Taken To The Limit

"Sure I'd like to be getting on a plane now and flying to Detroit to open the Eastern finals," said Atlanta reserve Scott Hastings. "But, you know, it was kind of a thrill to sit there and watch the way the Celtics played."

"A lot of games you wonder what more you could have done," said Wilkins, "but not today. I can honestly say I did everything I could. We all did."

Obviously that goes for Boston, too. However, as is so often the case, one man did just a little bit more. "Sometimes after Larry plays a game like this it makes me think ahead," said McHale, who had 33 points, one fewer than Bird. "I'll be retired in Minnesota and Larry will be retired somewhere in Indiana, and we probably won't see each other much. But a lot of nights I'll just lie there and remember games like this, and what it was like to play with him."