Larry v. Magic: Game 12 (Part 3)

1984 NBA Finals Game 5

Larry v. Magic: Game-by-Game Summary

Larry v. Magic: Game-by-Game Media Coverage

Celtics Finally Play Well, Win Game 5

They returned home for a fifth game that the Lakers could have avoided. It was best-of-three now, two games at Boston Garden. (Remember: The Lakers were 0-7 against the Celtics in NBA finals, 0-4 in the seventh game of NBA finals, and Boston was 6-0 in the seventh game of championship series.) The players woke Friday morning in a dripping heat that cooled to 85 degrees by 9 p.m., game time.

Waiting for them that night were 14,890 people - some paying at least $100 - crowded into the 97-degree Garden. Surely they paid for the right to scream together, louder with each Larry Bird jumper (17 rebounds and 34 points on 15- for-20, his first great shooting game in the series), through the 55-53 Celtics first half and into the 13-2 Boston run that began the third quarter and finished the Lakers.

LA returned from 68-56 to 68-65 when Bob McAdoo (18 points) and James Worthy (22) rallied. Celtics coach K. C. Jones called time and brought his players to the bench, where M.L. Carr and Quinn Buckner waved towels over them. Gerald Henderson returned to hit a 13-footer, and Bird turned a break pass from Dennis Johnson (six assists and 22 points) into an easy score. DJ drove off the break and Danny Ainge's three-pointer made it 86-75 with a minute left in the third.

"The conditions were awful," Jones said. "Larry was about to pass out. He got a little dizzy."

He sat down. The Lakers closed to 95-88, and Robert Parish (12 rebounds), Kevin McHale and DJ scored seven straight for 102-88 with 7:15 left. It ended at 121-103. The Lakers scored only nine fast-break points. Parish and the heat held 37-year-old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to 7 of 25 from the field (his sky hook had deteriorated in the last few games) and DJ kept Magic Johnson to 9 shots, 10 points, 5 rebounds and 13 assists. Worse, LA shot .429.

"This is probably the best game we ever played," DJ said.

They had played it at the most important time. Two games remained and they would need to win one for their 15th championship.

"The man who made the difference was Bird," said Laker coach Pat Riley. "He was just awesome. He made everything work."

"There is no forward in the league like him," said Riley's assistant, Dave Wohl. "In a way, he's a lot like Kareem because you have to change your whole defense and orient toward him. You know when you play Kareem that you must double-team, or else he will score 30. It's the same with Larry Bird. We did that all night, and he still scored his 30. Believe me, it was not for lack of effort on our part."

Bird had averaged 28 points in the first four games, but hadn't dominated as he had against the Knicks or did in this game. "Larry is the leader of this team," Ainge said. "Tonight he set the tempo for everybody. That kind of confidence is contagious."

They needed confidence immediately. "It was important that we stay close (in the first half)," Jones said. "We didn't want them to get another one of those big leads."

A 10-2 Celtics run opened a 38-30 lead in the second quarter. Worthy and McAdoo closed it two by halftime, but Bird (16 points and 12 rebounds by then) was in control.

"Larry's capable of playing like this every night," said Boston forward M. L. Carr. "His time had come."

So had Boston's.