In 1987, the Portland Trail Blazers were a team on the rise. With young stars Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter and Kiki Vandeweghe, Portland finished third in the Western Conference with a bright future to look forward to.
The Los Angeles Lakers, however, were a dynasty in progress, and they were hungry for another NBA world championship.
On a Friday night in early April, the two teams faced off and treated the crowd in Oregon. In particular, Magic Johnson left Blazers fans with painful, yet impressive memories.
He put together a triple-double with 35 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists as the Lakers edged the Blazers 127-121.
Big man Mychal Thompson, the Lakers’ newest addition and former Trail Blazer, riddled his old mates with 22 points in 28 minutes off the bench.
This came one night after the Lakers had earned a tough victory at the Seattle Supersonics, 117-114, behind another big triple-double from Johnson: 34 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists.
L.A. was blazing hot down the stretch of that 1986-87 campaign, and its run culminated with an NBA title against the Boston Celtics, the team’s fourth of the 1980s.
