View from Bird's eyes
Even from a distance, game remains a classic

By Bob Ryan, Globe Staff, 6/4/2001

NAPLES, Fla. - ''Game 5, huh?'' says Larry Bird, settling into one of the 10 cushioned, high-back chairs in his luxurious home theater, with the wall screen the size of a bedsheet.

Bird is aware of, but has not yet seen, the 1976 Boston-Phoenix triple overtime clash played 25 years ago today alleged to be the Greatest Game Ever Played. ''Game 5, to me, always was, the game, no matter what the series situation was.''

Bird actually had played with one participant of said game - Dave Cowens. He also had played, however briefly, against four members of the Celtics and five members of the Suns. The players whose games he was most personally familiar were the two Phoenix rookies, Alvan Adams, who lasted in the league until 1988; and guard Ricky Sobers, whose career went until 1986, later playing for Indiana, Washington, Chicago, and Seattle. ''You know, we tried to get him once,'' he points out. ''I would have loved to play with him.''

The game starts and almost immediately Bird is leaning forward in his chair. He is like a dedicated archeologist encountering a long-lost treasure. Dave Cowens and Paul Silas are rebounding, pitching the ball out quickly and then running downcourt. A man, usually Jo Jo White, is dribbling the ball upcourt as players are fanning out on the wings. Cowens is timing his delayed entry, making himself available as a foul line jump shooter. So what is this strange formation? Could it be ... nah. Well, maybe. Good Lord, it is! It's a fast break.

''Great rebound, perfect outlet, the floor spread perfectly,'' Bird marvels. '' That's the way to run a fast break.'' The period progresses. The Celtics are relentless at both ends, playing their absolute best two-way basketball of the entire 1976 playoffs as their lead keeps mounting: 9-3, 20-5, 32-12. There is great defensive pressure and every time the ball changes hands all five Boston players immediately marshal their thoughts in concert toward one goal - trying to get a fast-break (it was before the term was upgraded to ''transition'') basket. And Bird is loving it. ''Here they come again!'' he howls. More than once. He catches on immediately to the ultimate beauty of the old Auerbach- and Heinsohn-taught fast break, which was the exquisite use of the trailer, in this case Cowens, but for many years Don Nelson, as well. ''That's how a slow team should run a fast break,'' he declares.

Bird is enthralled by every aspect of the game. ''Look at how many guys are using the glass,'' he points out. ''You don't see that anymore, except for [Tim] Duncan.'' Watching Charlie Scott and even Jim Ard (a lefty hook swinging across the lane) bank home shots, Bird says, ''Oh my God. Isn't that great?''

The jump shooting catches his eye, as well. "Just about everybody has great shooting form,'' he says.

But it's not just the fast breaking Bird likes. Watching Boston's spread-the-floor, 3-2 offense, a scheme Heinsohn had devised in 1970 to exploit Cowens's combination of quickness and jump-shooting capability, he oozes admiration. He is also appreciative of the Suns' half-court offense, which is built around Adams, a slender 6-foot-9-inch high-post center who could both pass exquisitely and shoot effectively.

There is nothing Bird is seeing on this tape in the present-day NBA. ''Look at that nice 3-2 offense Boston is running,'' he says. ''That's not calling plays; that's an offense. Pass and pick away. Guys are just out there playing basketball. If teams ran like that, and made cuts like that in the halfcourt, and moved the ball like that, they wouldn't be talking about zone defense. There is no way, with today's athletes, you could stop a team from running if they were taught to play this way.''

Settling in

The inevitable ebb and flow of NBA basketball means that the Suns start asserting themselves in the second quarter after falling behind by as many as 22 (42-20). ''The Celtics are settling for the easy shot now,'' he says. ''But if they played any better than that first quarter, they'd never lose. They're taking quick shots, and Phoenix is making them pay.''

The Suns draw as close as 7 on two occasions, but the Celtics regain control and extend their lead to 61-45 at the half. ''That's a good game,'' Bird declares. ''The funny thing is that if you didn't know the Celtics were up by 16, you'd think it was a real close game.''

In the third quarter Bird becomes fixated on two people. The first is Paul Silas, then 32 years old and at the peak of his game. First Bird is interested to see Silas take advantage of some Gar Heard sloughing to sink two of his little set shots in the first period before taking it to the hoop.

Then he is enthralled watching Silas position himself for rebounds, soar into the air, catch the ball, propel himself in the direction of the other basket and attempt to start a fast break - every time.

''Just the little things he does,'' coos Bird. ''Watch him get the rebound and immediately take one or two quick dribbles to get away from traffic and then get rid of the ball. And then fill the lane himself. There is nobody like that today. And he could do the same thing now. You think those 7-footers would want to be running with him?''

