Game 4 of the 1987 NBA Finals was a crucial juncture in multiple rivalries: the Celtics-Lakers rivalry dating back to the 1950s, and the Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird rivalry that had captivated fans since their college days.
Down 1 in the closing seconds, the Lakers just needed a bucket and a stop to steal a win at Boston Garden and take a commanding 3-1 series lead. We'll see what happened in their final possession, and the Celtics play that followed, but to really understand those moments we need to go back. We need to understand the options available to the '87 Lakers, including the legendary but aging Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the increasingly dominant Magic Johnson. We need to understand the Celtics' recent history, including that tragic '86-'87 season.
This is one of the greatest moments in NBA Finals history, and to really understand why, you've gotta rewind.
Down 1 in the closing seconds, the Lakers just needed a bucket and a stop to steal a win at Boston Garden and take a commanding 3-1 series lead. We'll see what happened in their final possession, and the Celtics play that followed, but to really understand those moments we need to go back. We need to understand the options available to the '87 Lakers, including the legendary but aging Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the increasingly dominant Magic Johnson. We need to understand the Celtics' recent history, including that tragic '86-'87 season.
This is one of the greatest moments in NBA Finals history, and to really understand why, you've gotta rewind.
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00:00 It's June 9th, 1987.
00:03 We're at Boston Garden for game four of the NBA finals.
00:07 The Celtics lead the Los Angeles Lakers by one point,
00:11 and if they get a stop here, they'll even the series.
00:14 This is Magic Johnson, hoping to find LA a bucket,
00:18 steal a road win, and build the Lakers
00:21 a commanding 3-1 series lead.
00:25 Before we see how this plays out,
00:27 we should reflect on this historic rivalry,
00:30 examine how the powerhouse participants have shifted,
00:33 and enjoy the twists and turns
00:36 of this wild and rowdy game.
00:39 Let's rewind.
00:40 (gentle music)
00:43 So, first of all, this is a very familiar finals matchup,
00:49 but the stakes and odds of this skirmish
00:52 don't exactly match the precedent.
00:57 The Minneapolis Lakers were an early NBA powerhouse.
01:01 When they made the finals, they won.
01:04 Five titles in five tries.
01:06 I mean, just look at them.
01:08 They're terrifying.
01:10 But in 1959, the finalist Lakers met Red Auerbach's
01:15 excellent Boston Celtics for the first time.
01:18 Boston swept the Lakers in the '59 finals,
01:21 their second title,
01:23 and then they absolutely owned the 1960s.
01:27 Boston claimed nine of the next 10 NBA championships,
01:32 perhaps the greatest dynastic run in pro sports history.
01:37 Six of the Celtics' finals victories in that decade
01:40 came at the expense of the Lakers,
01:42 who had since moved to Los Angeles.
01:44 In the '70s and early '80s, these teams both thrived,
01:48 but avoided one another in the finals.
01:51 Wilt Chamberlain joined the Lakers
01:53 and led them out of their championship drought,
01:55 taking down the Knicks in 1972.
01:57 At that time, the Celtics were still rebuilding
02:00 after Bill Russell's remarkable tenure
02:02 as player and head coach.
02:05 But soon thereafter, Tom Heinsohn coached the Celtics
02:08 to rings in '74 against the Bucs and '76 against the Suns.
02:13 And actually, here's Tommy on the call tonight.
02:16 So these rivals exited the 1970s in great shape,
02:20 but with no direct contact in the postseason,
02:23 despite Pat Riley's lovely playoff beard.
02:26 But if you look right here and here,
02:32 you'll know why it felt like the Lakers and Celtics
02:34 were meant to cross paths again soon.
02:37 Magic and Larry.
02:39 It began in college.
02:42 Larry Bird's scoring and remarkable all-court genius
02:45 turned little Indiana State University into a force,
02:50 just eating the rest of the Missouri Valley Conference.
