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| Dates | June 2–14 | |||||||||
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| MVP | Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers) | |||||||||
| Hall of Famers | Celtics: Larry Bird (1998) Dennis Johnson (2010) Kevin McHale (1999) Robert Parish (2003) Bill Walton (1993) Lakers: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1995) Michael Cooper (2024) Magic Johnson (2002) James Worthy (2003) Coaches: K. C. Jones (1989, player) Pat Riley (2008) Officials: Hugh Evans (2022) Darell Garretson (2016) Earl Strom (1995) | |||||||||
| Eastern finals | Celtics defeatedPistons, 4–3 | |||||||||
| Western finals | Lakers defeatedSuperSonics, 4–0 | |||||||||
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The1987 NBA Finals was thechampionship series of theNational Basketball Association's (NBA)1986–87 season, and the culmination of theseason's playoffs. TheWestern Conference championLos Angeles Lakers defeated thedefending NBA champion andEastern Conference championBoston Celtics in six games. The key moment of the series wasMagic Johnson's Juniorsky hook in Game 4. This was the tenth time that theCeltics and Lakers met in the NBA Finals (more than any other Finals matchup). It would beLarry Bird's last Finals appearance, as well as the Celtics' last Finals appearance until the two teams met in2008.
This was the first NBA Championship Series conducted entirely in June. The last time there were no NBA Championship Series games in May was in the 1970–1971 season, when the finals (a four-game sweep that year) ended on April 30. It is also the first NBA Finals series to be conducted on a Sunday-Tuesday-Thursday rotation, which was in use until1990 and revived since the2004 NBA Finals; in between the NBA Finals were conducted on a Sunday-Wednesday-Friday rotation.
Thanks to the 1984 trade ofGerald Henderson and the subsequent fall of theSeattle SuperSonics, at the end of1985–86 the Celtics were not only the best team in the NBA but also owned the second pick in the1986 NBA draft. They choseLen Bias with the pick and had high hopes that the presence of the youngMaryland Terrapins star would ensure that the franchise would remain a powerhouse after Bird, McHale, and Parish retired. Unfortunately, Bias died 48 hours after being drafted, after usingcocaine at a party andoverdosing.[1]
The Celtics finished the regular season with a 59–23 record, best in the Eastern Conference. Despite retaining the core of the team that won the championship a year earlier, Boston endured numerous injuries to its roster. Their bench, an asset of the previous year's team, was decimated by injuries toScott Wedman andBill Walton. With limited options, head coachK. C. Jones was forced to give his starting five ofLarry Bird,Kevin McHale,Robert Parish,Dennis Johnson andDanny Ainge extended minutes, but the lengthy playing time took its toll on the players' health, and by the start of the playoffs, the Celtics were a roster full of walking wounded.
After sweeping theChicago Bulls in the first round, the Celtics were pushed to a Game 7 in the next two rounds by theMilwaukee Bucks and theDetroit Pistons, only to advance each time. Still, the Celtics' health became a question mark as they entered the Finals.
The Lakers finished the regular season with a league-best 65–17 record. Head coachPat Riley made a strategical move, shifting the offensive focus toMagic Johnson. The Lakers acquired centerMychal Thompson via trade midway through the season. Both moves helped alleviate the load off of the agingKareem Abdul-Jabbar, who turned 40 during the playoffs.A.C. Green supplantedKurt Rambis in the starting lineup.
During the Lakers' path to the Finals they swept theDenver Nuggets in the first round, defeated theGolden State Warriors in five games during the second round, and swept theSeattle SuperSonics in the conference finals.
This 1987 Lakers team is widely considered both Magic Johnson's best team, and one of the greatest teams in NBA history. There are many reasons for this besides Magic Johnson being league MVP this year instead of Larry Bird: Kareem was still in late prime condition, the Lakers had many scoring options, they had an excellent defense which included defensive player of the year Michael Cooper, and Mychal Thompson's elite post defense Meant they had another body to throw at the likes of McHale and Parish of the Celtics.
