Luka Fan Reacts To Larry Bird BREAK HIS FACE, COME BACK, and GO OFF!

FYI - Larry never took pain meds of any kind, once when they had to cut open his foot to release an infection they offered him pain meds and he said "just gimmie one of those beers" then the doc cut open his foot drained the infection they wrapped the foot back up and went back out and finished the game ending up with a shoe full off blood - that kind of thing was part of why he was called Larry Legend.

Bird was in the hospital in traction the night before this game. Then towards the end of the second quarter he hits the floor, breaks his orbital bone. Come out just 1/2 an hour or so later and kills everyone on the Pacers. All while having a concussion and seeing double. Toughest SOB to ever play the game.

If you really want to see Bird on his last legs watch the 1992 game against Portland. Bird was wearing a full body brace and still scored 49 points and had a tripple double.

Man, the game was so much more fun in the 80's and 90's. It was way more physical, more intense, and pure basketball. Thank you for giving such a great reaction to these classic but fun games!

You can see more intensity in the first 3 minutes of that game than you do in half a season in the cupcake NBA of today

Love these videos- glad I grew up in the Bird era. He was incredible

During half time, all the Celtics were sitting in the locker room wondering what was happening with Bird behind another closed door. Robert Parish said the energy was drained out of the team. When Bird came running back to the court later in the game, Parish said he knew it was "game over" for the Pacers. LOL.

I find it interesting that Pacers had 4 people in double digit really carrying the load of scoring, but Celtics had 6 in double digit scoring. Two of those were subs. That's really balanced getting that many people involved. Keeps defenses guessing who's going to be taken the shots.

Notice Thompson from the Pacers pat Bird on the back. He said that performance by Bird was one to tell your grandchildren about.

Good passion you have for the both today's game and old school NBA. Bird was one tough SOB. Played hurt a TON. Bird's chronic bad back was SO bad that for nearly 2 seasons near the end of his career, when Bird wasn't playing, he would go home and get into a FULL BODY CAST, to try and minimize the pain. Shortly after Bird retired, he took that same body cast and went out to the woods in French Lick, Indiana, and used his shotgun to blow the cast to pieces. (NOTE: if you've ever seen footage of the original "Dream Team" at the Olympics, you'd always see Bird laying in front of the team bench because it hurt too much for him to just take a seat. Larry wasn't gonna play, but Magic Johnson is the one who talked Bird into playing, primarily because Magic thought it would be cool if he and Larry could both finish their HOF careers off by playing together and winning Olympic Gold.) One thing about Bird fracturing his cheek bone when he slammed his face into the Garden parquet floor, is it was later revealed by the team doctor that Bird also suffered a concussion from that brutal impact, as well. Yet when he was in the trainer's room, as the doctor already told Bird that he shouldn't play the rest of the game, when the doctor turned his head, Bird jolted oukt of the room and back into the game. And in true Larry Bird style, despite a fractured cheek AND concussion, he won the game (and the series) for the Celtics.

Robert Parish ran track in school until he got too tall. He said not many people knew that but that was his secret to running the court, after arriving at the Celtics and seeing one practice he decided to stay in running shape and Bird. Bird always rewarded his hustle by getting him the ball when he ran the court.

Man when Bird & Parish got going you couldn't stop them.

Love the enthusiasm and appreciation for LJB. He could do it all and led with effort.

It is fun to go back and see the intensity of these games back in the 80s and 90s. I grew up watching the NBA in the 80s and 90s, and I know I sound like an old head, but dammit the players and teams had more intensity and heart than players and teams in today's NBA. Very few players now play with the heart and grit. I really miss that intensity like every game was their last game. I know the guys back then played for the money, but it seems to me like more players truly played for the love of the game.

Love this game. Birds last heroic playoff performance as a player. As broken down as his body would be after this season its amazing that he was able to play on the Dream Team and play as well as he did. Then only 6 years later Larry Legend coaches Miller and Smits among others to take Jordans Bulls to 7 games to give Jordan his biggest scare of his 6 titles.

Here it was the 1991 playoffs. Bird's back was in horrible shape yet he was still diving after balls. If he hadn't dived for the ball there nobody would have said anything about it but Bird wasn't built like that. He gave everything he had to try and win whenever he played. Show me players in today's NBA that do that.

Great reaction! Larry was the best all around player in NBA history IMO....I watched his early games when i was really young with my dad in the 80's and I followed him all they way till retirement. You mentoined the short player being a good shot....another bad azz short player was Spud Webb check him out at 5' 7" he was pretty amazing

I'm 67 years old, from Indiana, so I watched this stuff in the day. For a lot of us, playing the Celtics was mixed emotions- Larry was a Hoosier, too. On this particular game, a lot of Pacers were cheering Larry- NOT the Celtics- but just Larry as a man, playing with a concussion and a broken face. AND that's on top of his back issues. Something else we admired- both Larry and Reggie spent their whole careers in one team- not going from town to town for a paycheck, but team and community building. Both are loved here.

Said he fractured his cheek and had a possible concussion but still came out and whooped their butts for the win!

Thank you for sharing this, your enthusiasm and humor. You're great BB video company. Basketball was so much fun and engaging in the 80's and 90's. Watching the Celtics in the 80's and especially Bird, everyone knew they were watching something very rare in Larry Bird, but really the whole team, because DJ, Chief, Ange and McKale all were great players in their own right and their bench was deep. Then in the 90's the Bulls, and although there was much of the same enthusiasm about Michael Jordan, it was a completely different feeling, because Jordan was a superior athlete and dominated the league with raw physicality, (and Pippin is arguably in Jordan's league physically and unfortunately overshadowed by Jordan's personality more than his basketball skills, as Pippin was amazing in every way) but it was't any physicality with Bird. It was only the dull working class fundamentals and hard work, and absolute heart in full display in an 'average' body, but the thrill watching that burning heart and brilliant mind for the game force that average body into near supernatural limits was so thrilling. Bird was like watching the overwelming odds be completely nullified and refuted every game. I believe that's what made him so special, the odds were always against him but his heart said 'I don't play the odds, I play basketball, and basketball is first of all A Game, and second a sport'. Jordan played the sport. Bird played the Game.