In 1987, Detroit was building what would soon become a championship team. With a backcourt of Isaiah Thomas and Joe Dumars, Rick Mahorn, second-year player Dennis Rodman, Bill Laimbeer, Vinnie Johnson, and John Salley, the core was set.
And they had Boston in a nice spot in the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals.
The Pistons had crushed the Celtics in Game 4, 145-119, and were poised to win in Boston in Game 5. Even better for them, Robert Parish had injured his ankle and Kevin McHale was having a subpar game and was in foul trouble to boot.
So when Larry Bird’s drive was blocked with time running out and Detroit ahead 107-106 with mere seconds left on the clock, it looked like it was over for the Celtics.
Well, not quite.
As it turned out, Bird stole the inbounds from Thomas to Laimbeer and hit Dennis Johnson for a layup with one second left. Bird didn’t make friends, but he hated Laimbeer, who he (correctly) considered a dirty player.
Boston would go on to win the series, 4-3. This video is of the entire game, which is much better than just the final :17 seconds, and well worth your time. It was a very different kind of basketball.
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