Larry Bird vs. Dominique Wilkins duel: NBA.com releases oral history of famous Boston Celtics-Atlanta Hawks game on 25-year anniversary

[capstone21]

Hard to believe it has been 25 years

http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2013/05/larry_bird_vs_dominique_wilkin.html

[KB21]

Hard to believe that I was 10 when this game happened. This was one of the most incredible back and forths I have ever seen.

[Bahamut]

Why didn't anyone play defense or just tackle Bird?

[coachx]

Hard to believe that I was 10 when this game happened. This was one of the most incredible back and forths I have ever seen.

We are the same age.

I remember watching that game quite well with my dad. There were my 2 favorite players growing up. I used to despise Jordan then. I thought he stole the limelight from Nique......and the dunk contest in Chicago to some home cooking. I couldn't care less about dunk contest now but there they were a much bigger deal in the 80's when several allstars participated every year.......especially a big deal as a kid.

Edited May 23, 2013 by coachx

[coachx]

Why didn't anyone play defense or just tackle Bird?

Bird was hitting shots from all over the court. Outside, pull ups, floaters, you name it. Of course Nique was too. The only way to stop them would be to tackle them at half court.

[Bahamut]

Bird was hitting shots from all over the court. Outside, pull ups, floaters, you name it. Of course Nique was too. The only way to stop them would be to tackle them at half court.

I would have superplexed Bird. The ejection would have been worth it.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Kind of sad that THIS is the high point of this franchise . . . a Game 7 loss to the great Boston Celtics.

The best and worst game in Atlanta history . . . at the same damn time.

[DJlaysitup]

That was back before ESPN I believe...I was a Bird fan since he came from the Missouri Valley Conference (got to watch him play against SIU - we beat em at home once when they were like 17-0 and Bird was a junior)..the following year they were 22-0 and Bird sat out on the wing and made shot after shot like his arm was a mechanical lever.

That said...once it came to the pros...all I could follow in our local paper was the boxscores. I ate boxscores like sweet tarts. I soon realized that the Celtics' shooting percentage always tended to be 4, maybe 5% above the Hawks. That told me that the Hawks could never beat the Celtics in a seven game series.

It was never that Bird was a better player than Dominique - or even that he was that much smarter - he was just a better all-around player - a better passer - and he had that deadly outside shot to rely on when he had to fall back on it.

I may be mistaken...but I don't think Larry Bird ever lost a 3-point shooting contest...he had one of the most "mechanically perfect" jumpshots ever. Best arc...best rotation on the ball...you could design it on a computer and you wouldn't get any better.

Not bad for a guy who got p!ssed at Bobby Knight - quit basketball altogether and worked as a trash collector for a year or so (sharing an apartment and drinking beer with his buddies) until the coach from Indiana State talked him back into playing B-Ball.

Edited May 24, 2013 by DJlaysitup