Sports Illustrated100 Greatest Moments in Sports HistoryAll 100 moments
Bird of Prey

95NBABird of Prey

Date

5/26/1987

Location

Boston Garden | Boston, Mass.

Moment

With five seconds left in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons, Boston trailed by one and Detroit had the ball. Isiah Thomas inbounded the ball, but Larry Bird anticipated it, stole it and passed it to Dennis Johnson, who dropped it in to win the game by one.

Impact

The Celtics went up 3-2 in the series and ended up winning in seven games. Announcer Johnny Most’s call immortalized the play: “Now there’s a steal by Bird, underneath to DJ, lays it in!” The Celtics went on to lose the NBA Finals to Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers.Vault / Click Here

Original SI story