with the play. I had worn down over the course of the playoffs. So we had like three days before we played. The massacre was on Sunday, and we didn’t play again until Thursday. And I did like a mini training camp. I just made myself get my cardiovascular back to where it should be. I told everybody, I promised, that whatever happened on the next game I would give my best, whatever that was. Pat was trying to accommodate me minute-wise, but I don’t get into shape unless I work myself into shape. I got to play. So the more time I spent on the bench, it really wasn’t getting the job done. We needed a different way of approaching it.”

James Worthy: “A lot of the discussion was pointed at Kareem. But it was all of us, because none of us played well. But he was our leader.”

“He made a contract with us that it would never happen again. Ever,” Riley said later. “That game was a blessing in disguise. It strengthened the fiber of this team. Ever since then, Kareem had this took, this air, about him.”

James Worthy: “That set the tone. That game was the turning point in Laker history, I think. We came back strong and Kareem led the way. Riley, too. He stepped forward. It was the turning point in his career, too. He took his coaching to another level. It brought the last development of his coaching technique. It was to utilize all aspects. After that particular game it wasn’t pretty. It was factual. It was the truth, and it was presented to us in a way we couldn’t deny. We had to go out and do something about it.”

As the second game approached, the Lakers knew exactly what they had to do. “Our break starts with good, tough defense,” Rambis said. “That forces teams out of their offense. Then we must control the boards. That’s where the work comes in. If we do those two things, the fast break is the easiest part.”

Before Game 2 on Thursday, Kareem went to Riley and asked if his father, Al Alcindor, could ride on the team bus to the Garden. Riley consented and thought of his own father.

Gary Vitti: “Pat talked about when he was a little boy. His big brothers would take him down to the playground. He was the smallest guy out there, and he’d get beat up every day and go home crying. They’d take him home, and his father would say, ‘Take Pat back down there tomorrow.’ And the big brothers would say, ‘Dad, the guy’s getting beat up.’ His father said, ‘Take him back. At some point, you gotta plant your feet, kick some ass, and make a stand.’”

Just before he died, the elder Riley had reminded his son that to survive you had to make that stand. Riley recalled those words to his players in his pregame talk. It was time, he said, to make a stand.

Gary Vitti: “That’s why Pat is what he is today, those types of influences. Riles is an inspiring guy. I mean after hearing him, I wanted to go out there and kick some ass, too.”

And the Lakers did. Kareem, in particular, reasserted himself with 30 points, 17 rebounds, eight assists and three blocks. Cooper hit eight of nine from the floor to finish with 22 points. And just like that, the Lakers evened the series, 109-102. Best of all, they had stolen a game in the Garden and now returned to the Forum for three straight.

“They expected us to crawl into a hole,” Lakers assistant Dave Wohl said of the Celtics. “It’s like the bully on the block who keeps taking your lunch money every day. Finally you get tired of it and you whack him.”

They hosted the Celtics on Sunday afternoon and really whacked ‘em again, returning the favor of Game 1, 136-111. This time Worthy was the man, with 29 points. But Kareem’s presence was felt again, too. He had 26 points and 14 rebounds.

At one point, Boston had led, 48-38, but Worthy dominated the second quarter and Los Angeles charged to a 65-59 edge at intermission. The Lakers ran away in the second half, during which Kareem became the league’s all-time leading play-off scorer with 4,458 points.

Bird, meanwhile, had fallen into a two-game shooting slump, going 17 for 42. He had been troubled by a chronically sore right elbow and bad back, although some speculated his real trouble was Cooper’s defense.

As with ‘84, the series was marked by physical play, although this time it was the Lakers who gained an edge. “We’re not out to physically harm them,” Kareem offered. “But I wouldn’t mind hurting their feelings.” Before Game 4, the NBA’s vice president of operations, Scotty Stirling, warned each coach that fighting and extra rough play would be met with fines and suspensions. Riley told his players of Stirling’s warning, but K. C. Jones chose not to. With their uninhibited play, the Celtics stayed in it, and the game came down to one final possession. Bird had the ball but faced a double-team, so he dumped it off to D. J. above the foul line. From there, Johnson drilled the winner with two seconds left. Boston had evened the series and regained its home-court advantage, 107-105.

