The Celtics entered the season as the defending NBA Champions, coming off an NBA Finals victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games, and increasing their NBA Finals victories over the Lakers to 8.
On March 3, 1985, Kevin McHale surpassed Larry Bird's Celtics single game scoring record when he netted 56 points against the Detroit Pistons.
[1] Less than two weeks later, on March 12, Bird answered, scoring a career-high 60 points against the Atlanta Hawks.
This also marked the first time the Celtics lost the NBA Finals at home.
Kevin McHale, Rick Carlisle, Larry Bird, Danny Ainge, Dennis Johnson, and Sam Vincent have all coached in the NBA.