Larry Bird’s 60-point game featured legendary trash talk

On March 12, 1985, Larry Bird set a Celtics franchise record by scoring 60 points in a single game. It turns out that amazing bit of basketball wasn’t the only thing going on on the court. An oral history recently put together by Boston.com spotlights some of the amazing bits of trash talk the game contained.

ROBERT PARISH, Celtics center, 1980-94: He told us at halftime that nobody could stop him so just give him the ball and get out of the way. Then he went out and started taunting the Atlanta players on the floor, the ones on the bench, their coaches, even the referees. He was talking so much trash he was buried in it. It was one of those nights when he could have drop-kicked the ball in. I loved it.

GLENN “DOC” RIVERS, Hawks guard, 1983-1991: He saw Dominique [Wilkins] as this up-and-coming player and he just tortured him, mentally. He tortured all of us. He was calling shots ‘off the glass, who’s next, where you want this one from’ and he just made one after another. When he got to about the 55th point you knew it was something special.

RIVERS: He said ‘in the trainer’s lap’ coming down the court, which meant it was going to be a three and it was going to from deep. Then he said, ‘who wants it?’ Then I think Rickey Brown, I’m not sure who it was, ran out after him, he shot this high rainbow, it goes in, Rickey bumps into him -- and accidentally knocks him on our trainer’s lap. So it was exactly what he said, it was an accident but it was almost fate. They show a shot of our bench, Cliff Levingston and Eddie Johnson are standing up giving each other high fives. It was pretty awesome.

And of course, Larry Bird himself thought the game sucked:

BIRD: If you watch the tape, the game really sucked. That wasn’t the kind of game I like to play in. Nobody was guarding anybody, the ball wasn’t moving good.

The whole thing is definitely worth your time. Head over to Boston.com to continue this vital bit of reading.