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