Larry Bird (39pts/10rebs/6asts) vs. Mark Aguirre (38pts)

Larry Bird's Celtics go up against the high-scoring Dallas Mavericks team, which could be the second best in Mavs history behind the 2010-11 one. Rolando Blackman, Derek Harper and Roy Tarpley all have decent performances, but Mark Aguirre just lights up the C's. Aguirre has a great 3rd quarter by scoring 17 points and getting the Mavericks a solid lead for the last quarter, however Larry Legend saves his best for the last minutes and clinches the game with a game winning three pointer. February 12, 1988.

[@gysoyosa]

Oh Bird! Oh Bird! Larry Bird, he's one of the greatest intelligent basketball player ever -- not just a scorer, a complete player.

[@pwoessner4478]

Thanks for this memory. I'm watching it in shock when Dallas brings guys off the bench like Schrempf. Lots of talent on that team. Agguire was so smooth. 6'7 guy played taller. But...Larry Legend

[@brucel1185]

Aguirre and Bird where similar in two ways - both got their shot off high in the hands normally and both use their bodies extremely well in traffic. Bird was the GOAT simply because of his outstanding relentless tenacity and desire to WIN no matter what and of course his basketball IQ was second to NONE who ever played. The man seemed to understand what everyone on the court was doing at the same time Remarkable. Only guy I saw who was close to that was Magic. The didn't call him that for nothing. If Luka spent half the time in situational awareness as Bird he would REALLY raise his game.

[@jeffmeredith1978]

Aguirre and Alex English were two players I enjoyed watching -- they weren't jumping out of the gym but they could hit from all over the place. You see Aguirre hitting from outside, driving around McHale, hitting the offensive glass for putbacks ... he could do it all as a scorer. As for Bird, he's one of the greatest ever -- not just a scorer, a complete player. Thanks for the video ...

[@johnlarocco3348]

Thanks for real basketball highlights and the added drama of Mark v Larry with a special ending showing the legend of a long range assassin Bird at work. Home crowd gets quiet 🤫 when Larry sinks it .

[@TheMimetolithman]

Larry is theGOAT.

[@Jondsmusic]

And there it is, the magic of my boy Larry Legend!

[@euroamerican5189]

"Larry Bird's jumper was like silent death" - Isiah Thomas

[@seankennedy18]

Bird was a Backbreaker. An absolute assassin! Top three player of all time!

[@jasoncamp483]

Needing two to tie or three to win. Bird was the man to go for the win and he usually got it.

[@ezsmith3765]

🎲🎲 🏀 💣💥💥💥

[@paulsullivan1650]

They don't call him "Larry Legend" for nothing folks! He is the GREATEST "all-around" player in NBA history. And there's just no argument!!!

[@123slasher.16]

Please, stop it . In the playoffs against Dr. J, Bird was 12-12 and Doc won 3 titles (ABA and NBA) just like Bird, and won 2;Finals MVPs like Bird. In the playoffs, Bird was 8-11 against Magic Johnson, losing 2 NBA Finals and a NCAA title against him In the playoffs, Bird was 12-13 against Isiah Thomas, who also was a NCAA champion who also repeated as NBA champion, 2 things Bird never did . Greatest all around player my ass.

[@paulsullivan1650]

@@123slasher.16 you're right, you are an ass!

[@lgbfjbmaga3930]

Bird is my 🐐

[@normbatchelor7403]

All around including defensive?? Who did Bird ever guard?

[@paulsullivan1650]

@@normbatchelor7403 He wasn't a "guard." You don't have to guard an individual player to be a great defensive player. Bird made three all-defensive teams.

[@4EyedAnimation]

Santos and Cousy were my favorite Celts announcers

[@Jondsmusic]

Me too miss Gil Santos!

[@Jondsmusic]

Another reason why a Larry is the best! He beats you in the little ways and in the large ways! You can’t beat the best, period!

[@capitanfuturo594]

LARRY BIRD WAS AMAZING PLAYER. *MARK AGUIRRE DESERVED BE A HOF.*

[@Bret_97]

Miss those days

[@macsaints10]

In one of the stories told about Larry, was a former teammate of Mark Aquire, said Mark didn’t want to play that night against Bird. Guy said coach wanted him to guard Bird, he said isn’t Bill Walton playing I’d rather cover him.

[@halbiggiam3320]

Aguirre probably still thinking about losing to Bird's Indians St. against his Depaul in Final 4 Semi NCAA Tourney in 79. Bird hit for 35,,16reb, 9ast, 1stl.