And although Bird thought he had a pretty good handle on Adams after playing against him, seeing him in this game was a revelation. Bird is amazed to see Adams sticking long jumpers in Cowens's face, including two or three off the glass. ''You're telling me he's a rookie in this game?'' Bird inquires.

Watching Havlicek, even in his impaired and aging state, likewise brings a smile to Bird's face. ''John once told me he'd have stayed around a couple of years longer if he knew how good I was going to be,'' Bird recalls.

As the game goes on, Bird takes note of the 3-point shot, or absence thereof. (The shot was implemented for the 1979-80 season, Bird's rookie year.) ''This is such a better game without it,'' Bird says. ''It helped my career, sure, but I never did like it much. The wrong guys take them, and they take too many.''

Phoenix gets right into the game with a 23-7 run in the first eight minutes of the third quarter, tying the score at 68. ''The Celtics don't come out very strongly in the third quarter, do they?'' Bird observes. ''They're all jammed up now. No spacing. And there's only a couple of guys running, but they all were running before.''

The fourth quarter opens with a camera pan of the Garden. ''That's a heckuva place to play a basketball game,'' Bird says. ''The best.''

Boston cannot expand on a 77-72 third-quarter lead against the stubborn Suns. But again Bird's attention is drawn to Silas, who doesn't rebound basketballs so much as rip them down. ''Is this a great game for Silas?'' he inquires. Told that, no, this is nothing but a typical Silas game, Bird shakes his head. ''He's better than I ever thought he was,'' Bird declares. ''I had no clue.''

The plot thickens

The early pace has caught up with the Celtics, whose key players - Havlicek (playing with a bad foot), Silas, Cowens, White, etc. - are all mid- or late-career. ''Dave's getting a little fatigued,'' Bird says. ''But one of those timeouts should refresh him. In these games, that's all you need. There's still a lot of buzz in the building. And you can tell the difference when Johnny [Havlicek] isn't in there.''

The Celtics go up by 9 with a little more than three minutes left, but they cannot discourage the Suns. ''In a game like this, the pressure is on the home team,'' Bird explains. The Suns ride a Paul Westphal virtuoso blitz into a tie game by the end of regulation. ''How did this team only finish two games over .500?'' Bird wants to know.

Bird takes the Richie Powers non-call of Silas's requested timeout at the end of regulation calmly. ''I've been in a lot of them games,'' he says, as if we didn't know. ''They're not going to decide a game like that.''

The game moves into the second overtime. ''Phoenix still has a lot of movement,'' he says. And, inevitably ... ''Silas is the man!'' as the great Boston forward snatches rebound after rebound. When Cowens spins in and makes contact with Dennis Awtrey in the second overtime, Bird instantly yells ''Offense! That's an offensive foul!'' The opinion is seconded by referee Powers, and Cowens is gone with the Celtics leading by 1.

Bird cannot believe what he is seeing in the final 20 seconds of the second overtime. Down by 3, the Suns get a Dick Van Arsdale jumper, a great Westphal steal on the inbounds (''Same as my steal on Laimbeer. Look at John. He doesn't come to the ball.'') and a second-chance corner jumper of his own miss by Curtis Perry. ''Oh! Oh!'' he exclaims. ''You're [naughty word]-ing me! They're down 1?''

He stands up in disbelief when Havlicek banks home the go-ahead shot (''Only Havlicek could make that'') and he can't believe what he is seeing when the fans storm the court and one of them attacks Richie Powers. When he discovers what Westphal is doing as a result of his conversation with referee Powers, which is to get his team a technical while getting the ball at midcourt, he is dazzled. ''What a move!'' he exclaims. ''Westphal did that? Is that the greatest move in the history of the game?''

Bird is totally hooked now. Gar Heard makes his famous moon shot. ''I have seen that shot on TV before,'' Bird admits. ''And Nelson is playing good D, too.''

The game goes into the third OT. Silas fouls out, Glenn McDonald makes his two big hoops and when he sees Jo Jo sitting on the floor as McDonald sinks a pair of free throws to make it 126-120, Bird says, ''Yeah, you've got to be tired by now.''

Then Westphal makes his phenomenal 360 spinning bank shot. ''I've seen that one before, too,'' Bird says. McDonald hits the bottom of the rim while trying to guide in an Ard pass and Bird winces. ''You don't need a score,'' he moans. ''Get it back out.''

The game ends and Bird pronounces judgment. ''What a beautiful game,'' he declares. ''That great first quarter. All that running. The defense. People say the defense is any better today? Forget it. Did you see Cowens? We've got to get back to playing like that. I hear young guys today think these guys couldn't play? Hah. The only thing I'd say is that nobody seems to have much of a left hand. I also thought there'd be a few more picks set. But everybody has great shooting form. That's a great basketball game. A lot of guys made big plays.''

He'll leave the ''Greatest Ever'' evaluations to somebody else. ''That's just a great game,'' he concludes. ''Nobody left the Garden early that night, did they?''