The 1964-65 Boston Celtics season is remembered as one of the franchise’s most successful campaigns, marking their seventh consecutive NBA Championship. Coached by the legendary Red Auerbach, the team finished the regular season with an impressive 62-18 record, securing the top spot in the Eastern Division.
Led by Bill Russell, who continued to dominate the league with his defensive prowess and rebounding ability, the Celtics maintained their status as a defensive powerhouse. Russell averaged 14.1 points per game and 24.1 rebounds per game during the regular season, further solidifying his role as a central figure in the team’s success.
The backcourt duo of Sam Jones and John Havlicek provided the offensive spark. Jones averaged 25.9 points per game, while Havlicek contributed 18.3 points per game. Havlicek’s iconic steal in Game 7 of the Eastern Division Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers remains one of the most memorable moments in NBA history, as it sealed the Celtics’ victory and propelled them to the NBA Finals.
In the Finals, the Celtics faced the Los Angeles Lakers. The Celtics clinched the championship by defeating the Lakers 4-1 in the series. This victory further cemented Boston’s dominance during the 1960s, as they continued to set the standard for excellence in professional basketball. The 1964-65 season remains a testament to the Celtics’ resilience, teamwork, and strategic brilliance.
- Regular Season Record: 62-18
- Playoff Result: Division Finals: 4-3, NBA Finals: 4-1
Boston Celtics Roster and Stats for 1964-65 Season
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | GP | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3P% | GP | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3P% |
| Sam Jones | 80 | 25.9 | 3.8 | 2.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 12 | 28.6 | 4.6 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| John Havlicek | 75 | 18.3 | 4.1 | 2.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 12 | 18.5 | 7.3 | 2.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Bill Russell | 78 | 14.1 | 24.1 | 4.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 12 | 16.5 | 25.2 | 6.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Tom Heinsohn | 67 | 13.6 | 4.8 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 12 | 12.7 | 7.0 | 1.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Tom Sanders | 80 | 11.8 | 6.7 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 12 | 13.3 | 8.5 | 1.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Willie Naulls | 72 | 10.4 | 3.8 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 12 | 7.3 | 4.3 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| K.C. Jones | 78 | 8.3 | 3.2 | 4.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 12 | 10.1 | 3.3 | 6.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Ron Bonham | 37 | 7.4 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4 | 3.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Larry Siegfried | 72 | 6.3 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 12 | 7.0 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Mel Counts | 54 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| John Thompson | 64 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Bevo Nordmann | 3 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |||||||
| Gerry Ward | 3 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |||||||
Boston Celtics in the 1965 NBA Playoffs
1965 Conference Championship vs. Philadelphia 76ers
| Date | Opponent | Result | High Scorer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 04, 1965 | vs. Philadelphia 76ers | W 108-98 | |
| Apr 06, 1965 | @ Philadelphia 76ers | L 109-103 | |
| Apr 08, 1965 | vs. Philadelphia 76ers | W 112-94 | |
| Apr 09, 1965 | @ Philadelphia 76ers | L 134-131 | |
| Apr 11, 1965 | vs. Philadelphia 76ers | W 114-108 | |
| Apr 13, 1965 | @ Philadelphia 76ers | L 112-106 | |
| Apr 15, 1965 | vs. Philadelphia 76ers | W 110-109 |
1965 NBA Finals vs. Los Angeles Lakers
| Date | Opponent | Result | High Scorer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 18, 1965 | vs. Los Angeles Lakers | W 142-110 | |
| Apr 19, 1965 | vs. Los Angeles Lakers | W 129-123 | |
| Apr 21, 1965 | @ Los Angeles Lakers | L 126-105 | |
| Apr 23, 1965 | @ Los Angeles Lakers | W 112-99 | |
| Apr 25, 1965 | vs. Los Angeles Lakers | W 129-96 |
Boston Celtics 1964-65 Regular Season Game Log
Here is the game log for the 1964-65 season for the Boston Celtics.
