Larry Bird (22/21/4) vs Julius Erving (28/11/7), 1980 ECF game3, highlights

April 23, 1980, Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Boston Celtics at Philadelphia 76ers highlights focusing mostly on Larry Bird and Julius Erving.
partial box score: www.basketball-reference.com/b...
Larry Bird - rookie of the year after completely turning a franchise around - leading the Boston Celtics against Julius Erving - the best forward in the game at that time - and an established powerhouse during those days, the Philadelphia 76ers. Both forwards showing their terrific all-around game, 21 is actually Bird's career high in rebounds (tied it more than 5 times).
Bird was the one guarding Erving at first and he was doing a great job, J was actually getting close to nothing against Larry, as you can see. Everytime Carr came off the bench he was defending Julius. Then the Doctor just came alive in the 2nd half, killing the Celtics in transition and also making some amazing moves in the half-court. On the other hand, Bird was being guarded by two very tall and very athletic, great defensive players, Caldwell Jones and Bobby Jones, so the rookie had his work cut out for him.
Bobby Jones plays some great all-around defense on this one, as always. Cheeks with a good one too. This is also the antepenultimate game in Pistol Pete's career, forced to retire mostly due to injuries. Plenty of other good players to see... A really competitive game throughout.
Highlights also including Pete Maravich, Nate "Tiny" Archibald, Bobby Jones, Maurice Cheeks, Cedric Maxwell, Dave Cowens, Lionel Hollins, Darryl Dawkins, Caldwell Jones, Chris Ford, M.L. Carr, Gerald Henderson, Henry Bibby, Rick Robey and Steve Mix.

[@BasketballJones48021]

Quality is not good but it's watchable, audio a bit out of sync towards the end too. What happened at the very end and it's not in the footage was that, with the Celtics down by two points and with the last possession, Dave Cowens fumbled a pass while under pressure and Maurice Cheeks picked up the ball... 76ers winning the game. More information on the description box, as usual.

[@SGTROCK1942]

+BasketballJones48021 just think if that and other games were in blu ray ?

[@3243_]

I'm just grateful this game was even recorded by someone and preserved through the years. Just think how many games from this era were never even televised or filmed.

[@olengagallardo8551]

This is vintage! Recall watching the 80 East Finals as a kid. Loved both Larry and of course Dr J.

[@jonadams9499]

Larry and Doc were awesome.

[@Gregory-sm9pf]

You done good brother, you's done good 😀

[@y.harveynorman1392]

Sad I have to watch basketball from 40 years ago to actually enjoy basketball. I hate basketball today.

[@julianmarsh1378]

Imagine being young and thinking basketball today is 'great stuff'!!!

[@cindyknudson2715]

@@julianmarsh1378 sad, isn't it?

[@ShangoDC]

Dr. J was so exciting and influential back then. Everyone, wanted to be like Doc back then. The things he did I've still not seen today.

[@terrenceliburd8655]

You ain't been looking hard enuff

[@hochha]

As always, the Dr. delivered. Bird, on the other hand, as a rookie from day one delivered like a veteran.

[@michaelcavallacci2945]

Much more fluid game. Quick passing and far fewer isolations than today. The three was almost non existent back then.

[@larryward2031]

Dr. J was the classiest “man” to ever play in the NBA.

[@Gregory-sm9pf]

Was he ever

[@karl6852]

This announcer is awesome. He knows which shots are falling before it even happens.

[@mikegillins4992]

House call love that part doc was spectacular!!!!

[@loydkline]

Dr.j ❤️ making house 🏠 call ; (private lessons )

[@porkfrog2785]

37:34 never be anyone else like Doc...poetry in motion...the cliche was invented for J

[@robbie192]

Thanks for sharing

[@vincentjackson3697]

Maravich and Bird together, wow

[@marzilyas]

the popular wisdom is true: these guys were beating the shit out of one another

[@cindyknudson2715]

Thank you for posting this footage. It's fun to see games from Bird's rookie year. Seeing these great games with the Sixers is a treat.

