NBA on CBS - 1987 NBA Finals Game 4 finish

[dime138]

For my money, this was the best NBA game of the 80's. Celtics vs. Lakers in the Finals, at Boston Garden; Lakers with the 16-point comeback; Bird and Magic both hitting lead-changing shots down the stretch; Bird's miss at the buzzer that still looks like its going to go in. Unbelievable.

[MrBeyondbelief]

Simmons should NOT be a journlaist. he is such a homer, you are supposed to be neutral. He should NOT be on espn.

[MrBeyondbelief]

This was the best!!! I am a Mass. resident for 42 years and I LOVed(still like) the Lakers. I saw Magic play vs the 76ers in 1980 and that's all I neeeded to see. Although I am less into the NBA now as I was then(MAGIC),BUT hopefully when the lockout ends KOBE can get 2 more rings AND PASS the Celtics record!!!

[dhornjr1]

I know I'm being redundant but I miss this type of NBA basketball

[vcanez4803]

one of the best laker combacks ever fuck the cletics lakernation baby purple yellow!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sector9er69]

@vcanez4803 Celtics are 9-3 when goin against the Lakers in the finals ahahaha fuck Purple n Yellow!!

[CLewey44]

No reason Boston should have lost that game. That botched rebound at the end...Unbelievable. Boston should have went 7 games at least. Maybe they win this game and regain confidence and upset the Lakers in 7. Maybe game 7, the Lakers were just off, we'll never know.

[slapmyfunkybass]

magic was travelling with that sky hook shot

[slapmyfunkybass]

if you look at magic when bird gets the shot off in the last second his arms go down, as if to say i cant believe its going in...

[slapmyfunkybass]

these were the truly great years of the nba.... when the league had passion, joy and tears

[ErikS1975FreeState]

Game 4 of the NBA 1987 Finals is still my favorite Finals Game of all time because it had my favorite player with his Baby Hook Basket over the entire Celtics Front Line to win the game & take a 3-1 Series Lead

[ErikS1975FreeState]

Game 4 of the NBA Finals is still my favorite Finals Game of all time because it had my favorite player with his Baby Hook Basket over the entire Celtics Front Line to win the game & take a 3-1 Series Lead

[rtds9fan]

Loved how all the Boston fans were going crazy thinking they had won the game with Bird's three pointer with 12 seconds left! Only to have LA come back and score their own three points to win.I HATE the NBA now,it's NOTHING like the great times of this time frame and this great rival

[billma12345]

SIMMONS

Read the big book of basketball guys

[justin198724]

Dick Stockton was so good.

[RockerDude899]

Bird just missed it.

[barkingclam]

@RockerDude899 He really, really did. I read somewhere he was something like an eighth of an inch off.

[RockerDude899]

@barkingclam Larry Bird said it himself. "They were lucky because it was right on the money.

[jiujitsujedi]

@barkingclam An eight of an inch off? Hello no he shot it long thats all looks like half the ball

[jiujitsujedi]

@barkingclam that was long, like half the ball long not an eight of an inch.

[2nd2nun1]

Isn't it refreshing to see players NOT low-fiving players after mere free throws??? 2:30. Gotta love the classic mannerisms of the NBA back then.

[barkingclam]

Well it's Kareem, right? He'd probably just leave them hanging.

[smoothpants]

I was in a strip club on Rhode Island Avenue in Washington DC when I saw this. '

What a shot! What a dive! *LOL*

The ONLY time I ever rooted for the Lakers, because I hated the Celtics more.

[mcbarrel]

Simmons (blue polo) is in the shot before the Magic interview, not during it.

Great clip

[wizeman5974]

While Magic's shot won it for the Lakers....Bird's shot at the end was a great attempt even though it didn't go in. One of the best NBA Finals games ever.

[barkingclam]

Indeed. There's only a couple that come close - that triple OT game between the Celtics and Suns and game seven of the 88 Finals, if you ask me.

[buttercup11882]

oh yeah, I see him. He's the one on the right in front of the guy with the green shirt kinda looking over his shoulder. Man, he looks crushed!

[buttercup11882]

man, it is so blurry, I wish I could see Simmons better.

[barkingclam]

well, we're talking about video thats almost 22 years old. I'd be more surprised if I could make him out then if I couldn't.

[buttercup11882]

no offense man, thanks for putting this up. I found him anyway.

[barkingclam]

none taken.

[ctmexperiment]

SIMMONS!!!!!!!!!!

[joelwhyrock]

Bill Simmons really is visible at 6:30 in a blue polo. Thanks to The Book of Basketball.

[dechico2006]

is he on the right side?

[giantrobot9000]

I just started reading that, which is exactly why I'm here.....haha. GREAT book, and I haven't even started Chapter 1 yet!

[uzzy909]

la won this year right?

[barkingclam]

Yeah, in six games.

[415Riggs]

ummmmm yes the 1987 world champions were the Los Angeles Lakers Magic Johnson 1987 league mvp 1987 Finals Mvp

[Milordvega]

Kevin McHale had a nightmare last few seconds:

1. He fouled Kareem, allowing him to go to the free throw line to try to tie the game.

2. He missed the rebound on the second miss, thus alowing the Lakers possession.

3. HE was the one guarding Magic when he made that hook shot.

[Milordvega]

When I saw this in 1987, I thought Bird's last shot was going in. Magic seemed to think so too, as his shoulders were slumped while the ball was inflight, before raising his arms in victory when it missed.

Nothing can beat the Lakers-Celtics rivalry of the 80's.

