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Defense · Playoff plays · Clutch · #88

Bird steals the inbound

Bird anticipated Isiah Thomas' baseline inbound, stole the pass and found Johnson for the winning layup.

Layup1987
BIRD33

Larry Bird · Detroit Pistons

Bird steals the inbound

1987 Eastern Conference Finals · Game 5

5 seconds remaining

1987 · 5 seconds remaining

Larry Bird & Dennis Johnson

Against Detroit Pistons

The stakes

Eastern Conference finals Game 5

Awareness turned a nearly certain Boston loss into a one-point win and redirected one of the decade's defining playoff series.

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Eastern ConferenceFinals
1987
Game5
DETROITPISTONS
BOSTONCELTICS
MAY 26, 1987

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Pistons vs Celtics

1987 Eastern Conference Finals Game 5 · May 26, 1987

Detroit and Boston played a pivotal conference-finals game that came down to one baseline inbound in the final seconds.

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