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| Defeated the (8)Denver Nuggets, 3–0 | First round | Defeated the (8)Chicago Bulls, 3–0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Defeated the (5)Golden State Warriors, 4–1 | Conference semifinals | Defeated the (4)Milwaukee Bucks, 4–3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Defeated the (7)Seattle SuperSonics, 4–0 | Conference finals | Defeated the (3)Detroit Pistons, 4–3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TheLos Angeles Lakers won both games in the regular season series:
| Game | Date | Road team | Result | Home team |
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| Game 1 | June 2 | Boston Celtics | 113–126 (0–1) | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Game 2 | June 4 | Boston Celtics | 122–141 (0–2) | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Game 3 | June 7 | Los Angeles Lakers | 103–109 (2–1) | Boston Celtics |
| Game 4 | June 9 | Los Angeles Lakers | 107–106 (3–1) | Boston Celtics |
| Game 5 | June 11 | Los Angeles Lakers | 108–123 (3–2) | Boston Celtics |
| Game 6 | June 14 | Boston Celtics | 93–106 (2–4) | Los Angeles Lakers |
June 2 9:00 pm EDT |
| Boston Celtics 113,Los Angeles Lakers 126 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–35, 28–34, 31–32,28–25 | ||
| Pts:Larry Bird 32 Rebs:Larry Bird 7 Asts:Dennis Johnson 13 | Pts:James Worthy 33 Rebs:Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 10 Asts:Magic Johnson 13 | |
| Los Angeles leads the series, 1–0 | ||
The Lakers were coming off a four-game sweep of theSeattle SuperSonics, while the Celtics were coming off a grueling seven-game win over theDetroit Pistons.Magic Johnson led a 126–113 victory with 29 points, 13 assists, eight rebounds and no turnovers.James Worthy, on the receiving end of many of Johnson's passes, had 33 points and nine rebounds. The Lakers ran 35 fast breaks in the first two quarters and led by 15 at intermission.
June 4 9:00 pm EDT |
| Boston Celtics 122,Los Angeles Lakers 141 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 34–38, 22–37,36–32, 30–34 | ||
| Pts:Larry Bird 23 Rebs:Robert Parish 14 Asts:Dennis Johnson 9 | Pts:Byron Scott 24 Rebs:Johnson,Rambis 5 each Asts:Magic Johnson 20 | |
| Los Angeles leads the series, 2–0 | ||
The Celtics plan for Game 2 was to concentrate on stoppingMagic Johnson.Danny Ainge, at 6'5", could not deal with the 6'9" Magic. In this game,Michael Cooper emerged as a great 3 point shooter. He hit six 3 pointers, a playoff record.Kareem Abdul-Jabbar added 23 points on 10 of 14 shots, while Magic posted 20 assists and 22 points. It all added up to a 141–122 rout, Boston's sixth straight road loss in the playoffs.
June 7 1:00 pm EDT |
| Los Angeles Lakers 103,Boston Celtics 109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter:29–22, 27–38, 22–26,25–23 | ||
| Pts:Magic Johnson 32 Rebs:Magic Johnson 11 Asts:Magic Johnson 9 | Pts:Larry Bird 30 Rebs:Larry Bird 12 Asts:Ainge,McHale 5 each | |
| Los Angeles leads the series, 2–1 | ||
Boston Garden,Boston,Massachusetts Attendance: 14,890 Referees:
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The Celtics recovered from their two knockout blows in Games 1 and 2 with a counterpunch of their own. A little-used backup center,Greg Kite, provided the spark. Kite, entering the game late in the first quarter whenRobert Parish encountered foul trouble, played 20 minutes, and while he failed to score, he grabbed nine rebounds, blocked aMagic Johnson layup, and did solid body work onKareem Abdul-Jabbar. The defensive minutes Kite gave Boston from the bench were just enough, asLarry Bird scored 30 points andDennis Johnson hit 11 of 22 attempts from the field to finish with 26 points. The resurgent Celtics shot 17 of 21 from the floor in the second quarter.
Kevin McHale Celtics' forward bounced back in Boston with 21 points and 10 rebounds while letting the air out ofJames Worthy's game, limiting the Lakers' forward to only 13 points and three rebounds. Magic led the Lakers with 32 points in the 109–103 loss.