[@garythompson9663]

Nice recent post of a game I haven't since, probably, since 1980!! Thank's to you B/Ball Jones and others like you for helping to keep the memories and legacies of these great athletes alive for us all to enjoy!!!

[@izremler]

DR. J, Lary Bird, Dave Cowens, Tiny Archibald, Cornbread, Lionell Hollins..... Thank you!!!!

[@izremler]

and PISTOL

[@RudyPena-kr9kd]

Yeah don't forget marivach

[@Milordvega]

30:40 EEEEEEERVIIIIIING! That dunk should be included in those compilations of best Dr. J dunks ever, but I don't usually see it in those videos. And the dunk at 37:02 was also vintage Julius Erving. Followed by the beautiful baseline layup in 37:35. This was Bird's rookie year and Dr. J was still clearly the best forward in the game, but in just 2 or 3 seasons, Bird would surpass him. Maybe the league wasn't as big then as it was years later, but they did play GREAT basketball. The Celtics-Sixers rivalry of the mid- 60's to early 80's was even more heated than the Celtics-Lakers rivalry. Russell vs. Chamberlain, then Havlicek and later Bird vs. Julius Erving. Simply spectacular.

[@TheMeefive]

2 or three seasons lathe Doc would be 33-34, Bird would be hitting his prime.

[@mikedbigame3398]

I'd completely forgotten we played the Celtics in the ECF in 1980. Losing a 3-1 lead in '81 was so traumatic, I forgot everything else.

[@buckchile614]

This series was traumatic for me. I'm sure I watched it but didn't remember. The 61 game winning Celtics should have made it a better series. This team reminds me of the 73' team 68 game winning team that didn't make the Final's.

[@beachbunny7256]

😂😂 Bird 🎉🎉

[@dr.anderson5320]

Before Philly got Moses Malone and won it all in 1983, the Sixers and Celtics played in the Eastern Conference Finals 3 straight seasons. In this series, 1980, the 76ers won 4 games to 1. In 1981, Boston rallied from a 3-1 series deficit and won 4 games to 3. In 1982, the Sixers won Game 7 in the Boston Garden to win it. Boston had home court advantage all 3 years, but Philly was always able to win one of the first 2 games on the road each time. Classic NBA!!

[@matthewpredmore6523]

They also played each other in the ECF in 1977, Dr. J’s first season in the NBA after the merger. Sizers won in 7 games. Also in 1985, but Doc was 35 then while Boston was at their peak with an all HOF front line of McHale, Parish, and Bird.

[@021881mt]

The triangle trinity: LA was a better matchup against The 76'ERS, Boston was a better matchup against LA, and The 76'ERS was a better matchup against Boston. If not for the Doc Boston would've probably had 5 rings or more during Bird era.

[@vonholland64]

Bird was playing PF at this time

[@CoreyT127]

This was the real rivalry of the 80s, not the Lakers / Celtics! Quiet it's kept. Because they played not only in the same conference unlike L.A. they were in the same division. And 6 regular season games every year plus the playoffs in 80,81,82,85. Winner went to finals.

[@matthewpredmore6523]

Don’t forget 1977 ECF, which Philly won in seven.

[@cindyknudson2715]

Truth

[@greysonG10]

Crazy that Bird almost led the Celtics to the finals before McHale, Parish, DJ etc.. were even there.

[@davidschmidt227]

Almost? It was 4-1 and the Celtics had only played one series prior to this one(They didn't play in the first round). Cowens,Archibald and Maxwell were not bad company either, but the 76ers were stronger.

[@cindyknudson2715]

@davidschmidt227 Almost. As opposed to the year before, it certainly was an almost. And wasn't the reason they didn't play in the first round because they had the best record that season? They went from 29-53 to 61-21?

[@TerryT0114]

​@@cindyknudson2715That's an unreal turnaround. I've read people claim that only Larry was the difference in players but then I looked up rosters from both years an it seemed like there was a lot of different names. But clearly Larry was the big difference, we all have saw what he turned out to be. MJ an Legend are my two greatest, couldn't go wrong with either of them....

