The numbers display Bird’s altercation at a pub had an impact on his performance.
In the NBA, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird served as icons of achievement and brilliance. Because of this, supporters looked up to them both on and off the court, expecting them to be role models.
But the Indiana native’s reputation was damaged during the 1985 Eastern Conference Finals when he got into a violent argument at a club. The legendary Boston Celtics player acknowledged his role in the event. But there was one bright side to the whole thing, he claimed.
Larry’s altercation at the bar
Following the C’s superb home court defense to take a 2-0 series lead over the Philadelphia 76ers, Bird made the decision to have a drink and unwind at a Quincy Market pub. But when he got into a brawl with Michael Harlow, a bartender-bouncer, the evening took a turbulent turn.
Harlow told UPI that “he (Bird) sucker punched me in the jaw,” as reported by the Globe.
As they crossed the road, there was a commotion and a fight. A witness who wished to remain anonymous told the Globe, “Then Larry Bird went ‘boom,’ a nice swoop over the top with his right hand to the left side of the face.”
Harlow and an unidentified lady sued “Larry Legend” after the altercation. The native of Indiana then decided to settle the dispute outside of court.
The 12-time All-Star clarified the one good thing that came out of the situation when he addressed it.
“The one good thing about all this is that maybe people finally understand that I’m human,” Bird stated. “I am not perfect; I have been far from perfect. As a human, I enjoy going out and having fun and drinking beer.”
Bird’s performance suffered.
Even though “Larry Legend” was usually unaffected by outside events, the bar fight undoubtedly affected his performance. He was scoring 29.9 points per game on average prior to the altercation. But for the remainder of the postseason, he only scored 22.2 points per game.
Larry’s right index finger was also notably swollen heading into Game 3. But according to John Volk, general manager of the Celtics, the injury happened on the court.
Despite this, the Sixers were defeated in five games by the Celtics in Game 3—Bird finished with 26 points on 11 of 19 from the floor. But after falling short against the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, they were unable to win their second consecutive NBA championship.