June 9 9:00 pm EDT |
| Los Angeles Lakers 107,Boston Celtics 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–29, 25–26,31–30,29–21 | ||
| Pts:Magic Johnson 29 Rebs:Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 11 Asts:Cooper,Johnson 5 each | Pts:Kevin McHale 25 Rebs:Kevin McHale 13 Asts:Dennis Johnson 14 | |
| Los Angeles leads the series, 3–1 | ||
After their Game 3 win,Larry Bird said, "This (Game 3) was the most important game of the series for us. If we lost, it might've been tough to get up for Game 4. Now it's going to be easy."
In what would be one of, if not the greatest Finals game of all time The Celtics took it right to the Lakers, controlling the boards and taking a 55–47 lead into halftime. The Celtics had a balanced scoring attack withKevin McHale,Robert Parish,Danny Ainge, andDennis Johnson all scoring in double figures. In the 3rd quarter, Bird finally got hot by scoring 12 in the quarter and helping the Celtics lead by as many as 16 points. But Los Angeles fought back to cut the Celtics lead to 85–78 going into the 4th.
In the 4th quarter the Lakers continued fighting back until they managed to tie the game at 95–95 on aKareem Abdul-Jabbar skyhook with 5:30 remaining. The Celtics responded on both ends of the court by going on an 8–0 run, helped by good defense which led to 2 fast-break lay-ups to take a 103–96 lead with 2 minutes left. Then the Lakers called time out. On the Celtics' next possession,Robert Parish lost the ball toMichael Cooper. Cooper passed the ball ahead toMagic Johnson, who started a break. Cooper spotted up in 3-point territory, while Magic drove, forcing Cooper's defender to help out. Magic then kicked the ball out to a now wide open Cooper who drilled the three to cut the lead to 103–100.
On the Celtics next possession,Larry Bird forced a pass toKevin McHale in the post, which instead sailed out of bounds, giving possession right back to the Lakers.James Worthy then hit a tough fade-away over Kevin McHale andRobert Parish in the lane to cut the deficit to one. On the very next possession, Bird missed a step-back jumper over the outstretched frame ofKareem Abdul-Jabbar, and the Lakers got the ball back with just under 45 seconds remaining. The Lakers called a timeout to set up a pick forKareem Abdul-Jabbar. The pass was there for an alley-oop dunk, and the Lakers took a 104–103 lead, their first lead since early in the 1st quarter. The Celtics called timeout with 29 seconds left in the game.
Out of the timeout Bird threw the ball inbounds and was immediately face-guarded byJames Worthy. In fact, Worthy had a fist-full of Bird's jersey to make sure Bird would not score. With Worthy's defense, the Celtics could not get their best player the ball and instead went through the motions of their offense untilDanny Ainge got open. That forced Worthy to let go of Bird and help out on Ainge. Bird immediately got himself open by going to the 3-point line right in front of the Lakers' bench. Ainge found Bird wide open and Bird hit the three point bomb with 12 seconds left, to put Boston up 106–104 and sent the Boston Garden crowd into a frenzy.
On the next possession, Abdul-Jabbar was fouled and went to the line, where he made the first and missed the second. The officials ruled that McHale fumbled the ball out of bounds with seven seconds left.
What followed was another play for the ages. Magic set a pick on Kevin McHale, which almost opened up a lay-up for Worthy, butDennis Johnson was able to switch over in time on help defend. However, that left McHale scrambling to guard Magic who just got open and received the inbounds pass near the left sideline. Twenty feet from the basket, Magic had the advantage on the post-defender McHale, who was also playing through a bad ankle injury. Magic dribbled, hesitated to get McHale off-balance, then drove into the paint. Magic then lofted ahook shot, which just cleared the fingertips of both McHale and Parish, and swished through the net giving the Lakers a 107–106 lead with only 2 seconds left.
