The first of many epic meetings between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird occurred on March 26, 1979. The showdown came in the national championship, in what remains the highest-rated TV college basketball game ever, when Johnson led his Michigan State Spartans to a 75-64 victory over Bird's Indiana State Sycamores.
Johnson scored 24 points in the win, while Bird notched just 19 points, his lowest scoring game all NCAA tournament, and hauled in 13 rebounds in the loss.
"I thought every shot Bird took would go in,” Spartans coach Jed Heathcote said afterward.
“We defended him with an adjustment and a prayer.