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Writers’ Memories of Bird

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Times staff writers remember Larry Bird, basketball player, on parquet and elsewhere:

The Hick from French Lick. Larry versus Magic. Champagne showers. Behind-the-back passes. Over-the-head passes. Too slow to be this good. The Big Three. The emergence of a personality as well as a player.

The fourth-quarter playoff shootout against Dominique and the Atlanta Hawks. Intercepting the pass by Isiah Thomas along the baseline. The Dream Team.

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Said Dave Gavitt, the Boston Celtics’ senior executive vice president: “When Larry Bird retires, people aren’t going to remember him backing a guy down one-on-one. They’re going to remember the touch passes, the look-aways, the back doors, the sneaks along the baseline, the quick reversals, the open shots.”

The three-point shots. The fans moving to the front of their seats by reflex. Avoiding the dead spots in Boston Garden for the one-bounce dribble. The move to power forward. “Larry! Larry! Larry!” The bone spurs. The back.

The legend.

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