NBA
OTD in 1987: Magic Johnson’s Sky Hook Won Finals Game 4 for the Lakers
June 9, 1987: Magic Johnson scored the Lakers game-winning FG with a sky hook over Kevin McHale and Robert Parish in NBA Finals Game 4
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The 1985 champion Lakers failed to defend their title in ’86, falling to Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson’s Rockets in the Conference Finals. This prevented a showdown between Showtime and the best iteration of Larry Bird’s Celtics in 1986, who went on to beat Houston in the championship. The next season, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, and James Worthy led their team to its best record during their tenure together and reached the Finals to face the reigning champion Celtics.
MAGIC JOHNSON’S GW SKY HOOK WON NBA FINALS GAME 4 EN ROUTE TO HIS 4TH CHAMPIONSHIP
1987 would be the last time Magic Johnson and Larry Bird would face off in the Finals, bringing an end to their decade-long rivalry. Magic Johnson entered the series as the newly crowned regular-season MVP along with his Defensive Player of the Year Teammate Michael Cooper. LA won the first two games by an average of 16 points. The Celtics took a close Game 3 on their home floor that gave them a boost of confidence. They would lead the Lakers at half in Game 4 by eight, pushing it up to as much as 16, but their opponents found new life late in the third quarter and cut it to seven.
Boston’s lead dissipated further in the fourth, reaching only one point with seven seconds left. Kevin McHale made a costly mistake by fumbling a rebound from a missed free throw out of bounds that gave LA possession under the basket. The ball was inbounded to Magic Johnson who dibbled into the middle of the lane and gave his team the lead after hitting a baby sky hook over the Celtics HOF frontcourt. Larry Bird missed a buzzer-beating game-winner on the other end, sealing the Lakers’ victory. LA would win the ’87 Finals in six games, earning Magic his fourth championship and third Finals MVP.
June 9, 1987: Los Angeles #Lakers PG Magic Johnson used teammate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s patented skyhook as time expired to defeat the Celtics 107-106 in Game 4 to take a 3-1 series lead en route to his 4th (of 5) career Championship
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) June 9, 2021
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