02:53 Magic Johnson was the dazzling six-foot-nine point guard
02:57 leading the mighty Michigan State Spartans.
03:00 And their long-awaited meeting in the 1979 NCAA Final
03:05 became a blockbuster event.
03:07 Nevermind that the actual game was kind of a dud.
03:10 An individual rivalry was born.
03:13 And that rivalry presented a potential NBA savior,
03:17 at least for the fans and journalists
03:19 who had become disillusioned by the late '70s game.
03:22 Bird's rights already belonged to Boston.
03:26 The Celtics drafted him in 1978, before his senior season.
03:31 Meanwhile, thanks to free agent compensation,
03:34 the misfortune of the New Orleans Jazz,
03:36 and one lucky coin flip,
03:39 LA held the first pick in the 1979 draft.
03:42 The same spring Boston caved
03:44 to Larry Bird's rookie contract demands,
03:46 the Lakers got to draft Magic Johnson number one overall.
03:51 Each star found his place quickly.
03:54 Magic made an art of table setting.
03:56 His wizardly passes energized LA's more veteran stars.
04:01 With the notable exception of the 1980 Finals
04:04 versus the Sixers, when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
04:07 was hurt for game six, and Magic took over to win it all.
04:11 He's the only rookie ever to win NBA Finals MVP.
04:16 Bird also joined a team of veterans,
04:18 guys like Dave Cowens and Tiny Archibald,
04:21 but Larry became Boston's go-to scorer right off the bat.
04:25 Bird won his first title the year after Magic, 1981,
04:30 as the centerpiece of a budding Big Three front court
04:34 alongside Robert Parrish and Kevin McHale,
04:36 who was a rookie at the time.
04:38 Then Magic led the Lakers over the Sixers
04:41 again in the '82 Finals.
04:44 The rivalry was booming, but still at a distance.
04:48 These guys were left hyping up
04:50 two regular season matchups a year.
04:53 The other 80 games were just games.
04:55 NBA fans still dreamed of a direct high stakes contest.
05:01 And that dream came true in the 1984 NBA Finals.
05:07 The Celtics had only improved under coach Casey Jones.
05:11 Bird was headed for his first league MVP trophy.
05:14 All of the Big Three were All-Stars,
05:16 including sixth man of the year Kevin McHale.
05:19 New acquisition Dennis Johnson
05:21 embraced a role as Boston's defensive stopper.
05:25 Pat Riley's Lakers were transitioning too
05:27 as the '70s core aged.
05:29 Kareem remained the centerpiece in his late 30s,
05:32 but Jamal Wilkes began passing the baton
05:35 to a younger forward, James Worthy,
05:38 whom LA had acquired via another draft rights robbery,
05:41 this time from the hard Cleveland Cavaliers.
05:44 This group assumed the task of beating Boston
05:47 in the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.
05:52 They failed.
05:53 Squandering leads aplenty.
05:56 Collapses in games two and four ruined LA's momentum.
06:02 Boston would go on to win a seven game affair
06:06 typified by on-court violence,
06:09 sweltering heat here at Boston Garden,
06:12 and of course, the mastery of Larry Bird.
06:16 Bird and Boston held the upper hand
06:18 in these conjoined rivalries, until '85.
06:22 Once again, the 1985 Finals featured as many shoves
06:27 and elbows and punches as it did baskets.
06:31 But this time, the Lakers overcame.
06:34 LA finally took a ring off the Celtics,
06:38 their first in nine tries,
06:40 in an impressive six game victory
06:42 clinched at Boston Garden.
06:44 Doubly impressive when you look at Boston's home record
06:47 since that game.
06:48 In '85, it helped a great deal that Worthy broke out
06:53 as one of the Lakers' best scorers.
06:55 Begoggled and clutch as hell,
06:58 the character known as Big Game James was born.
07:01 Magic had his viable younger co-pilot
07:05 for whenever Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
07:07 finally walked away from the game.
07:09 Granted, Kareem was named '85 Finals MVP at age 38,
07:14 so, you know, no rush.
