Larry Bird had some gaudy scoring nights throughout his storied career, but his team-first mindset and versatility typically led him to do whatever it took to win on any given night the Celtics did battle. However, on this particular night, Larry was “feeling it” and torched the helpless Atlanta Hawks for 60. Bird’s teammate and friend Kevin McHale likely fueled Bird’s fire for a scoring outburst, as just nine days earlier McHale dropped 56 points on the Pistons, then a Celtics franchise record, so it gave Larry something to shoot for, literally and figuratively.
Somewhat strangely, the game was played March 12, 1985, at Lakefront Arena on the campus of the University of New Orleans. The Hawks were trying to establish more fans in the region and in 1984-85 scheduled 12 home games in New Orleans, so this Bird milestone was not in a typical NBA arena, similar to Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game in 1962 that was played in out-of-way Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Larry scored from all over the floor on the way to his career and Celtics franchise-high 60 points (sorry, Kevin!). The game is famous in NBA lore not only for Bird’s on the court exploits, but for the reactions of the opposing Hawks players on their bench to Larry’s mind-blowing performance.
Offered is a ticket from that historic night at the University of New Orleans graded EX 5 by PSA. The freshly graded example is the only EX 5 in the entire PSA population report, with just one example graded higher. In fact, there are only four total tickets from this game in PSA’s population, making it a true rarity.