[@briandavidson1946]

Count the Hall of Fame players. Staggering numbers.

[@tunett123]

That was a dirty move by ML Carr on Dr. J.

[@joeblank618]

Well , ML Carr was a dirty player . Dr J , never .

[@garyt4551]

2nd foul Doc was ticked because Carr took his legs out from underneath him!!!

[@debbiehenson1096]

The start of the Bird dynasty.

[@cyberdalekyeti]

back then scoring was so much better

[@kurtadams3021]

Look at the Good Dr pop those jumpers👍🏾

[@andreaspapadakis2602]

quotes of the day " for the superstar that he is he has to take a lot of contact" , " you have to respect his drive so they give him the outside shot".. back then Everyone is in the paint where a constant massacre is going on,body contact and hands on the ball all the time Zero isolation ball..no one is holding the ball much ,,not even the superstars and most activity is going on through the pg.. No first options..everyone get shots as the flow of the offense occurs..fast beaking, fast circulation style offense No special plays or set ups or fouls called for the Superstars.. Strictly 2 step lay ups no stat padding today noone in the paint, zero body contact , no hands on the waist ,wide open lanes, perfect enviroment for quick first step rim attacks constant iso ball superstars hold the ball to death overdribbling through and through , screens and pick and rolls even moving screens absolute prioritarising first option down offense structure.. all kinds of dribbling/carrying violations , eurosteps , 3 and 4 step lay ups from rim attackers like Lebron/Giannis ALL the time constant stat padding.. so how many drives to the rim a super fast first step with such long strides like Dr J could have in modern NBA..Dr J is the best open court finisher ever..His opencourt finishing highlights prove that beyond a shadow of a doubt.MJ would be the only reasonable objection but J body structure and longer legs create an antilope like impression while MJ is more like a cat..from what we can derive with very simple evaluation of the situation DR j could have had a constant HighLight production on a nightly basis with at least 5 to 10 highlights per game and easily score 16 to 20 ppg at the rim, get more that his 6 freethrows per game so add 4/5 points from there and score anywhere between 8 to 10 from jumpers so there you have 30 ppg easy busy..regarding running the offense , in fast breaks with antilope like strides ,after his extraordinary ability ro steal,rebound,block not even a question since he is the best all time combo forward in these categories bar none..just compare his 3 offensive rbnds per game vs Giannis 1.7,Lebron 1.2, Jokic/Embiid/Davies 2.5...Dr J had 8.5 boards / 2 steals / 2 blocks per game and finished his career with 30000 pnts / 10000 rbnds(3rd all time,fist non center) no 2 in steals all time(still no 8) and no 10 in blocks all time(still no 23) in 1987..he scored as much as part of an offense without any MJ/KOBE/LEBRON system and only 17 fga per game versus Kobe 22 ,Iverson 23 and MJ 23... He had a fixed .5 fg percent exactly the same in ABA and NBA and even as a 37 year old he still hold it way over Iverson and Kobe... to put it in perspective prime Jack Lavin is the 15 year old nephew of prime Dr J!

[@021881mt]

I watched a Dr J documentary a very long time ago which blew my mind, I then started watching his all-star game appearances starting with his last one/last year in the league (87, 84, and 83 were🔥) and I then started watching his finals series with LA and some of the ECFinals against Boston. Dr J was better than Jordan, in every category also except dribbling and who knows with 3's because DJ didn't play to make a statement about himself like Jordan did. I think MJ retired averaging over 30 shots a game which is wholesale ball hogging. Staying on the free throw line padded his scoring numbers which was his best asset as a scorer to go with his defense, IQ, and his killer clutch determination to win/be great. Jordan played like the superstar that the Philly organization asked Dr J to abandon in the NBA after the merge, which meant he wasn't going to play up to his maximum potential like he did in the ABA, which everyone from the ABA and that era in general all say was obviously the difference between his ABA and NBA game. He outplayed Jordan in the 87 all-star game and was third under MM and Tom C for MVP, he didn't have to retire at all that soon. Makes MJ's highlight reel look kinda cute in comparison, like a youngster who thinks he's doing something impossibly special, which is what the majority thinks.

