At the start of the 1980s, the Lakers and Boston Celtics were at the forefront of basketball pageantry. Both teams had won three titles from 1980-1986 and matched up in back-to-back Finals in 1984 and 1985 leading to a third meeting in 1987 (third time in four seasons).
“Nobody gets you up more than Boston,” Johnson remarked during an interview prior to the ’87 Finals. “As long as Larry [Bird] is on the other side and I’m on this side, it’s going to always be that. Whether it’s the All-Star Game, an Old Timers Game, or even at a park we’re going to want to beat each other.”
The rivalry was real, and still considered one of the best in all sports. The Lakers took both meetings during the regular season by a margin of just 10 points total.
When it came time for the Finals, the Lakers entered with an 11-1 record, which included two sweeps over Denver and Seattle. The defending champion Celtics, meanwhile, were 11-6 and coming off back-to-back grueling seven-game series against Milwaukee and Detroit.
The Lakers’ objective was to run the Celtics ragged and in Game 1, Los Angeles made Boston look like they were standing still. The fatigue was apparent for the men wearing green, and the Purple and Gold ran away with a 13-point victory to open the championship round.
The momentum carried over into a Game 2 and much like their performance two days prior, the Lakers dominated the Celtics once again and defended home court. Thanks in large part to, a then NBA playoff record, six three-pointers from Michael Cooper, L.A. grabbed a 141-122 win, and a 2-0 series lead as the teams commuted East for three games in Boston.
The Celtics 109-103 win in Game 3 set up a pivotal Game 4 as Boston looked for the tie and Los Angeles looked to get to within one win of the franchise’s 10th title.
The Celtics came out hot in Game 4 and held an eight-point lead at the half. Despite Bird only scoring two points in the first half, the Lakers could not find any answers for his teammates.
Poetically, Bird found his shot and pushed the Lakers’ deficit to 16 midway through the third. A Lakers surge finally found some response to the Celtics offense and closed the quarter down only seven.
In the early goings of the fourth, Johnson and Bird collided knees first on a loose-ball play. Johnson grabbed at his left knee and would be forced to the bench, but the recovery was quick as Magic limped back into the game with eight minutes remaining and his team down five.
L.A. tied the game at 93 apiece with about six minutes remaining but the Celtics regained an eight-point lead with four consecutive makes.
Down 103-97 with two minutes left, the Lakers took advantage of some Celtics miscues and score three consecutive shots of their own to grab a one-point lead with 29 seconds in the game.
Following a timeout, Bird would knock down a corner three in front of the Lakers bench to give Boston a two-point lead. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was fouled on the other end of the court and knock down his first foul shot. He’d miss the second, but the rebound was knocked out of bounds by the Celtics, setting up one final play for the Lakers to win or lose the ballgame.
The inbounds pass came to Magic at the left corner with seven seconds. With a fake and a few dribbles to his right, Johnson went up with, what many know as Kareem’s patented skyhook, and swished the shot with two seconds left, giving the Lakers a one-point lead.
The Celtics inbounded the ball at half court and Dennis Johnson found a semi-wide-open Larry Bird in the same area where he knocked down his previous three-pointer.
With a hope and a prayer, the ball left his hands, knocked off the backside of the rim and fell harmlessly to the floor, solidifying the Lakers’ dramatic Game 4 win and a 3-1 series lead.
“He’s the MVP of the league and made some awfully big plays out there,” Bird commented on Johnson postgame. “He made everything happen out there and made that one hook shot in the middle. You’re probably going to get beat on a skyhook, but you don’t expect it to be from Magic.”
“We both do what we have to do to win the game,” Johnson said. “That’s the difference between us and a lot of people because we’ll take that shot. I won’t take the three like him, but I will take the two and under.”
Boston won Game 5, but Los Angeles finished the job back home in Game 6 and tie a bow on a spectacular season with the team’s 10th NBA title.
Magic, of course, was named Finals MVP. With one dramatic shot, Johnson assured himself of his fourth title and his rightful place on the list of NBA superstars.