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Flying away Bird leaves Pacers with head held high
Posted: Tuesday June 20, 2000 07:43 AM
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Larry Bird walked away from coaching without a backward glance, just like he said he would. The coaching career of one of the game's greatest players came to an end Monday night at Staples Center when the Los Angeles Lakers beat his Indiana Pacers 116-111 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. As the Pacers' final rally fell short, Bird jawed with the referees until the final buzzer. When the championship celebration began, Bird shook hands with Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson and longtime Lakers fan Jack Nicholson, hugged several players and unceremoniously departed for Indiana's locker room. His final season as a coach ended against his greatest rival as a player -- the Lakers. Bird had a brief encounter on the way to the locker room with Magic Johnson, the Lakers star whose playing career paralleled his. Bird's three seasons on the Pacers' bench were yet another success for the man who led the Boston Celtics to three titles as a high-scoring forward. He signed a three-year contract with the Pacers in 1997 and said repeatedly he had no desire to coach any longer than his contract. He reiterated that position just moments after leaving the court. "It's been a great experience, [but] three years is enough," Bird said. "I'm not cut out to be a coach." His resume would seem to disagree. Bird failed to lead his home-state team to a title, but in his short tenure, he picked up one Coach of the Year award and led Indiana to three conference finals appearances, two Central Division crowns and its first Eastern Conference title. Not too bad for someone who expressed little interest in coaching until he unexpectedly took over for Larry Brown in 1997, saying he still had the desire to be a competitor but could no longer do it on the court. Three years later, everyone from young Indiana fans carrying "Say It Ain't So, Larry" signs at Conseco Fieldhouse to team president Donnie Walsh begged him to stay for at least another year. Bird won't, saying only that players tend to tune out coaches after three seasons in charge. But he enjoyed himself to the very end. Asked how he felt in the moments before Game 6, he said, "I'm nervous, I'm scared, and it's a great feeling." Bird was named Coach of the Year in 1998 after just one year on the job. He led the Pacers to a 58-24 record and the Eastern Conference finals, where they were edged by Michael Jordan's last Chicago Bulls team in seven thrilling games. Indiana got back to the conference finals after the strike-shortened 1999 season but lost to the New York Knicks. The Pacers won the Central Division this season and knocked off New York in the conference finals, but they were unable to win in three tries at Staples Center during the Finals. Bird said he has no regrets about how his final season turned out -- nor does he have any rekindled desire to come back next season, even though he said he has "nothing else to do." He has been offered a front-office position with the Pacers, and he said he probably will decide whether to accept it within the next few days, probably after a stop at his Florida home to "take a deep breath." Bird's departure is the first step in what could be a dismantling of the Pacers. Six players are free agents -- including every starter except Dale Davis -- and big men Rik Smits and Sam Perkins are talking retirement. "We were a couple of bounces here and there from making those plays and doing something special," Pacers guard Reggie Miller said. "As for next year, we don't know anything." Bird seemed calm and happy during the final days of his tenure. He leaves the Pacers in much better shape than he found them, and he took them places they had never been. But his competitive nature isn't quenched. Right before he left the podium in his final news conference as coach, he was asked how happy he was to be through. "I'll probably be miserable the rest of my life, to tell you the truth," he said. It was hard to tell if he was kidding.
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