The Celtics still had one last shot: Dennis inbounded the ball to Bird, who had broken to the corner. Larry, to his surprise, found himself wide open behind the 3-point line right in front of the Lakers' bench. Bird caught the inbounds pass from Johnson, turned, and put up a fall-away jumper as time expired. The shot missed as the Boston crowd let out a collective groan and the Lakers' bench danced off the court to celebrate the victory. The win gave the Lakers a commanding 3–1 series lead.
June 11 9:00 pm EDT |
| Los Angeles Lakers 108,Boston Celtics 123 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–25, 23–38, 29–33,31–27 | ||
| Pts:Magic Johnson 29 Rebs:Magic Johnson 8 Asts:Magic Johnson 12 | Pts:Dennis Johnson 25 Rebs:Kevin McHale 14 Asts:Dennis Johnson 11 | |
| Los Angeles leads the series, 3–2 | ||
The Celtics had to win Game 5 in the Garden, and would control most of the game.Danny Ainge set the tone by nailing 5 of 6 from 3-point range to give Boston early control, including a halfcourt heave at the buzzer before halftime.
Magic countered for Los Angeles with 29 points, 12 assists, eight rebounds, and four steals, but he received little help. Before the game Bird had told his teammates, "If they want to celebrate, let's not let them do it on the parquet." The Celtics had incentive enough. They got their second win, 123–108, and the series jetted back across the continent.
This was the last NBA Finals game played at Boston Garden. When the Celtics returned to the Finals in2008, they had moved toTD Garden, which opened in 1995.
June 14 3:30 pm EDT |
| Boston Celtics 93,Los Angeles Lakers 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter:32–25, 24–26, 12–30, 25–25 | ||
| Pts:Dennis Johnson 33 Rebs:Johnson,McHale 10 each Asts:Danny Ainge 6 | Pts:Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 32 Rebs:Mychal Thompson 9 Asts:Magic Johnson 19 | |
| Los Angeles wins the series, 4–2 | ||
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar arrived for Game 6 with a shaved head and a determination to close out this series. For a while, though, it appeared like the Celtics would steal it.Magic Johnson had only four points at the half andDennis Johnson poured in 18 for the Celtics on his way to a game-high 33 as Boston led 56–51 at intermission.
The Lakers scored the first two baskets of the second half to cut it to 56–55. On the Celtics' ensuing possession,James Worthy deflected a pass and gave chase. Worthy went to the floor, batted the ball inbounds to a breakingMagic Johnson, and Magic slammed home a breakaway dunk. This gave the Lakers their first lead of the game 57–56, since early in the first quarter, and they never trailed again. The Lakers outscored the Celtics 30–12 in the third quarter for an 18-point turnaround, mostly on fast breaks. The score at the end of three quarters was 81–68, Lakers. The Celtics only scored 12 points in the third quarter, one more than the record for the lowest scoring quarter in playoff history.
Worthy would finish with 22 points, andMychal Thompson had 16 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, but the play of the Lakers' two superstars, Magic and Kareem, would be the dagger that finished off the Celtics. Magic recovered from his cold first half to post 16 points, 19 assists, and eight rebounds, and Kareem would pump in a team-high 32 points.
"Magic is a great, great basketball player," Bird stated flatly, settling the issue for the moment. "The best I've ever seen."
Indeed, Magic would gain theNBA Finals MVP award and his fourth championship ring.
For theLakers, this would be their lastNBA Finals series triumph over theCeltics until2010.
This would also be the last time the NBA championship was ever clinched in an afternoon game. Following the1991 NBA Finals all Finals games would be played in primetime.