Game 5 two nights later in the Forum was another showdown. The Lakers went on a 14-3 run at the close of the half to take a 64-51 lead. They stretched it to 89-72 after intermission, until the Celtics closed to within four at 101-97 with six minutes left. But Magic hit three shots and Kareem added four more, giving him 36 on the day, as the Lakers walked away with a 3-2 lead, 120-111.

“People didn’t think we could win close games,” Johnson said afterward.

From there it went back to Boston. Lakers GM Jerry West didn’t dare make the trip for fear of spooking the proceedings. Across the country old Lakers held their breath and watched the tube. After eight painful losses, this seemed to be the best chance yet to end Boston’s domination. The Celtics would have to win the final two games. With a mere 38 hours’ rest between games, that just didn’t seem possible.

Kareem was there again, this time with 29 points, 18 of them in the second half when it mattered. The score was tied at 55 at intermission.

Kareem sat much of the second period in foul trouble while Mitch Kupchak did admirable work as a backup. The Celtics had played only seven people in the first half, and Magic could see that they were tired. It was written on their faces. Riley told him to keep pushing it at them, not to worry about turnovers. Just keep up the pressure.

He did.

And the Celtics did something they had never ever done before. They gave up a championship on their home floor, on the hallowed parquet, 111-100. Boston forward Kevin McHale had kept them alive with 36 points, but he got his sixth foul with more than five minutes left. And, thanks in part to Cooper’s defense, Larry Bird was closing out a 12-for-29 afternoon. “I thought I’d have a great game today,” he said afterward.

In the end, the Lakers’ victory was signaled by the squeaking of sneakers in the deathly quiet Garden as the crowd slipped away. It was the same crowd that had so riotously jostled the Lakers the year before.

“We made ‘em lose it,” Johnson said with satisfaction.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “They fought as dirty as they could until they realized they were gonna lose. Then they came back with Celtic pride and all this crap. Being able to shut those people up in Boston Garden, that was so satisfying. Even though we came back to LA and lost a game, we didn’t lose any momentum. That was the first year where James really just started to dominate. He just emerged in such a spectacular, wonderful way. It was a nice thing to see. He could finish the break and he could post up. He was just so versatile. And we had Mitch Kupchak and Bob McAdoo on the bench. It was just great stuff.”

Kareem was named the MVP. “He defies logic,” Riley said of the 38-year-old Laker center. “He’s the most unique and durable athlete of our time, the best you’ll ever see. You better enjoy him while he’s here.”

Johnson’s trophy was the sweet redemption he had said he didn’t need. “You wait so long to get back,” he admitted afterward. “A whole year. That’s the hard part. But that’s what makes this game interesting. It’s made me stronger. You have to deal with the different situations and see if you can come back.”

For Lakers’ owner Jerry Buss, the celebration was quieter and very personal.

Jerry Buss: “The Garden was nearly empty with the reporters taking notes in the locker rooms and writing their stories.  Hampton Mears, one of my old friends, and I slipped out to the center of the Garden parquet. We giggled and exchange high fives. The most odious sentence in all of sport — the Lakers have never beaten the Celtics— wasn’t true anymore.”

From the Garden, the Lakers retreated to their hotel, where at last Riley got to celebrate in his white tuxedo from the year before.

The team’s next business was to vote on Pres. Ronald Reagan’s invitation to visit the White House. If the coaches hadn’t cast ballots, too, the team might have passed. It was a close vote, but the ‘85 champions visited the presidential quarters. They were tossed about on a bumpy flight into Washington, but once there Kareem and Riley had a nice chat with Mr. Reagan. Then it was on to LA.

Byron Scott: “We wanted to get back home to party with our families and friends.”

Across the country, old Lakers felt a weight lifted.

Pat Riley: “All those Celtic skeletons came out of the closet.”

Roland Lazenby is the author of Jerry West, The Life And Legend Of A Basketball Icon, recently released by ESPN Books.