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Magic’s Baby Hook

Bird and the Celtics advanced to play Johnson and the Lakers in the 1987 NBA Finals. The Lakers had now made the finals in six of Johnson’s first eight seasons and were known around the league as Showtime. The Lakers had won three of those first five appearances, including going 1-1 against the Celtics.

In game four of the series, the Lakers were leading two games to one but trailing in the game 106-105 with seven seconds left. The Lakers took the ball out of bounds under the Boston basket. Johnson caught the inbounds pass near the left sideline. Johnson beat defender Kevin McHale off the dribble, drove, pulled up, and did his best Abdul-Jabbar impression, throwing up a little hook shot that sailed just over the McHale’s fingertips into the basket. The Lakers won 107-106 on a little bit of last-second magic and went on to win the series in six.

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