On this day in Boston Celtics history in 1991, Hall of Fame Boston Celtics small forward Larry Bird scored a triple-double against the Celtics’ longtime rival Los Angeles Lakers on the road at the Los Angeles Forum in Inglewood, California as Boston won 98-85.
The Hick from French Lick (as Bird is called affectionately as a nickname) put on a show, scoring 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in 40 minutes of game time. It wasn’t Bird’s most efficient night from the floor, with the Celtics great hitting just 4-of-16 of his field goal attempts and only a single make out of a trio of attempts from beyond the arc, but the Indiana native found other ways to help his team win.
Teammate Robert Parish led the team in scoring with 29 points and 10 boards, and forward Reggie Lewis chipped in 26 points as well.
It is also the date of Celtic champion forward Paul Pierce hanging 35 points on the Los Angeles Clippers 12 years later in 2003 in a 92-84 road win at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.
The Truth had 8 rebounds to go with his scoring, hitting 12-of-29 overall and just one of his 3-point attempts. Only teammate Antoine Walker also scored in double figures for Boston, putting up 26 points and 9 boards.
“We’re a great team in the fourth quarter,” said Pierce (via ESPN), who managed the performance despite a sprained right wrist sustained in his last game with the Celtics, against Portland Trail Blazers.
“When we’re down, I think we play better. The guys come up with big plays and big stops when we need them. We don’t get down on ourselves. We play with the confidence that we’re always going to be in the game.”
Finally, it is also the date of a 116-108 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in 2017 which saw point guard Isaiah Thomas lead the Celtics with 33 points on 9-of-19 shooting, including hitting 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.
Marcus Smart added 21 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and an absurd 8 steals, and Jae Crowder put up 18 points and 5 rebounds to secure the win.
“It doesn’t seem real for my name to be mentioned with such greats and Hall of Famers,” Thomas said to the AP at the time after tying a team record set by John Havlicek for the most 20-point or greater games played by a Celtic in a single season at 40 each.
“It means I’m doing something well,” he added. “And I’m just glad we’re winning on top of it.”
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