Larry Bird's Top 5 NBA Games
Meetings with which we will always remember basingiftBoston's number 33 Celtics
Larry Bird's career in the National Basketball Association has been more than impressive. And the 13 seasons spent in Boston Celtics, he managed to win the title three times, and on two occasions he was also selected as the most valuable player in the final series. He participated in the All-Star game a total of 12 times, and in the years between 1984 and 1986, he was chosen three times in a row as the most valuable player in the NBA. All this speaks of truly remarkable moments in the history of the winger with the iconic number 33. In the following lines, we will recall his five best games in history.
In fifth place, we'll put a matchup in which Bird's individual performance may not be the most impressive, but without him Boston would hardly have reached the finals of his division through 1988 year. It is about the seventh game of halfEastern Conference Finals against the Atlanta Hawks in which Celtics wins 118:116 in his "TD Garden" and Larry is most useful for the success with his 34 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 umbrella and 1 steal. It is also the most effective for the winners, leaving behind Kevin McHale and although the Hawks' Dominique Wilkins finished with 47 points, Bird dominated the floor to bring his team the valuable success.
Surely among his most impressive performances should be the matches in which Larry Bird helps Stthat team to win the NBA title. In 1986, he was largely credited with a no-hitter, 4-2 victory over Houston Rockets, and he played his best match exactly in the last meeting. Then Bird ends with triple-double of 29 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds, and on top of all that he manages to steal 3 balls for his team to grab an impressive 114-97 win on June 8th to clinch the title. The only reason this triple-double not ranked higher is the easy success of the Celtics and the fact that the defense was extremely successful against Houston.
Rounding out the top three is one NBA regular season matchup that definitely looks impressive on Larry Bird's business card. A duel that opposes Celtics of Portland Trailblazers, and that in "Memorial Coliseum” in the state of Oregon. Then Larry shined on Valentine's Day, finishing with 47 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 blocks and a stolen ball. And his team won with only one point difference - 120:119, to reach success number 40 out of a total of 49 meetings from the regular season campaign in 1986. No wonder that after such games Celtics win the championship, and Byrd was voted MVP for the third year in a row.
At number two comes the most productive game of the winger's career, for which we will go back a year. On On May 12, 1985, Boston visited the Atlanta Hawks and won another victory, 126 to 115, but what this game will be remembered for is Larry Bird's 60 points. With a margin over everyone not only on his team, but on the opposing team, Bird is the one who commands attention. Yes, maybe 7 rebounds and 3 assists doesn't sound like much around those 60 points, but without a doubt this match shows the greatness of a player who proved the maxim that white can jump too.
Well, if it wasn't for Larry Bird, maybe Boston wouldn't have won so many NBA titles and especially the trophy in 1984. A year where it's safe to say that at the most important moment, he delivered his strongest performance of his career to date. It is for this reason that we put his strongest game against the Lakers of this year's Finals series first. In match number four between them Byrd breaks out with an impressive double-double from 29 points and 21 rebounds, but this is only the warm-up for the upcoming battle that tilts the seriohbut the scales in favor of Celtics. The team has tied the score, but is ready to take the lead and on June 8, Bird scored 34 points, grabbed 17 rebounds, and in addition had 2 assists, 2 steals, and an umbrella. Many say that in those two meetings, especially in the fifth game of the series, there were no other basketball players on the floor who distinguished themselves from Bird. In the end, after two more fights, he deservedly won his first Finals Most Valuable Player award and put a second ring on his hand.