Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson Trivia Quiz

http://www.celticsblog.com/2015/9/5/9238667/celticsblog-trivia-larry-bird-vs-magic-johnson-quiz



CelticsBlog Trivia: Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson quiz
By Professor Parquet on Sep 5, 2015, 9:01a +





Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Friends and rivals.



If one wishes to try the harder All-Star edition of the quiz, try to answer the questions without looking at the multiple choice offerings.

Layup-What was the first squad that arch-rivals Larry Bird and Earvin Johnson were teammates on?*name the coach of that team for a three-point play
A) 1978 U.S. World Games team B) 1992 U.S. Olympic Dream Team

Dunk-Who was named NBA Rookie of the Year and College Player of the Year in their rookie and final college seasons?*for a three-point play, name the top-seeded club Michigan State knocked off to win the Mideast region crown
A) Earvin Johnson B) Larry Bird

Lefty layup-True or false: Bird's 1978-79 Indiana State team is the last club to reach the NCAA championship game with an unbeaten record.*what was the final Sycamore record
A) True B) False

Short jump hook-Which blunt Celtic forward nicknamed Johnson "Cheesy" for what he perceived as his fake smile?
A) Larry Bird B) Cedric Maxwell

Free throw-What team prevented a dream LA/Boston, Johnson vs. Bird NBA title showdown by knocking off the Celtics in the 1980 and 1982 Eastern Finals?
A) Detroit B) Philadelphia C) Milwaukee

Free throw-What was their record when Bird and Johnson faced off four times in the NBA and NCAA championship round?
A) 2-2 B) Bird 3, Johnson 1 C) Johnson 3, Bird 1

Free throw-Which Western Conference team lost to Bird and Boston in the 1981 and 1986 Finals after upsetting the Lakers?
A) San Antonio B) Phoenix C) Houston

Jump shot-Which two Celtics stuffed Johnson on a drive in the final minute of game 7 in the epic 1984 NBA Finals to help preserve a Boston lead and clinch the title?
*for an extra point, who hit four free throws in the final minute of that seventh game to seal the crown
A) Bird/Kevin McHale B) McHale/Robert Parish C) Bird/Parish D) Parish/Dennis Johnson

Hook shot-How many of his 20 field goal attempts did a red-hot Larry Bird make in the infamous game 5 sauna contest vs. LA in the 1984 Finals at the Boston Garden?
*for an extra point, what was the aggregate record in the 19 NBA Finals games between Bird's Celtics and the Johnson Laker clubs during their epic trilogy of title showdowns in the mid-1980's
A) 13 B) 14 C) 15 D) 16

Jump shot-What upstart team did Johnson's Michigan State squad crush in the 1979 Final 4 semis, while Indiana State narrowly beat what talented top five club in its semifinal?*name the city the 1979 Final 4 was held at for an extra point
A) Penn/Notre Dame B) Iowa/Arkansas C) Princeton/UCLA
D) Penn/DePaul

Jump shot-What of the following teams did NOT win a share of the 1979 Big 10 men's basketball title?
*including All-Star Games, how many times did Bird's squads beat Johnson in their 47 college and pro meetings for an extra point
A) Indiana B) Iowa C) Purdue D) Michigan State

3-pointer-Which of the following Laker standouts/Celtic nemeses of the 1980's was NOT an overall number one NBA draft pick?*name the highest Celtic draft pick from the 1980's
A) Earvin Johnson B) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar C) James Worthy D) Bob McAdoo E) Mychal Thompson

3-pointer-What type of shot did Bird can over Johnson, who picked Larry up on a switch, to become the eventual winning shot of overtime in game 4 of the 1984 Finals?*name the Laker who missed two foul shots on the previous play with the score tied
A) Three-pointer B) Left-handed runner
C) Turnaround fadeaway D) Hook shot
E) Post-up reverse layin


35 points is the highest possible score; extra points only apply if the correct answer is given first.



bob


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Answers to the Bird - Magic Quiz

Layup-A) Arch-rivals Larry Bird and Earvin Johnson were teammates first on the 1978 U.S. squad that played in the World Games.
*Kentucky coach Joe B. Hall, who snubbed Bird as a recruit, coached the U. S. squad. But the team was half comprised of his UK players, so Bird and Johnson, amazingly, were on the second string.
Of course, 14 long years later they were teammates again on the 1992 Olympic Dream Team.

Dunk-B) Larry Bird was a landslide winner of the 1979-80 NBA Rookie of the Year honor after sweeping all the natonal College Player of the Year awards as a fifth-year senior in 1978-79.
*MSU was the number two seed in its region behind Notre Dame, but the Spartans took down the talented Fighting Irish 80-68 to prevent ND from reaching its second consecutive Final 4. The Irish featured future pros Kelly Tripucka, Bill Laimbeer, Bill Hanzlik, Orlando Woolridge, Tracy Jackson.
It was the fuirst year the NCAA tournament seeded all teams, and the last year a maximum of two teams from one league could make the tourney.

