The most remarkable shot is still the one that didn’t count 35 years later. As he told it, Larry Bird hit it while vanishing into the trainer’s lap. After being fouled, Bird made a shot that was so amazing that it left several Hawks players on the opposing bench in disbelief.
When Bird released the bucket following the whistle, one of the officials waved it off. Nevertheless, Bird scored 60 points that night, a career high, to cap off the performance. It also left a lasting impression—the kind that, even after all these years, still makes witnesses shake their heads. John Sterling, a renowned play-by-play commentator for the Yankees, described the action that night as the best shooting performance he had ever seen while working Hawks games.
