Magic Johnson’s Airball Ends Lakers Season (1981 Playoffs vs. Rockets)

April 5, 1981 – One year removed from leading his team to an NBA championship as a rookie with a 42-point, 15-rebound and 7-assist Finals-clinching performance, Los Angeles Lakers guard Magic Johnson faced extraordinary expectations heading into his second season. Alas, a left knee injury just 20 games into the 1980-81 season threw Johnson’s season for an immediate loop. While the Lakers continued to produce, both in Magic’s absence and upon his return in late February, a schism had redeveloped beneath the surface, with questions abounding regarding the feasibility of a Magic Johnson-Norm Nixon backcourt alongside the degree with which the Lakers offense should appease the more methodic pace of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Questions regarding the future direction of the franchise would soon only amplify once the No. 6 seeded Houston Rockets took a one-point lead in a do-or-die Game 3 with 15 seconds remaining. With the Lakers’ season in the balance, Magic Johnson’s subsequent floater attempt came up well short, all but securing Houston’s first round upset. Johnson finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists in the loss but shot just 2-of-14 from the field.

Abdul-Jabbar, meanwhile, was outplayed throughout much of the abridged series by Moses Malone. Malone averaged 31.3 points, 17.7 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks, using his brute force inside to ultimately will the Rockets to a surprising appearance in the 1981 Finals, where they’d fall to the Boston Celtics.

The shot above is referenced in Season 2 Episode 2 of the HBO series “Winning Time”.

The Mike Dunleavy go-ahead shot prior to Johnson’s airball can be seen here at the 30 second mark: https://youtu.be/eI7oPXu_vcU?t=29

Game 3 Box Score: https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/198104050LAL.html