Lefty layup-A) True. Bird's 1978-79 Indiana State team is the last one to reach the NCAA championship game with an unblemished record. *The Cinderella Sycamores finished 33-1 after losing to Johnson's Michigan State club in the finals, 75-64.
UNLV in 1991 and 2015 Kentucky each got to the semifinals unbeaten, but each lost close games to Duke and Wisconsin, respectively.
Ironically, the Indiana club Bird was briefly a member of in 1974 is the last team to go all the way undefeated. IU was 31-1 in 1974-75 and 32-0 in 1975-76.

Short jump hook-B) Celtic forward Cedric Maxwell nicknamed Johnson "Cheesy" for what he perceived as his fake smile. M.L. Carr and Maxwell mimicked Johnson's finger-pointing and smiles during the 1984 Finals, where several Johnson gaffes helped Boston win a seven-game epic.

Free throw-B) Arch-rival Philadelphia prevented the dream LA/Boston, Johnson vs. Bird NBA title matchup twice by knocking off the Celtics in the 1980 (4-1) and 1982 (4-3) Eastern Finals.
But the center-challenged 76ers had little left in the Finals each time for the Lakers, who won 4-2 both times.

Free throw-C) Johnson 3 (1979 NCAA, 1985/87 NBA), Bird 1 (1984 NBA).

Free throw-B) Houston lost to Bird and Boston in the 1981 and 1986 Finals after upsetting the Lakers each time in six games.
Led by Moses Malone in 1981, Houston upset defending champion LA 2-1 in the first round. In 1986, the Twin Towers of Olajuwon and Sampson knocked off the Lakers 4-1 in the west Finals.

Jump shot-B) McHale and Parish combined to stuff Johnson on his fall-down/try to draw a foul drive in the final minute of game 7 in the epic 1984 NBA Finals to help preserve a small Boston lead and clinch the title.
*Larry Bird drained four straight free throws in the final minute of that seventh game to seal the crown, 111-102, and finish with 20 points and 12 rebounds.

Hook shot-C) On fire in the 97-degree Garden, Bird nailed 15 of 20 shots, scored 34 points and yanked down 17 rebounds in the infamous game 5 sauna contest vs. LA in the 1984 Finals.
While Jabbar and the Lakers sucked on oxygen masks in the humid Garden, Bird looked "frsh as a daisy" according to Pat Riley. "The difference tonight's game was Mr. Bird," the Laker coach admitted.
"Ah hell, I play in hotter weather back home in Indiana," said Bird after the greatest game inhis 31 NBA championship series contests gave Boston a 3-2 series lead.
*The Lakers held an 11-8 edge over Bird's Celtics in their epic trilogy of title showdowns in the mid-1980's.

Jump shot-D) Johnson's Michigan State squad crushed Ivy League Cinderella Penn 101-67 in the 1979 Final 4 semis. Meanwhile Indiana State narrowly beat DePaul and freshman Mark Aguirre 76-74 in its semifinal. Bid shot 16-19 from the field, grabbed 19 rebounds and dished out nine assists in one of the greatest Final 4 showings ever.
*High-altitude Provo, Utah was the host city for the much-hyped 1979 Final 4.

Jump shot-A) Indiana did NOT win a share of the brutally rugged 1979 Big 10 men's basketball title, although it did capture the still-prestigious NIT crown over tri-champ Purdue that spring. Back then, only two teams could go to the NCAA from one league. MSU and Iowa luckily won the tiebreaker over Purdue after all three clubs finished tied at 13-5, so the hard-luck Boilermakers had to settle for the NIT. Thus the Spartans, who started out 4-4 in the Big 10, were one loss from not even making the historic NCAA tourney.
*Including All-Star Games, Bird's squads beat Johnson in 22 of their 47 college and pro meetings.

3-pointer-D) Bob McAdoo was picked second overall in the 1972 draft by Buffalo. Jabbar (1969 Milwaukee), Thompson (1978 Portland), Johnson (1979 Lakers) and Worthy (1982 Lakers) were all overall number one NBA draft pick.
The highest Celtic pick in the 1980's Celtics was Len Bias, who went number two overall in 1986 but never played due to a cocaine overdose.
Kevin McHale (1980) was picked third, as was Rick Robey in 1978 by the Pacers. Bird was chosen sixth overall as a junior eligible in 1978, or he would certainly have been the top pick in 1979 by the Lakers.
His home-state Indiana Pacers wanted to select Bird overall number one, but Larry decided to stay in school so Slick Leonard traded down to number three and took Robey, Bird's close future Celtic beer-drinking buddy.

3-pointer-C) After Michael Cooper fell down trying to deny a furiously moving Bird, Johnson picked Larry up on a switch. Bird quickly posted Earvin up on the left side of the lane, turned and swished a 13-foot fallaway over him to give Boston a 125-123 lead in the final minute.
*Johnson had just missed two clutch foul shots the play before to blow a chance to give LA the lead. M.L. Carr's steal and breakaway dunk in the final seconds clinched a 129-125 win that evened the epic series 2-2.


bob


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