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30

5-30-1991: Savvy Magic Sends Lakers to Finals

Filed Under On This Day . . ., NBA, Loose Balls

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At the end of a second round game against Texas in this past NCAA Tournament, Duke’s Jon Scheyer made a heady play when he flipped a loose ball down court and essentially ran some precious time off the clock.

After the game, Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski praised Scheyer’s intelligent play and jokingly compared the Duke junior to Magic Johnson.

Eighteen years ago today, Johnson made the famous play that Krzyzewski was referring to.

With his Los Angeles Lakers holding a 3-2 series lead in the 1991 Western Conference Finals and clinging to a 92-91 lead in the final seconds of Game Six, Johnson grabbed a rebound after a Terry Porter miss.

Amidst the chaos of the rebound, Johnson flung the basketball down court with two seconds left on the clock.

By the time the ball rolled out of bounds, there was only 0.1 seconds left, leaving Portland with little hope of winning.

Thanks to Johnson’s savvy court awareness, Portland would have to throw a desperation, full-court heave on the game’s final shot.

Of course, the Blazers didn’t get the shot off, and the Lakers won, capping off a 4-2 series upset and staging a memorable NBA Finals showdown with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.

Here’s Magic performing some magic at the end of Game Six of the 1991 Western Conference Finals.

The upstart Lakers would ride the momentum of the thrilling finish against the best team in the Western Conference, Portland, and shock the Bulls in Game One of the 1991 NBA Finals.

Yet again at the center of a game-defining play, Johnson set up Sam Perkins for a game-winning three at the end of the first game against Chicago.

Unfortunately for Magic and the Lakers, the Bulls would rebound and win the next four games in the series.

In November of 1991, Johnson would shock the world with his retirement announcement that he was HIV positive.

While Magic may have been at the end of his career in the 1991 NBA Playoffs, his brilliance should not be discounted in leading a surprise Lakers team to the Finals.

In fact, Magic was the leader in several important categories during the 1991 NBA Playoffs, including:

Minutes Played (823);
Three-Point Field Goals (21);
Three-Point Field Goal Attempts (71);
Free Throws (151);
Free Throw Attempts (178);
Defensive Rebounds (131);
Assists (240); and
Turnovers (277).

In the 1991 NBA Playoffs, the 31-year-old Johnson nearly averaged a triple-double with 21.8 points per game, 12.6 assists per game and 8.1 rebounds per game.

Guess that’s why they called him “Magic,” because he could do it all so brilliantly and effortlessly.

Just refer to the end of Game Six against Portland for evidence of this point.