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| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 6 | 6 | 33.8 | .510 | .000 | .667 | 7.3 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 21.7 |
| Adrian Branch | 4 | 0 | 2.5 | .167 | .000 | .500 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.3 |
| Michael Cooper | 6 | 0 | 29.8 | .540 | .609 | 1.000 | 2.3 | 4.7 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 12.0 |
| A.C. Green | 6 | 6 | 24.0 | .500 | .000 | .700 | 5.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 7.8 |
| Magic Johnson | 6 | 6 | 39.3 | .541 | .500 | .960 | 8.0 | 13.0 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 26.2 |
| Wes Matthews | 4 | 0 | 3.3 | .333 | .000 | .500 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 |
| Kurt Rambis | 6 | 0 | 9.3 | .429 | .000 | .833 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.8 |
| Byron Scott | 6 | 6 | 30.2 | .484 | .083 | .909 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 11.8 |
| Mike Smrek | 4 | 0 | 2.3 | .333 | .000 | .000 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 |
| Mychal Thompson | 6 | 0 | 28.5 | .561 | .000 | .778 | 5.2 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 11.2 |
| James Worthy | 6 | 6 | 39.7 | .523 | .000 | .526 | 5.3 | 4.0 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 20.7 |
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danny Ainge | 6 | 6 | 39.0 | .500 | .429 | 1.000 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 12.5 |
| Larry Bird | 6 | 6 | 42.3 | .445 | .500 | .921 | 10.0 | 5.5 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 24.2 |
| Darren Daye | 6 | 0 | 8.3 | .625 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 4.5 |
| Conner Henry | 4 | 0 | 3.8 | .444 | .000 | .500 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.5 |
| Dennis Johnson | 6 | 6 | 40.7 | .481 | .125 | .885 | 4.3 | 9.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 21.0 |
| Greg Kite | 6 | 0 | 12.7 | .222 | .000 | .500 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 0.8 |
| Kevin McHale | 6 | 6 | 38.5 | .585 | .000 | .818 | 9.0 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 20.5 |
| Robert Parish | 6 | 6 | 30.5 | .592 | .000 | .593 | 6.5 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 16.7 |
| Fred Roberts | 5 | 0 | 8.0 | .727 | .000 | .545 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 4.4 |
| Jerry Sichting | 6 | 0 | 9.3 | .267 | .000 | .000 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.3 |
| Sam Vincent | 4 | 0 | 8.3 | .500 | .000 | .700 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 4.8 |
| Bill Walton | 5 | 0 | 4.8 | .600 | .000 | .000 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1.2 |
The Boston Celtics season documentaryHome of the Brave, narrated by David Perry, recaps Boston's 1987 season while the Los Angeles Lakers documentaryDrive for Five, narrated by legendary Lakers announcerChick Hearn, recaps the Lakers' magnificent 1987 season in route to a fourth title of the 1980s.
CBS'James Brown filled in forPat O'Brien when he attended the birth of his son. Brown was on for Games 3 and 4. Both Brown and O'Brien reported on the Lakers' sideline. WhileLesley Visser was on for all the games as sideline reporter for CBS as she reported on the Celtics' sideline.
Dick Stockton andTom Heinsohn worked play-by-play and color commentary respectively. It was the fourth consecutive and last Finals series to pair Stockton and Heinsohn together; Heinsohn was demoted in favor ofBilly Cunningham following the series. At the time, Stockton and Heinsohn had worked the most number of NBA Finals series together.ESPN/ABC'sMike Breen,Mark Jackson andJeff Van Gundy later broke the record for the most complete NBA Finals series called by a single television play-by-play/color commentary team following the2011 NBA Finals, and called a record 14 complete NBA Finals series in total (the2022 NBA Finals did involve the trio of Breen, Jackson and Van Gundy, butMark Jones filled in for Breen on play-by-play in Games 1 and 2 due to his recovery fromCOVID-19, and Van Gundy missed Game 1 for the same reason).
The 1987 Finals would be the Celtics' last until their2008 championship season, but would be the last for the 'Big Three' of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. In K.C. Jones' final season as Celtics' coach they still won the Atlantic Division title by winning 57 games, but the Celtics fell in six games to theDetroit Pistons, in the rematch of their Eastern Conference finals showdown in1988. The Celtics would not reach that far again for the next14 years.
Following their championship win, Lakers coach Pat Riley guaranteed a repeat championship during the team's championship parade a few days after winning the NBA Finals. As Riley predicted, the Lakers would repeat as championsthe following season, as they narrowly defeated theDetroit Pistons in seven games after a controversial foul on the Pistons saved the Lakers from elimination in Game 6.
Prior to 2008, the Celtics and Lakers came close to renewing their rivalry in2002. But while the Lakers reached the Finals, the Celtics were upset by theNew Jersey Nets in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals.
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