[@gavinothegreat5765]

this team would domiante 2014 NBA

[@u2keaneshaped]

Crazy that Maravich and Bird were teammates.

[@SidLaw500]

Frickin' Chuck Daly sighting at 35:30!

[@rberka555]

The Pistol and Bird together - amazing. If only the Pistol were a little more in his prime... Bird without Parish or McHale. Rare footage, thanks. I wonder if the NBA even has these games.

[@brianbachmeier34]

Excellent

[@dalegriffin6768]

Was Bird the only player to get rebounds,my God he had 21

[@elwin38]

Dr J dunk at 30:40

[@muzzupappa70]

+elwin38 37.04 too ;)

[@barrye5376]

yeehaw!! Doc with unique dunk FACE

[@SGTROCK1942]

thanks a lot of big play makers and good game

[@SGTROCK1942]

Today's NBA players could not survive the game as played back then..

[@SGTROCK1942]

just think if that and other games were in blue ray ?

[@Phares1225]

They should have kept Larry Bird on Erving the entire game. I think Larry Bird was better in his early years when he actually had his legs,with that and his great intuition ,he was a great defender. Back then it was a mans game ,now its just a kids game , no fundamental's, all over paid and no true competition ! Dr. J and Pistol Pete two of the most exciting players to play the game !

[@3243_]

Did you know that Dr. J and Pistol were actually teammates for one or two 1972 preseason games in Atlanta? That ended when a judge ruled that Doc had to go back to the ABA (which he basically kept afloat until 1976) and honor his contract which he had with the Virginia Squires.

[@Ariamaluum]

+Francocaine actually it was a bar fight at Chelsea.

[@rberka555]

Wow, great fact. Thanks

[@GaryBrowder-kw2iq]

The lakers had it easy compared to what Boston had to do 1st they had to get past arguably the 2nd best team in the league with philly then turn around and play la

[@gavinothegreat5765]

holy shit they had pistol pete too?

[@michaelmaxwell1523]

PLUS, this tape missed the intros w/ fireworks by...The ZINK!! 'AND NOOOOW, your Phila..delphia, seventy SIXerrrrrs!!'

[@TheBZA99]

rancho deluxe house call at 30:39

[@elwin38]

Look at Doc's expression from 34:37-34:51. HE IS PISSED from ML Carr undercutting him and it almost resulted in a fight.

[@celticbird2398]

Doc incredibly still made the basket.

[@OBESPRING1982]

Carr was the Celtics cheap shot artist in this edition. Jungle Jim Loscutoff initiated the tradition of boston cheap shot artists.

[@buicklincoln]

Maravich had every ball skill that Bird did. Bird's advantage was height, but Maravich was much faster in the open court. Pistol was only 32 when he retired. Celtics would've been scary if he squeezed out a couple more seasons with Bird, who got better...

[@CapAnson12345]

Maravich was more healthy and capable than people realized at the end. Mostly he had lost his competitive fire and Bill Fitch hated him. But assuming his knee held up he could've/should've scored 20+ a game and filled the Danny Ainge role on the team until 85 or 86. But instead he mostly rode the bench and was wasted as a 6th man.

[@CoreyT127]

Larry would've shot 10 extra FT's a game in today's league!

[@kurtadams3021]

Great game

[@stevieplez2]

Wow heard this on the radio

[@fatalsniper3413]

Do you have this full game available?

[@CoreyT127]

Tiny looked crazy running. He looked all Benny Hill funny fast

[@buicklincoln]

Errrrrrrrrrrvvvvvvvviiiiing!!!

[@x-man9473]

At 8:50 did anyone here the announcer say "sky hook"?

[@cflo1386]

The 70s me era was on display with Bibby and Cheeks, how many times did they have a 3-2, 2-1 fastbreak? Instead of passing they pulled up for horrible shots.

[@danacarter4793]

16:58 umm that was a three by bird 🐦

[@3243_]

At 34:23, M.L. Carr starts his hatchet act on Dr. J.