[kendre3]

i was 10 years old watching this...classic game boy.. classic game. those under 25just dont know how DANGEROUS Bird was at that time

[gleebley2002]

I was 13 when Magic hit that Junior Sky Hook. I must have recreated that shot 1000 times since in my backyard,

[57to38to6]

during the interview with Magic, you can hear Red Auerbach yelling at the refs. LMAO!!!!

[jimistreets]

Parish knocked the ball out of McHale's hands...Thanks, Chief!

PAYBACK, 80'S STYLE!

PAYBACK '09 STYLE COMING SOON!!

[vonzuchter]

mckale sucked ass. how did he miss that rebound

 i still see this rebound in my nightmares

[tannah2]

Larry made his, then magic made his. They don't have games like this anymore especially on a stage that big. Two of the three greatest of all time. Think Jordan would have won all those titles if he had to contend with any of these teams?

[irgids]

nope.

[airforcefoo]

YES! Hell yes! Bird and Magic were top 5, Jordan was top 1. Jordan beat Magic to win his first title. Snatched the torch right out of his hands. Jordan is the greatest, and the 96 Bulls was the greatest team ever.

[cbaldwinjr]

Jordan is the GOAT. But that '96 team was the product of a watered down league and I'd take the '87 Lakers and '86 Celtics over them.

[Xtreme4l1f3]

it doesnt matter. bird was sensational but theres only one name to remember: KOBE

[cbaldwinjr]

Jordan couldn't beat those guys until they got old. As a singular basketball player, he is without peer. As a team, the Bulls couldn't get a sniff of a ring until the teams from the 80's got too old to stay elite. There can be no disputing that. Fact is, the Blazers, Suns, Sonics, Knicks, and Jazz just weren't as good as any of the elite teams from the 80s.

[airforcefoo]

The 80s Bulls weren't as good as they were when they won their championships, so you can't say it took Bird and Magic leaving for the Bulls to win. Also, as big as basketball was by the 90s, you can't just say that an entire generation of players and teams was inferior to the previous one. The Lakers and Celtics owned the 80s, but not to the extent that the Jordan Bulls ruled. And it's definitely possible that if their primes' crossed they could've won too, but no one beats the 96 Bulls.

[cbaldwinjr]

The 1996 Bulls ran over a watered down league. The Lakers had ONE less title in the NBA's best decade. You had to have THREE HOF's to win a ring. And yes, I can say an entire generation of players and teams were inferior...they were. The Bulls beat teams that could make NO headway against the Lakers despite having many of the same pieces...especially Portland. It wasn't just the Lakers and Celtics. How about the Sixers and Pistons...you know, the team MJ's Bulls couldn't beat for three years?

[airforcefoo]

The league wasn't watered down. There were more teams, but there was also more talent. I'm not discrediting any of the great teams of the 80s, but none was ever as good as the 96 Bulls. They won 72 (and could've won more) and cruised to the title. No other team ever has come close (86 Celtics are probably closest). Every year there are good and bad teams, so that record holds up. And if it weren't for the baseball sabbatical, the Bulls likely would have won eight (EIGHT!) straight.

[cbaldwinjr]

If the league wasn't watered down and there was SO MUCH more talent than in the 80's, one of those teams would've risen up and knocked over MJ's Bulls. But they didn't because it was Jordan holding up a pretty bad league at that time. The 72 Lakers won 69 games and generally get discarded from these lists...because the league simply was in transition. I believe that eventually, someone would've beaten the Bulls the same way the Spurs beat the Lakers in '03...the weariness of defending gets you.

[airforcefoo]

There wasn't SO MUCH more talent than in the '80s, but your case was that the teams were better in the '80s which isn't true. You're right about the '72 Lakers, and the Boston dynasty of the '60s really can't be compared to the modern era (not saying they weren't great, but the athletes, the game, and the league were different). Your point about 2003 just further proves how great Jordan's teams were.

[cbaldwinjr]

Na'ah...it just proves that in this modern era, defending a title YEAR AFTER YEAR gets exhausting. MJ left after the third ring and I don't think the Bulls would've won a fourth ring. And yes, the NBA was a better product than in the 90's. Like I stated, you needed THREE Hall of Famers to win a championship. EVERY team from 1980-1989 had three H.O.F.s and many of the teams that LOST were arguably better than the best of the 90's. All 2003 proves is that winning four rings is incredibly hard.

[sarnow76]

What Fucking Nuts by Larry Bird. Down 2 goes for the three and the lead. Awesome Awesome game.

[tannah2]

Bird was an assassin like that. There have been imitators to the back breaking three ever since. Remember game 4 in 1986 against the Rockets to win that game. Bird was just cold blooded!

[dbadefense1990]

Of all great Laker shots in history (West in 1970, Kobe-to-Shaq lob, Fisher's 0.4, Horry burying SAC, Kobe in any situation), Magic's sky-hook, to me, is the most IMPORTANT shot in Lakers history.

[rockjohnson80]

YES SIR..THE GREATEST OF SHOTS

[encierro75]

Magic Johnson's "baby hook shot" is one of the greatest plays in NBA history

[johnboy779]

What memories. This was the game that solidified the Lakers as the greatest team of the 80's. The Lakers won 5 championships in the '80's, and then three more in the '00's. And this game marked the end of the Celtics run as an elite team.

[tannah2]

Damn, you're right, as a Celtic fan this series and the detroit series a year later pushed the lakers over us at the team of the 80's. Damn it still hurts to watch.

[johnboy779]

Hey, but now it's a new era: your Celtics are looking good, and my Lakers just got whipped by the Jazz again, so who knows...

[iMdiSfresH]

One of the greatest moments and moves in NBA history