07:16 That was two years ago.
07:20 Let's check in on the Lakers now.
07:23 Big Game James certainly panned out.
07:26 The 26-year-old is now a two-time All-Star.
07:29 Worthy produced the biggest scoring game
07:31 of this series, 33 points in LA's blowout
07:34 game one victory at home.
07:36 Worthy had a tough first half tonight,
07:38 but found his rhythm in the second.
07:41 He dropped this huge isolation bucket
07:43 less than a minute ago to keep this game close.
07:46 And Magic has acquired even more young helpers.
07:50 New starters like AC Green and Byron Scott,
07:53 the latter of whom had a huge game two performance.
07:57 LA pulled ahead 2-0 thanks to a couple routes at home.
08:02 (upbeat music)
08:03 Which is to say, Magic and the Lakers snagged two wins
08:07 without facing this kind of situation.
08:10 Seconds remaining, gotta get two points.
08:14 Who will it be?
08:15 This is the obvious move.
08:18 Kareem, single covered in the post,
08:20 presents one of the handiest tools basketball
08:23 has ever seen, the sky hook.
08:26 Kareem is not the first great Laker
08:30 to thrive off the hook shot.
08:32 The towering George Mikan loved to turn a hip
08:36 toward the rim and arc the ball high over his head,
08:39 where the defender couldn't do a damn thing about it.
08:42 Young Lou Alcindor practiced the ambidexterity drill
08:45 named after Mikan, and also watched some of Cliff Hagan.
08:50 Hagan stood just 6'4" but used a prodigious hook shot
08:53 to create separation from would-be shot blockers
08:56 in college and the pros.
08:59 Before Alcindor grew bigger than his peers in New York,
09:02 he adopted the same shot for that same reason.
09:05 And even as the biggest guy on the floor in college,
09:08 Alcindor faced constraints.
09:10 The NCAA banned dunking.
09:12 His hook, released from so high that its trajectory
09:18 almost approximated a dunk, was the next best thing.
09:22 Alcindor became an NBA star in Milwaukee,
09:24 where he changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
09:28 It was Bucks announcer Eddie Doucette
09:30 who gave Abdul-Jabbar's indefensible weapon
09:33 its lofty nickname, the Skyhook.
09:35 A decade into his career and now a Laker,
09:40 Kareem got an excellent new point guard, Magic Johnson.
09:44 And Magic fucking loved the Skyhook.
09:47 Magic's first career game ended with Kareem
09:51 burying a deep Skyhook buzzer beater.
09:54 He made 6'11" Swen Nader look like a shrimp,
09:57 and he made Magic lose his damn mind.
10:00 In the eight years since, Magic, ever the distributor,
10:04 has maintained that enthusiasm for the Skyhook.
10:08 He's delighted to bring the ball up,
10:10 raise a fist to signal post up,
10:12 then simply dump the ball inside
10:14 and let the tall guy do his thing.
10:17 Magic is still very much a point guard,
10:19 but he has also inherited a chunk
10:22 of Kareem's finishing burden.
10:24 Not just for a game here and there,
10:27 but continuously for this whole season.
10:30 He's even got a decent hook of his own.
10:32 Magic has received fame and acclaim for a while,
10:36 but this season is the one the NBA's top assist guy
10:40 also became one of its foremost scorers.
10:43 A couple weeks ago, Magic won league MVP,
10:47 breaking the multi-year streak of his foremost rival.
10:51 On one hand, it's totally reasonable
10:54 that a center in his 18th season would ease off the gas a bit
10:58 and let his younger co-star take the reins.
11:02 On the other hand, Kareem still got it when he needs it.
11:05 He had vintage scoring performances
11:08 in each prior series win.
11:10 The West got wrecked by a dude who just turned 40.
11:15 On the original hand, Kareem needed it tonight
11:21 and hasn't always got it.
