Here’s What Really Happened When Magic Johnson and Larry Bird Met at Boston Garden

For hoops enthusiasts, this month has been fantastic. We were first introduced to St. Peter’s and the dream mustached hero during the NCAA Tournament. Drama is already being bestowed upon us by the NBA playoffs (cough). And Winning Time: The Lakers Dynasty’s ascent is hitting heights reminiscent of Showtime.

Interpretation? We’re living the 1980s all over again with the flurry of HBO-ified dramatizations of Jack McKinney’s bicycle tragedy, Magic Johnson’s hypothetical situation involving Phil Knight and Nike, and Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s spiritual crisis. We’ve arrived to Winning Time’s seventh episode, “Invisible Man.” The week’s monster, if you will? Larry Bird, that is. The series finally delivers the Boston Garden clash between Bird and Magic Johnson, which had been teased for almost the whole season, and it did not let us down. The (fictitious) Lakers prevailed 99-98 in a game that featured a ton of taunting between the top rookies, huge Red Auerbach shenanigans, and some amazing Jason Clarke as Jerry West-isms. We cover the real-life game play scenario in case you’re interested.As it happened, the match’s final score was quite close to what we saw in Winning Time. The Lakers recorded a 100-98 victory, according to the history books. In the actual match, two late free throws by Norm Nixon—not Michael Cooper, as Winning Time portrays—sealed the victory. With just one point in 21 minutes during this face-off, Johnson was hardly involved at all due to an injury. However, the atmosphere was undoubtedly just as crazy as the show suggests, with Auerbach, among other things, notoriously ensuring that the guests’ locker area lacked hot water for showers. It is noteworthy that Winning Time omits Johnson and Bird’s early-season NBA matchup without explanation.

the Lakers thrashed the Celtics, winning 123-105, at The Forum. Not less than twenty-three points from Johnson. (Of course, this was the first meeting between Bird and Johnson since Michigan State defeated Indiana State in the 1979 National Championship.)
By the way, that championship game probably served as the impetus for the rivalry between the two future Hall of Famers in Winning Time. Simply view the highlights and let us know how much of the, let’s say, competitive spirit strikes you.