Larry Bird’s steal pushes Celtics past Pistons in NBA playoffs

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 HereRANK: 95 LOCATION: Boston Garden | Boston, Mass. DATE: 5/26/1987 CATEGORY: NBA

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.