Today's Finals review takes us back to the 1987 NBA Finals. It was the last time Larry Bird and Magic Johnson faced off for the NBA crown, and the last Lakers/Celtics Final for 21 years. Who would win and take the "rubber match" of the 1980s?

The Los Angeles Lakers had already cemented their place as one of the NBA's premier teams of the 1980s, winning three NBA titles by 1986. But in the 1986 Western Conference Finals, they were upset by the young Houston Rockets in five games. With Kareem Abdul-Jabbar turning 40 during the season and the Twin Towers of Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon looming, could Showtime bounce back in 1987?

The Boston Celtics had a much better time in 1986, winning their 16th NBA title over those Rockets. But their challenge nonetheless was daunting; no NBA team had repeated as champs since 1968-69. Could three-time MVP Larry Bird break the string of bad luck?

The Lakers entered 1986-87 determined to attone for their failures and responded in grand fashion, winning a league-best 65 games. Earvin "Magic" Johnson had his best statistical season, winning his first regular-season MVP with averages of 23.9 PPG (which would be his career high), 6.3 RPG and 12.2 APG (which led the league), while Kareem still posted very healthy numbers of 17.5 PPG and 6.7 RPG. James Worthy also averaged over 19 PPG, and Showtime was as healthy as ever. Healthy wasn't a word you could use for Boston, however; despite winning 59 games to lead the East, the Celtics lost Bill Walton and Scott Wedman for huge portions of the season, forcing K.C. Jones to use four of his five starters (Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Dennis Johnson) over 37 minutes per game. Could thw weary champs even make it to attempt a repeat?

The Lakers faced little challenge in reaching the Finals; they swept the Denver Nuggets 3 games to 0 in round 1, smashed the Golden State Warriors 4 games to 1 in round two, then swept the Seattle Supersonics 4 games to zip to advance. Boston faced a much rougher road; after sweeping the Chicago Bulls in 3 in the first round, they went the full seven games against both the Milwaukee Bucks in round 2 and the Detroit Pistons in round 3, the latter seeing Bird save the Celtics' bacon in game 5 by stealing Isiah Thomas' inbound and passing to Johnson for the winning layup. Clearly, L.A. was the favorite to claim the title in this, the third Finals matchup of the decade between the bitter rivals.

Game 1 saw the Lakers' Showtime offense at its best; they scored 35 fastbreak points in the first half. Behind Magic's strong 11-point 1st quarter and Worthy's 15-point 2nd, L.A. rolled out to a 51-30 lead during the first half en route to a 69-54 lead. Boston came within thirteen early in the third, and after L.A. pushed the lead back to 21, the Celtics cut it down to 12 in the fourth before a 11-2 run put the game out of reach, as the Lakers won 123-113. Worthy led the Lakers with 33 points and was one rebound shy of a triple-double, while only Bird (28) had more than 16 points for Boston. Game 2 had a similar feel; this time, L.A. had a 36-2 1st half fast-break points edge, and were led by Defensive Player of the Year Michael Cooper, who had a hand in a 20-point run in the second quarter (he set a Finals record with 8 assists in the period). Cooper also set a Finals record (since passed by Kenny Smith and Scottie Pippen) with six three-point field goals. L.A. led by the score of 75-56 at halftime, and the Celtics got no closer than 15 the rest of the way, eventually losing 141-122. To make matter worse, McHale reinjured his foot. Things looked really bleak for the champions.

Game 3, however, saw the luck of the leprechaun return in the old Boston Garden. After L.A. jumped out to a 29-22 1st quarter lead, the Celtics stormed ahead 60-56 at the half, led by the 2nd quarter scoring of Dennis Johnson (12 points in the period) and Bird (14), plus the unlikely contribution off the boards by reserve Greg Kite (he had 9 boards in 22 minutes of action). All told, three Celtics had over 20 points in this game, and after some late surges by L.A., Boston hung on to win 109-103 to cut the series lead to 2 games to 1, setting up a historic Game 4. The game didn't start out looking like an all-time classic, however; the Celtics led 29-22 after one and led by as many as fifteen in the third. The Celtics had a 8-0 run late in the game to take a 103-95 lead when the Lakers came back with nine straight points to take the lead. Then, a classic sequence occured; Bird, with Worthy hanging off his jersey, drilled a three-pointer to give Boston the lead back. The Lakers then went to Kareem, who was fouled, and he split the free throws before the ball bounced off McHale. Magic took the ball after the timeout, and proceeded to hit his "junior sky-hook" to give L.A. the lead back. After Bird missed a corner jumper, L.A. took a commanding 3-1 series lead.

Game 5 wouldn't see the coronation of a new champion, however; after a close 1st quarter, L.A. had a 9-1 run to take an eight-point lead, but the Celtics closed the half outscoring the Lakers 37-14 run to take a 15-point halftime lead. A hot 3rd quarter by Danny Ainge (14 in the period including 4 three-pointers) and a equally hot 4th by Dennis Johnson allowed Boston to stave off defeat with a 123-108 win. But back at the "Fabulous" Forum for Game 6, there would be no reprieve. Though the Celtics led by seven after one quarter and five at the half, their worn-out bodies couldn't keep up with the Lakers, who outscored them 18-2 to take a 69-58 lead. Parish collected his fifth foul in the 4th as he was no match for Jabbar (who led the Lakers with 32 points), and the Celtics would threaten no more, as the Lakers wrapped the title with a 106-93 win. Magic won his third Finals MVP, and the Lakers had won the "rubber match" with their most hated rival.

1987 NBA Finals Leaders: Points Per Game
L.A. Lakers: E. Johnson, 26.2 PPG; Abdul-Jabbar, 21.7 PPG; Worthy, 20.7 PPG
Boston: Bird, 24.2 PPG; D. Johnson, 21.0 PPG; McHale, 20.5 PPG

1987 NBA Finals Leaders: Rebounds Per Game
L.A. Lakers: E. Johnson, 8.0 RPG; Abdul-Jabbar, 7.3 RPG; Worthy, 5.3 RPG
Boston: Bird, 10.0 RPG; McHale, 9.0 RPG; Parish, 6.5 RPG

1987 NBA Finals Leaders: Assists Per Game
L.A. Lakers: E. Johnson, 13.0 APG; Cooper, 4.7 APG; Worthy, 4.0 APG
Boston: D. Johnson, 9.3 APG; Bird, 5.5 APG; Ainge, 5.0 APG