‘I should have quit right there’ – Larry Bird’s greatest game saw him drop a triple-double on legendary big man to clinch third NBA championship for Celtics
Larry Bird knows a thing or two about closing out an NBA Finals.
As the 2024 version of the Boston Celtics attempt a gentleman’s sweep of the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals on Monday night, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and co only have to look at Larry Legend’s example for exactly what to do in a pivotal closeout game.
In 1986, Bird and the Celtics came up against the Houston Rockets and a young Hakeem Olajuwon in the NBA Finals.
Olajuwon was yet to flourish into the dominant center he’d later become while Bird and the Celtics were at the peak of their powers.
Bird had won the 1981 Finals – against the Rockets -and led Boston over bitter rivals Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers in 1984.
He was also the league MVP from 1984 to 1986 and was looking to bounce back from a Finals defeat to the Lakers in ’85.
Bird and Boston returned with a vengeance in ’86 after picking up former Clippers big man Bill Walton who was named Sixth Man of the Year in his first season in green and white.
The Celtics’ ‘Big Three’ frontcourt of Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish – frequently ranked among the best frontcourts in NBA history – dominated the league en route to 67 regular season wins.
Bird was a beast, trash-talking Olajuwon at the All-Star Game, winning the inaugural Three-Point Shootout and averaging 25.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 6.8 assists, and 2.0 steals per game to became just the third player in NBA history to win three consecutive MVP Awards.
The Celtics’ juggernaut continued into the postseason and lost just one game in three rounds as they advanced to face the Rockets in the Finals.
Ahead of Game 1, Olajuwon, born in Lagos, Nigeria, said he knew nothing about the Celtics’ illustrious history including 15 championships banners.
“I know nothing of this tradition. I am not from around here,” he said.
“We’d like to give him a two-week history lesson,” Bird replied.
Bird did just that, and recorded two triple-doubles in the series, including a 29-point, 11-rebound, 12-assist and three-steal performance in a closeout Game 6.
The C’s starting five outscored the entire Rockets team, 98-97, winning by a margin of 114-97 to clinch what would be the final title at Boston Garden.
Bird was named Finals MVP for the second and final time of his career after averaging 24 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 9.5 assists per game in the championship round.
“I’ve never seen anyone who could demoralize a whole team like he can. It’s like he doesn’t even need his teammates. It’s just him, one on five, and he almost beats you singlehanded. It’s the way he does it. Offensive rebound, go right to the corner, three-point shot, nothing but net. He gets you down and then breaks your back,” Rockets forward Jim Peterson said.
Bird had many stunning performances during his Hall of Fame career, but perhaps none were more complete – and important – than Game 6 against the Rockets in ’86.