9781422284209

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Bird Robs Detroit

Johnson had a stellar rookie season in 1980, but he did not win Rookie of the Year to go along with his finals MVP trophy. That honor went to his nemesis, Larry Bird of the Celtics. Bird’s Indiana State team lost to Johnson’s Michigan State Spartans the year before in the 1979 NCAA Championship Game. The two superstars would meet in the finals for the third time in 1987, but first, the Celtics had to get past a tough Detroit Pistons team in the Eastern Conference Finals. In a seven-game series with every game won by the home team, the critical moment came in game five in Boston. Down by a point with just five seconds left, the Celtics were defending an inbounds pass by Detroit’s Isiah Thomas deep in the Detroit end of the court. Out of nowhere, Bird stole the pass and threw the ball to a streaking Dennis Johnson, who put in the winning layup with a second left on the clock.

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