[@123slasher.16]

In the 1979 Final Four between Indiana State and DePaul, win by 1 point for ISU, 5th year senior Larry Bird scored 37 in that win . DePaul freshman Mark Aguirre set a freshman scoring record in a Final Four game with 39 points, a mark that still stands today.

[@olivergrensemann]

Many thanks for this channel showing those treasures!!

[@aramhamparian9641]

Larry Legend

[@Amick44]

Two best all around offensive forwards of 80's. King was great too, but mostly in the paint.

[@Ryenobal]

+Mick A Aguirre is sadly often forgotten. I remember he was lethal in the mid to late 80s. Bird was definitely the top forward of that decade. Choosing a number two would be very tough with the likes of Worthy, Dominique, King, Adrian Dantley, Gervin, etc...

[@Amick44]

+G Ryen Well, to his credit, he made the major adjustment going from a dynamic duo (he and Blackman) to being a 6th man, providing off the bench offense for a title winner in Detroit. Hurt his stats, but finally a winner.

[@Amick44]

+trha2222 I know he was a big headache in Dallas, but he accepted a subordinate role in Detroit and made the best of it. So .... he didn't win his rings as a star, but ...

[@Amick44]

He wasn't the primary reason Detroit won. Isiah and Dumars probably were. But he did his job. Like Rodman and Vinnie and Salley.

[@Amick44]

I think I'd pick Bernard as the next best F to Larry. He was so unstoppable.

[@DeeNice681]

I liked Mark Aguirre's game better than Adrian Dantley. He could handle the ball better, jump higher, and still post up like Dantley. He was also more of a team player for the Pistons. His best years as a scorer of course were with here with the Mavericks.

[@Amick44]

Yeah, skills wise. But he was also a bigger headache than Dantley. I didn't realize the extent of what a locker room cancer he (Aguirre) was til I saw some videos and interviews when he was with the Mavs here on YT.

[@123slasher.16]

@@Amick44 So why was DANTLEY traded 6 times in his career? I don't recall Aguirre having issues in Detroit. The guys he played with in Dallas, Tarpley, Harper, Blackmon, Perkins, Davis, Vincent and Donaldson COMBINED for ZERO NBA championships . Was Aguirre really the problem?

[@Amick44]

@@123slasher.16 in their minds, he was a big part of it. I'm just giving reference to what I saw on the video. Yes he was very talented and offensively diversified. There is no denying that. And by the way, I think the change of scenery did him some good. Maybe by that point of his career, he was less concerned about playing time and scoring points and just wanted to be part of a champion. And it did work for them.

[@brgreg8725]

@@123slasher.16 AD was the problem. They won after the trade because Aguirre conformed to the team which AD would not. Aguirre was Ave 28/a game and could’ve had a solid (possibly HOF) career. He gave that up to be part of a championship team.

[@123slasher.16]

@@brgreg8725 with his basketball career, Aguirre easily should be in the HOF.

[@Amick44]

He , along with Larry, had the most complete offensive arsenals at forward in their day. King was unstoppable, but they had deeper range and more variety.

[@frankycollins4123]

The whole Celtic team is going to owe bird a beer all week.

[@mattwatts33]

Don’t sleep on the shot Larry also made with 11 seconds left on the clock. He was so clutch. Ridiculous!

[@toscodav]

Larry fu*cking legend. simply the best to ever play the game. End of argument. Aquirre isn't even close to Larry's game. Larry outscores everybody while still spreading the ball around. What other player does that??

[@Jondsmusic]

Exactly end of story. Mic 🎤 drop!

[@MsStephencurry30]

LARRY LEGEND!

[@KalimbaSpirit]

Larry is LEGEND. Aguirre was also a great player. The Mavericks were a good team but NEVER had a legit center. When Mark was traded to a better team, the PISSStons he continued to be a great player on a better team.

[@merlball8520]

James Donaldson was most certainly a legit center. He was a solid, if not assertive on offense, and was an excellent defender. He wasn't a stat monster, but was also able to shut down/mitigate other centers and intimidate in the middle. Dallas came very close to beating the Lakers at their peak. The edge the Lakers and Celtics had on the Mavs was their bench. When Aguirre left, they largely lost their fire and went from a top tier team to a good team then to a wreck as injuries, retirements, and drug problems took their toll. Then more key players left. That's how they became one of the worst teams of the 90s.