| Date | Opponent | Result | High Scorer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 17, 1964 | vs. Detroit Pistons | W 112-81 | |
| Oct 22, 1964 | vs. Detroit Pistons | W 104-102 | |
| Oct 24, 1964 | vs. Baltimore Bullets | W 131-103 | |
| Oct 25, 1964 | @ Baltimore Bullets | W 112-100 | |
| Oct 27, 1964 | @ New York Knicks | W 131-103 | |
| Oct 28, 1964 | @ St. Louis Hawks | W 119-117 | |
| Oct 30, 1964 | @ Detroit Pistons | W 106-90 | |
| Oct 31, 1964 | vs. Cincinnati Royals | W 122-94 | |
| Nov 07, 1964 | vs. Detroit Pistons | W 130-113 | |
| Nov 08, 1964 | @ Cincinnati Royals | W 106-103 | |
| Nov 11, 1964 | vs. San Francisco Warriors | W 110-84 | |
| Nov 12, 1964 | vs. Philadelphia 76ers | L 110-109 | |
| Nov 13, 1964 | vs. Los Angeles Lakers | L 114-112 | |
| Nov 14, 1964 | @ Philadelphia 76ers | W 113-102 | |
| Nov 17, 1964 | @ Baltimore Bullets | L 102-99 | |
| Nov 18, 1964 | vs. St. Louis Hawks | W 100-97 | |
| Nov 20, 1964 | vs. New York Knicks | W 127-120 | |
| Nov 21, 1964 | vs. Philadelphia 76ers | L 108-96 | |
| Nov 25, 1964 | vs. San Francisco Warriors | W 122-118 | |
| Nov 26, 1964 | @ St. Louis Hawks | L 110-98 | |
| Nov 28, 1964 | vs. Cincinnati Royals | W 129-98 | |
| Dec 01, 1964 | @ New York Knicks | W 117-113 | |
| Dec 02, 1964 | vs. New York Knicks | W 116-91 | |
| Dec 04, 1964 | @ San Francisco Warriors | L 112-85 | |
| Dec 05, 1964 | @ San Francisco Warriors | W 105-81 | |
| Dec 08, 1964 | @ Los Angeles Lakers | W 108-98 | |
| Dec 10, 1964 | @ Cincinnati Royals | W 116-101 | |
| Dec 11, 1964 | @ Philadelphia 76ers | W 118-109 | |
| Dec 12, 1964 | vs. Baltimore Bullets | W 112-99 | |
| Dec 15, 1964 | vs. St. Louis Hawks | W 124-109 | |
| Dec 16, 1964 | vs. San Francisco Warriors | W 107-106 | |
| Dec 17, 1964 | vs. New York Knicks | L 113-112 | |
| Dec 19, 1964 | @ St. Louis Hawks | W 115-105 | |
| Dec 25, 1964 | vs. Detroit Pistons | W 118-106 | |
| Dec 26, 1964 | @ St. Louis Hawks | W 97-84 | |
| Dec 27, 1964 | vs. Detroit Pistons | W 112-106 | |
| Dec 28, 1964 | vs. Los Angeles Lakers | W 133-112 | |
| Dec 30, 1964 | @ Baltimore Bullets | W 121-114 | |
| Jan 02, 1965 | @ Detroit Pistons | W 101-89 | |
| Jan 03, 1965 | @ Cincinnati Royals | W 89-85 | |
| Jan 06, 1965 | vs. St. Louis Hawks | W 138-106 | |
| Jan 07, 1965 | @ Los Angeles Lakers | W 112-104 | |
| Jan 08, 1965 | @ San Francisco Warriors | W 94-91 | |
| Jan 09, 1965 | @ Los Angeles Lakers | W 107-103 | |
| Jan 15, 1965 | vs. Philadelphia 76ers | W 104-95 | |
| Jan 17, 1965 | vs. Cincinnati Royals | W 101-98 | |
| Jan 20, 1965 | @ Baltimore Bullets | W 131-105 | |
| Jan 22, 1965 | vs. San Francisco Warriors | W 104-94 | |
| Jan 23, 1965 | vs. Philadelphia 76ers | L 104-100 | |
| Jan 24, 1965 | vs. Los Angeles Lakers | W 117-93 | |
| Jan 25, 1965 | @ Baltimore Bullets | W 142-104 | |
| Jan 27, 1965 | vs. Philadelphia 76ers | W 115-98 | |
| Jan 29, 1965 | @ Philadelphia 76ers | L 118-105 | |
| Jan 30, 1965 | @ New York Knicks | W 97-90 | |
| Jan 31, 1965 | vs. New York Knicks | W 123-95 | |
| Feb 03, 1965 | vs. Baltimore Bullets | L 122-114 | |
| Feb 05, 1965 | vs. Cincinnati Royals | W 114-113 | |
| Feb 07, 1965 | vs. Los Angeles Lakers | W 101-97 | |
| Feb 09, 1965 | @ Cincinnati Royals | L 134-121 | |
| Feb 10, 1965 | @ Detroit Pistons | W 117-106 | |
| Feb 12, 1965 | vs. New York Knicks | W 94-92 | |
| Feb 13, 1965 | @ New York Knicks | L 123-113 | |
| Feb 14, 1965 | vs. Baltimore Bullets | W 126-111 | |
| Feb 17, 1965 | vs. St. Louis Hawks | W 121-114 | |
| Feb 18, 1965 | vs. St. Louis Hawks | W 119-109 | |
| Feb 20, 1965 | @ San Francisco Warriors | W 114-108 | |
| Feb 21, 1965 | @ Los Angeles Lakers | L 129-114 | |
| Feb 24, 1965 | @ Los Angeles Lakers | W 97-95 | |
| Feb 26, 1965 | @ San Francisco Warriors | W 130-112 | |
| Feb 28, 1965 | @ St. Louis Hawks | W 108-102 | |
| Mar 03, 1965 | vs. Los Angeles Lakers | L 104-102 | |
| Mar 05, 1965 | @ Baltimore Bullets | L 128-124 | |
| Mar 06, 1965 | @ Philadelphia 76ers | L 103-98 | |
| Mar 07, 1965 | vs. Philadelphia 76ers | W 133-111 | |
| Mar 10, 1965 | @ Detroit Pistons | W 124-106 | |
| Mar 11, 1965 | vs. Detroit Pistons | W 112-100 | |
| Mar 12, 1965 | @ Cincinnati Royals | L 118-108 | |
| Mar 14, 1965 | vs. San Francisco Warriors | W 106-98 | |
| Mar 17, 1965 | @ New York Knicks | L 119-114 | |
| Mar 21, 1965 | vs. Cincinnati Royals | W 116-99 |