1984 NBA Finals Game 4
Larry v. Magic: Game-by-Game Summary
Larry v. Magic: Game-by-Game Media Coverage
DJ Posts 14 Assists in Game 4 Win
INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Some questioned the heart of the Boston Celtics after they were routed by 33 points in Game 3 of the NBA championship series last Sunday. Boston Coach K.C. Jones found his pounding Wednesday night.
"This is the kind of game which gives anybody a heart attack," Jones said after Larry Bird hit a 15-foot fadeaway with 16 seconds remaining in overtime, sparking the Celtics to a 129-125 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers and evening the best-of-seven championship series at two games each.
"We scrambled like hell in the second half to get our game together. We shouldn't have been down by 10 in the first half -- it should have been 20."
Bird, who said his teammates played like "sissies" in Game 3, said a makeshift play evened the series. "Michael Cooper fell down in the lane," Bird explained. "Then it got a little helter-skelter. As soon as I got Magic (Johnson) in the post, I knew I could shoot over him."
Los Angeles Coach Pat Riley chose not to blame, but to give credit. "The game was determined with their (Celtics') effort and second shots," Riley said. "Now that it's 2-2, it's turning out to be what everybody expected.
"This is a game of mistakes. This is a world of mistakes. If you read the front page (of a newspaper), you'll see all the mistakes you want." The fifth game in the series will be played Friday in Boston (9 p.m., Channels 4, 34) before the playoffs shift back to Inglewood Sunday.
The Lakers missed an opportunity to tie the score when James Worthy could manage only one of two free throws with 10 seconds left in overtime. Boston's Dennis Johnson, fouled by Cooper, hit two foul shots to put the Celtics ahead, 127-124. The Lakers called timeout, then M.L. Carr stole a Worthy pass and stormed for a dunk to seal it.
Bird, who finished with a team-high 29 points, had tied the score at 123 with 79 seconds left in overtime on an inside jumper. The Lakers' Johnson, who had 20 points, missed two free throws with 35 seconds left before Bird's winning fadeaway. The Celtics, down 113-108 with 56 seconds left in regulation, scored the fourth period's final five points. Robert Parish hit a basket and a free throw with 39 seconds left to make it 113-111, and Bird's two free throws with 16 seconds left after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had fouled out tied it at 113.
The Lakers inbounded the ball following a timeout, but Parish intercepted a Magic Johnson pass and called timeout with four seconds remaining. Boston inbounded the ball and a long fadeaway by Bird went long, but Kevin McHale rebounded and missed at the buzzer. Abdul-Jabbar led Los Angeles with 32 points before fouling out. Worthy had 30 and Johnson 20 for the Lakers. Parish scored 25 and Dennis Johnson 22 for Boston.
Los Angeles, which blew a 14-point lead, trailed, 104-101, with 5:24 remaining in regulation. But the running game, absent in a second half that featured two melees, returned for the Lakers and brought them to victory. Magic Johnson hit a layup to cut the lead to 104-103 and Worthy's dunk off a pass from Cooper with 4:34 remaining gave the Lakers the lead for good. After Danny Ainge missed for Boston, the Lakers' Bob McAdoo hit a fadeaway.
Following a timeout, Gerald Henderson missed from the free- throw line for the Celtics and a subsequent Abdul-Jabbar dunk with 3:22 left gave the Lakers a 109-104 advantage. The Celtics closed to within 90-88 after three periods behind Henderson's 11 points. The period was marred by two incidents -- one which cleared both benches. McHale clothes-lined a streaking Kurt Rambis with 6:53 left and the Lakers took exception to the play.
Henderson and Cooper squared off in the corner and players paired off with one another.Only 89 seconds later, Abdul-Jabbar was fouled by Bird and attempted to get at the Boston forward. The two were separated following a heated exchange of words.
BOSTON fg-a. ft-a. r. a pf pts
Bird 9-24 10-10 21 2 4 29
Maxwell 3-6 5-7 3 4 3 11
Parish 11-23 3-3 12 2 6 25
Henderson 5-10 3-5 2 3 1 13
DJohnson 9-23 4-4 2 14 4 22
Wedman 2-2 0-0 3 3 1 5
McHale 3-13 3-4 8 2 4 9
Buckner 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0
Ainge 4-7 1-2 0 0 3 9
Carr 2-3 2-2 1 0 1 6
Totals........ 48-111. 31-37. 52 30 28 129
LOS ANGELES fg-a. ft-a. r. a pf pts
Rambis 4-5 1-4 6 0 2 9
Worthy 14-17 2-3 5 2 3 30
Abdul-Jabbar 12-25 8-11 8 6 6 32
Cooper 4-8 2-4 1 6 3 10
EJohnson 8-12 4-7 11 17 5 20
McAdoo 5-10 3-4 6 0 5 13
Nater 1-4 5-6 7 0 1 7
Wilkes 1-1 0-0 1 0 1 2
Scott 1-3 0-0 1 0 1 2
Totals........ 50-85.. 25-39. 46 31 27 125
Boston 32 26 30 25 16--129
Los Angeles 33 35 22 23 12--125
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