During his illustrious 13-year career, Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird was known for his fierce trash talk, which would often get him inside his opponents’ heads and give him an advantage. However, on November 9, 1984, Bird provoked Philadelphia 76ers legend Julius Erving into starting a physical altercation.
At the time, both Erving’s Sixers (5-0) and Bird’s Celtics (4-0) were seen as two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference because they were both unbeaten. Bird had been disparaging Erving during their preseason game. When Erving’s resentment reached a boiling point late in the third quarter, Bird, Erving, and other players from both sides got into a fierce brawl.
Recently, Bird’s former colleague Danny Ainge talked about the historic altercation on the “Knuckleheads Podcast.” Ainge claims that once Bird informed Erving that he needed to resign, the entire situation happened without warning
The most unusual, according to Ainge, was that he generally showed so much respect for Magic (Johnson), Dr. J (Erving), and other similar men that he didn’t trash talk them.
However, I recall the heated altercation he had with Dr. J. during which Moses (Malone) was restrained by us as Dr. J swung. That was really out of character for Dr. J. You all know Dr. J; he’s the world’s kindest person
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“However, halfway through the third quarter, Larry had scored about 35 points on him. He was simply jogging back down the court when he said, ‘Man, you need to retire.'” And that’s how that narrative began—Dr. J just kind of went crazy,” he continued.
Before the bout, Erving had been fighting hard, while Bird was playing a fantastic game. Therefore, Erving’s dissatisfaction was probably exacerbated by the difference in their playing levels. Nevertheless, both players were ultimately removed from the game.During the course of 23 minutes, Erving finished with just six points, three rebounds, five assists, and one steal on 23.1% shooting. In contrast, Bird played just 30 minutes and finished with an incredible 42 points, seven rebounds, three assists, one steal, and two blocks on 73.9% shooting. Following the ejection of the two studs, Boston defeated Philly 130-119.Players from both sides who were involved in the brawl were fined $30,500 after the game. This includes $7,500 fines for both Bird and Erving.