[@michaelmaxwell1523]

I got this game complete but don't know how to get it on YT! It was brdcst nationally on USA Network w/ Jim Karvellas w/ intros by the Zink w/ fireworks inside the Spectrum '..and NOW, your Philadelphia Seventy SIXERRRS!' 'Now it's Bird playing Dr.J...BULLSEYE DR.J!!' 'J to the basket...UNBELIEVABLE ... he took it at Cowens & Roby, climbed 3 more rungs & jammed it over them!!'

[@blesstheyankees1]

Thought nobody remembered that. Fireworks "inside" the Spectrum. They wouldn't even think of doing that today.

[@cindyknudson2715]

Would love to see that video

[@Scott-ly2nk]

Connie hawkins was the real deal

[@dater58]

Fun to see Bird and Pistol Pete on same team

[@michaelmaxwell1523]

If you can try to find the USA Network dub with Jim Karvellas - I got it- he makes it a lot more exciting 'J to the basket-UNBELIEVABLE!!' '...and now it's Bird playing DrJ..BULLSEYE DR J!!'

[@mikey7619]

Hi Michael Hope you are well. . Is it up for trade? I am a collector of games on video and have a ton of games from all eras. Looking forward to hearing from you.

[@giannivisadi8709]

Doctor J was the real GOAT

[@vincecozzi1112]

Yea absolutely no shot

[@robbie192]

Great player and artist but not Goat

[@rustydaboyrobot]

Loved Dr. J. But, Larry was a far superior SF.

[@briandenapoli3250]

Couldnt dribble and shoot long range but nice biased philly opinion

[@jasonjackson33]

@@briandenapoli3250Neither could Michael Jordan but he is considered the goat.

[@dutchtea8354]

16:57 Looks like he was outside of 3 point line.

[@cindyknudson2715]

That WAS a 3pt shot. That first year, it seems score keepers weren't sure how it was supposed to work. There were times when the shooter was clearly outside the line when they went up for the shot, but their foot touched the line when they came down, and the score keepers denied the 3.

[@dutchtea8354]

@@cindyknudson2715 I agree! Same thing happened to him in the Clippers game his rookie year. It might have also happened during his rookie all-star game. He did get the first 3 pointer ina all star game, but he hit another one just before that seemed like it was te same spot. The camera angle makes it difficult to tell.

[@Conan_1997]

Who’s here after Winning Time?

[@jjs777fzr]

@18:16 Bird long pass to Maravich for two and the foul. How does Bird pass like that ? And right on target.

[@cindyknudson2715]

He IS amazing. So much fun to watch

[@Gregory-sm9pf]

This is NBA basketball at it's finest, fierce rivalries, had future HOF player's on both team's, the fans were so supportive and knowledgeable and the referee's were excellent, yes, they were, today's NBA, its a total 💩 show, overpaid 🤡's,

[@vt5625]

WTF was Lionel Hollins thinkin in the final minutes????

[@kincamell2]

Massive Classic Only 2 NBA Finals MVPs not in Hall of Fame Maxwell and Billups

[@sapphonymph8204]

Rookie up against a veteran and still stays right with him.

[@TheMeefive]

Did you see Doc as a rookie? Did you see magic as a rookie? Did you see Jordan as a rookie? If you did you'd recognize that it doesn't matter that they were rookies. They were all already great. BTW Philly won the series 4-1 carried by Doc.

[@sapphonymph8204]

@@TheMeefive yes, but bird is the subject of this conversation.

[@TheMeefive]

@@sapphonymph8204Okay but you made DRJ the object without qualifying that Doc outscored Bird, Doc had more steals and assists, Bird only beat Doc in the rebound department, they both had the same amount of blocks and Philly won the series 4-1 Clearly 30year old Doc schooled the rookie.

[@sapphonymph8204]

@@TheMeefive fair enough.

[@victorquintana4018]

One is a Rookie while the other was on his prime...

[@mikewall4110]

He wasn't in his prime he was old lol remember he played years in the ABA

[@OBESPRING1982]

If you didn't see the Doc in the ABA, you didn't see Doc at his absolute peak.