11:23 It was kinda rough in the first quarter
11:25 watching such a deadly weapon go clank,
11:28 clank, clank on the first three attempts.
11:33 Kareem just surrendering the ball to little Jerry Seasting
11:37 or actually airballing a sky hook, that was not fun.
11:41 That helped the Celtics get out in transition
11:43 and stem the tide of a double-digit Laker comeback.
11:47 Down seven with just a couple minutes left,
11:50 the Lakers desperately needed a bucket
11:52 and Kareem just kinda lumbered into a travel.
11:55 But Magic trusts his vet.
11:58 Magic brought the ball up with a chance
12:00 to pull ahead in the final minute.
12:02 LA hadn't led since the opening minutes.
12:05 He called for Michael Cooper, who had just hit a huge three,
12:08 to post up on the strong side.
12:10 Then a Cooper screen released Kareem
12:13 to dunk home a perfect lob.
12:15 Of course, on the next possession, just moments ago,
12:19 Kareem drew a foul and missed the second free throw
12:23 that would've tied the game.
12:25 I have no idea what Magic thinks about these recent events.
12:30 This post up right here is the traditional first option,
12:34 Kareem in perfect position for his signature sky hook.
12:37 But this guy is 40 years old, five of 17 from the field,
12:43 and literally just missed in the clutch.
12:47 Magic has been excellent from the field.
12:49 He's LA's leading scorer tonight.
12:51 Moreover, if we rewind to the inbound,
12:56 we'll see that Magic already created a switch for himself
13:00 by setting a screen for Worthy.
13:01 Magic Johnson is the league's most amazing passer
13:05 and it helps to have an all-time great finisher
13:08 as a target, Kareem and the sky hook.
13:11 But with more of a scoring role this season
13:13 and a favorable mismatch,
13:16 might Magic take this himself?
13:18 Let's see.
13:19 Welcome to a moment in history.
13:22 - Five seconds to go.
13:25 Magic with a hook shot, scores with two.
13:28 - Magic hit the sky hook himself.
13:31 Kind of a baby sky hook, but what a finish.
13:34 Well, just one thing.
13:38 The Lakers left time on the clock.
13:40 Boston gets the ball back out of a timeout,
13:45 down one with two seconds remaining.
13:48 Magic's moment in history might disappear
13:50 into whatever happens here.
13:53 With one buzzer beater, Boston could tie this series
13:58 and perhaps push ahead to win another title.
14:00 Considering the circumstances,
14:02 that would be an incredible feat.
14:04 Throughout history, the Celtics have thrived off depth.
14:10 Some credit legendary coach Red Auerbach
14:12 with inventing the concept of a sixth man.
14:15 Kevin McHale filled that role beautifully
14:18 until last season when he graduated
14:20 to a full-time starting role
14:22 after Boston traded away Cedric Maxwell.
14:25 That trade brought in a new bench star, Bill Walton.
14:29 The hero of the '70s Blazers had too many chronic foot issues
14:33 to log any more heavy minutes,
14:36 but made the most of his role
14:37 as Boston's big man off the bench.
14:40 The 33-year-old former MVP inherited
14:44 the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award from McHale
14:47 and played a crucial role in Boston's thrilling title run.
14:51 It helped to have an experienced center pitching in
14:54 against Houston's Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson
14:57 in the NBA finals.
14:59 And after winning it all last year,
15:02 the Celtics had an incredible opportunity
15:04 to get even deeper.
15:06 Thanks to a Lakers-esque trade a few years prior,
15:10 the NBA champions owned the number two pick
15:13 in the '86 draft.
15:15 They used it to select perhaps the best scorer
15:18 in college basketball,
15:19 the electrifying Len Bias out of Maryland.
15:22 As worthy AC Green and Byron Scott were to Magic,
15:27 Bias would be to Larry, the younger star,
15:31 the new co-leader for a future
15:33 after some of these vets moved along.
15:36 But mere days after Bias became a Celtic
15:39 came shocking news of tragedy
15:42 and heartbreak that may never fade.
