It’s February 14, 1986 and Boston is moving to Portland.
“He had set himself a lot of goals during this road trip and he had achieved them all” remembers Bill Walton. “Larry got us together, the press and the players, and he said, ‘Tomorrow night is the last game of the road trip, and I’m going to play left-handed. At least three quarters’. »
Huge on the rebound since the beginning of February, the 1984 and 1985 MVP, on his way to a historic hat-trick, has therefore launched a new challenge: all the baskets near the circle left hand, his weak hand if he had any a. It must be said that the day before, he easily stuck a triple-double in Seattle (31 pts, 15 rebounds, 11 wt), and he needs challenges.
20 of his 47 left hand points!
Especially since he has revenge to take with the Blazers. They are the only ones to have beaten Boston at the Boston Garden this season (they will be the only ones, Boston will finish with a 40-1 record) and Larry Bird wants revenge.
In fact, Larry Bird finished all his shots in the left hand racket, 20 points, and he finished the match with 47 pts (61%), 14 rebounds and 11 assists. A new triple double, and he even offers himself the luxury of putting the basket of equalization then that of victory. For a 120-119 overtime victory for the Celtics.
That’s why we call him “Larry Legend”.
