For Some Area Radio Listeners, Celtics Were Game 4 Winners
A disc jockey’s publicity hoax Wednesday triggered phone calls from Laker fans trying to verify his report that the outcome of Game 4 of the National Basketball Assn. championship series had been reversed and Boston had won.
KGGI disc jockey Bobby Mercer said he reported about four times that Celtics’ guard Dennis Johnson went to Boston Garden about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday to shoot two technical fouls after a review of game films by Commissioner David Stern.
“We did it just for fun because it was such a great game last night and it had to be such a heartbreaker for the Celtics,” Mercer said.
The hoax triggered calls to the station, while newspapers, television and other radio stations throughout San Bernardino, Riverside and Los Angeles counties were flooded with questions.
When asked if it was a publicity stunt, Mercer said: “It’s something to create a little controversy about the radio show and get some people to listen. It’s a publicity stunt.”
Los Angeles won the game, 107-106, and took a lead of three games to one in the series.
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