SN 140 Moments: No. 114 – Larry Bird steals the ball from Pistons to give Celtics playoff win originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Larry Bird’s career was full of clutch moments. His most famous one came in Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals.
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Bird’s aging Celtics were taking on a brutally physical and younger Bad Boys Pistons team that was knocking on the door of their dynasty. The series was tied 2-2, and Boston looked like it was in trouble.
Only five seconds remained in the game. The Pistons held onto a 107-106 lead. All that was left for Detroit to do was inbound the ball and run out some time. Bird was not about to let that happen.
Isaiah Thomas, the star point guard and most reliable player on the Pistons, sprinted to grab the ball from the referee on the sideline. Thomas threw a two-handed pass over his head to big man Bill Laimbeer.
Out of nowhere, Bird sprinted in front of the pass, getting an outstretched hand on it and barely corralling it inches away from the baseline. He whipped a pass to Dennis Johnson, who scored a layup with a second left to give the Celtics one of the most dramatic playoff wins in franchise history.
MORE: Back to The Sporting News’ 140 Greatest Sports Moments of All Time