[@acornsucks2111]

When thinking of Celt's 80's stars......Ainge, Parish, DJ, McHale.............this team had none of those guys and won sixty games and nearly made the finals.

[@porkfrog2785]

Bird and the resurgence of Tiny...Maxwell was a 20 10 man the year before and no slouch...once they got a real center to replace Robey, that was all they needed. You couldn't win without a good center back then, not even Dr J

[@cindyknudson2715]

@porkfrog2785 Cowens was the center that Parish replaced. Cowens was a great player too but was at the end of his career like Maravich. And Tiny as well.

[@johnkelly1198]

No mccale, parrish , dj or ainge

[@gavinothegreat5765]

1027 roby hammered they call jump ball lol

[@garythompson9663]

Thug M.L. Carr no longer had the speed or agility to stay in the NBA, so he lingers on a few more years by being a defensive specialist, AKA a thug who if he can't keep up with his assignment he will try to hurt them so they don't hurt the team!!!

[@chitownkidd33]

I laugh when people talk about how the kids in today's game are "thugs" when the NBA had a drug infested league until 1991 full of grown ass men/thugs addicted to coke and getting into fights. The irony is so relative.

[@3243_]

I'm sure before long Philly sent Steve Mix or some other banger into the game to give Mr. Carr some payback. That's the way teams dealt with these things back then.

[@3243_]

Gary, every NBA team had a guy like Carr on its roster. And an enforcer or two to protect its own stars from such treatment.

[@gavinschuette9826]

38:25 announcer on crak coff coff wilt

[@alexrichrevue5731]

Those damn annoying Celtics announcers: calling Dr. J… “Jay” - sounds not only stupid and incomplete but disrespectful!! But that’s Boston mentality for ya! He’s correctly called “Julius Dr. J Erving… Doc… The Doctor… Julius… or Doc Erving!!

[@elvispresley5921]

Never seen another NBA player so hounded by reff's as Dawkins was. They shooda tied his left arm off so he coundn't push off..to be fair tho. He'd still out-jump ya and dominate prolly...imho

[@andreaspapadakis2602]

The following year at game 6 the Celtics again used dirty shenanigans against Dr J..in one instance cornbread arced his body and took him face down flat and then Bird came with a Knee on top that barely missed him..Cornbread also elbowed hard and attacked fans without real consequences and the Celtics ruckus stopped the Sixers momentum and dunk fest on them and managed to win game 6 by a point or two..the Celtics were the Pistons before Detroit Period!

[@joesmith8470]

5 Larry's vs 5 Michael's. What happens?

[@cindyknudson2715]

5 Larry's will bewilder the Michael's with passing, fakes etc? Each of the 5 Larry's will adapt to give the team what it needs and work together? 5 Michael's will aggravate each other by hanging onto the ball? None of them will volunteer to inbound the ball? Each of them will be taking the behavior of the other 4 personally?

[@blesstheyankees1]

what the hell was Caldwells purpose. He got pushed around, cant defensive or offensive rebound, bird was torching him, and Hollins was just as bad with his plethora of bad shots. No wonder the Sixers finally won when both were off the squad in '83.

[@brianboucher4248]

I don't agree. For much of his time in the league, Caldwell Jones was considered one of the premier defensive players/shot blockers.

[@dwightlove3704]

+brian boucher Yeah he was the Sixers version of Bill Russell

[@nathanc30]

Birds sophomore year

[@cindyknudson2715]

Rookie year. No Parrish or McHale. And Cowans is there.

[@josephvitielo1693]

Maravich Bird To Carr too bad Pistol couldn't stay healthy

[@OBESPRING1982]

These CLOWN announcers sound like the b-ball version of Jack Edwards with the homerism

[@Milordvega]

One of them is Bob Cousy

[@cindyknudson2715]

They sound quite balanced, especially since they are Celtics announcers. A lot of praise of 76ers as deserved and critique of several Celtics when deserved.

[@becool5706]

Scrappy game

[@gavinothegreat5765]

sixers liek lakers in 80s jsut allowed to hak no cal lol