15:45 Less than a year ago, on June 19th, 1986,
15:49 22-year-old Len Bias died after a cocaine overdose.
15:53 He had just begun to realize his life goal,
15:57 not just to play in the NBA,
15:59 but to play for the vaunted Celtics,
16:01 a group so ready to welcome the newcomer.
16:04 Larry Bird, a grouchy veteran
16:07 long past the days of extra practice,
16:09 had planned to attend rookie camp with Bias.
16:12 That's how thrilled he was to mentor the next generation.
16:15 Bird called Bias' death the cruelest thing he'd ever heard.
16:20 Too shocking for words.
16:23 That shock, the pall of a teammate lost
16:26 before they could enjoy his company,
16:28 has hung over this whole Celtics season.
16:31 And it was a slog for the defending champs
16:33 to reach these finals.
16:35 Two important reserve vets,
16:37 Walton and forward Scott Wedman,
16:40 have been injured basically all year.
16:42 With that depleted bench
16:44 and scarcely any influx of young talent,
16:47 nearly all the Boston starters
16:49 have averaged career-high minutes.
16:51 Their collective exhaustion only compounded
16:55 in the grinding seven-game battles it took
16:58 to knock out the Bucs in the second round
17:00 and the Pistons in the conference final.
17:03 That last series claimed the ankles
17:05 of both Parrish and McHale.
17:08 Danny Ainge's knee is busted.
17:10 All have performed with outstanding metal
17:13 right up through tonight,
17:14 with the important exception of this flubbed rebound
17:18 just moments ago.
17:19 That set up Magic's baby skyhook.
17:22 The bench did step up this week.
17:24 Parrish's foul trouble in game three
17:26 mobilized bench big Greg Kite,
17:28 who damn near held his own against Kareem
17:31 in the critical Boston victory.
17:33 The crowd welcomed Kite as a hero tonight.
17:36 Just listen to the reaction when he checked in.
17:38 (crowd cheering)
17:42 Or when he sparked a little fight
17:43 by wrecking Worthy in midair.
17:45 (crowd cheering)
17:48 - And Greg Kite was tagged.
17:50 - This scene and the building excitement
17:53 in the home crowd happened just before the end
17:55 of a first half the Celtics commanded.
17:58 Bird saw that all coming.
18:00 Sports Illustrated quoted Larry saying,
18:02 "A game three loss would have spelled doom,
18:05 "but a mere 2-1 deficit made it easy
18:08 "to get up for tonight's game."
18:09 Spicy talk from Larr,
18:13 especially when you consider that the Celtics
18:15 have since blown the lead.
18:16 But as he books it to the perimeter corner,
18:19 you might recall how he's backed up big words before.
18:22 This is the player who walked into the locker room
18:25 before the first ever All-Star three-point contest
18:28 last season, asked the assembled shooters
18:31 who was gonna come in second,
18:32 probably with a bit more swearing than this quote,
18:35 and then won it convincingly.
18:37 He repeated that title this season.
18:40 This man has the utmost confidence in his ability to shoot.
18:44 And while he's just 7-of-18 this evening,
18:47 it was only moments ago that a once slumping Bird
18:51 broke free from Worthy's jersey grip
18:53 to drill the three-pointer that put Boston ahead
18:56 before Magic's baby skyhook.
18:59 And now it looks like Larry will have a shot
19:02 to erase Magic's big moment right out of history.
19:05 With one flick of his wrist, he could tie the series
19:10 and sustain Boston's hopes of repeating as champions
19:14 after a season of heartbreak and toil.
19:17 Let's see if Larry can do it.
19:19 Welcome to a moment in history.
19:21 - Bird fires it.
19:22 (crowd cheering)
19:24 And the Lakers have won in Pat Wiley
19:26 and the Lakers dance off the court.
19:29 (gunshot)
19:32 (swoosh)
19:34 (electronic music)