11/09/1984 - Bird 42, Erving 6
Today in Sports History: November 9th
In an early-season meeting between the Sixers and Celtics, the star players on both teams got ejected after fighting. Larry Bird, ever the trash talker, thoroughly outplayed an aging Julius Erving. Erving went just 3-13 for six points while Bird hooked up for 42 points, seven rebounds, and three assists -- and every time he scored, Bird gleefully announced his point total to the doctor.
"Larry was saying things to Julius," Danny Ainge recalled in The Big Three. "Things like 'You better retire if that's the best you can do.' Or 'Get someone else to guard me. You can't do it.' "
Finally, with the game in the third quarter, Erving had had enough. Bird yelled their point allotments: “42-6 Doc, 42-6!” Seconds later, the normally benign Erving landed a shiver to Larry’s face and both teams squabbled at center court. Bird and Erving were both ejected; the Celtics would win 130-119. It was a lasting moment from one of the classic rivalries in the NBA.
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