[@allengreene9954]

@@merlball8520 The Mavs had a chance to draft Karl Malone but passed over him…….

[@jjs777fzr]

I bet Mark Aguirre still remembers this loss. Bird and Aguirre always pushed eachother to great games.

[@davidholcomb9393]

It is amazing how talented those Mavs were from that era,Aguirre,Rolando Blackmon,Sam Perkins,Derek Harper,Roy Tarpley,a young Detlef Schrempf,even had Steve Alford who the Pacers fans wanted selected over Reggie Miller,lol

[@merlball8520]

Steve Alford - Never heard of him. And that's saying something as at one point I had 1 of almost every basketball card there was from 89-94 and had their names and stats memorized. Plus, I played the Tecmo NBA video game and memorized the names and stats on that too.

[@73Trident]

Best of the 80's at SF, Larry. Early Dr J 2nd late Worthy 2nd. Best of course Larry no else close.

[@brgreg8725]

Thanks for the upload! Loved both these players

[@rkid727]

Miss those days. Miss Reunion Arena. Miss that logo.

[@bryanburnap4537]

We forget Larry hit a runner to cut it to 1 with 12 seconds left. Clutch after clutch shot

[@axelsohn1454]

Aguirre was on the DePaul team that Indiana State defeated in the NCAA semifinals when Bird was spectacular. Bird scored 35 and Aguirre 19 (where De Paul admittedly had more balanced scoring among its players)

[@rayburger6605]

I was at that game. DePaul almost won- which would have gotten in the way of the big Larry v Magic Final. March/1979- Salt Lake City. Neither DePaul nor Indiana State has been back in the final four since. Bird had an answer for everything DePaul threw at Indiana State. Scoring, passing, rebounding. Did it all. Larry was in a league of his own , but Mark Aguirre was a scoring machine at DePaul and in the NBA. Best era for college hoops at DePaul. Fortunate to have been there at that time.

[@maxlisk80]

What a finish.

[@brgreg8725]

So in these 3 games (2 before and this one Bird Ave- 41points and 15 rebounds a game. Wow

[@edkiely2712]

The meeting of the two conference finals losers from '88! In many ways, '88 was Larry's best year, even though he didn't win MVP that year. He was in the best shape of his career in '88; he started dieting and doing cardio, and it showed! Unfortunately, the Celtics management didn't do enough to get this great starting 5 some help. People bring up Len Bias, and he might have been a solid player, but they absolutely played waaay too many minutes. By the time the playoffs came around, this team was tired, and running on fumes, especially after 4 straight years in the finals. They still were able to beat a great Hawks team in 7 games, and they were still able to take the Pistons to 6 games.

[@turdferguson7504]

EVERYONE knew what was coming and there was nothing that they could do about it.

[@pine6163]

Dallas was loaded with talent......but Larry Legend wasn’t having it 🔥

[@Joseluispm71]

Incredible!!!

[@chrispaschal7955]

Bird was always a nightmare for Aguirre, since college...

[@olivergrensemann]

Sometimes Aguirre had the "Bird flu" to avoid playing against Larry.

[@chrisuncleahmad]

At one point, this could have been a 1988 Finals preview (both were tied 2-2)

[@RonPower]

The year is 1988: Dirk Minnifield thinks to himself "Well at least I'll go down as the greatest NBA player named "Dirk" in history to ever play in Dallas."

[@Truth_Make_You_Free]

😄

[@mkl62]

I missed this when it happened. I was in the Navy at the time and had just left the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmoth, VA and went to sea until Mon. Feb. 15.

[@gensu3k1]

this mavs team was STACKED

[@Amick44]

Yes, they were. But lacked D.

[@ChaosAtlas01]

4:48 lol. "His game is a lot like Adrian Dantley." One year later: traded to the Pistons for Dantley.

[@stevenyates4535]

Adrian could actually play defense. Teams went after Mark as part of game plan on a regular basis!

[@Mike-kv5pl]

This was a very good Dallas team. Aguirre was one of the best small forwards in the league. They had an excellent backcourt with Harper and Blackmon. Perkins, Schremph and Tarpley were all good young front court players. Schremph would go on to become a very productive player with Indiana and Seattle. We all know what happened with Tarpley.

[@merlball8520]

Tarpley was tragic. One of the best power forwards to never reach their potential. Another life with a great spark and a great life ahead of them, self sabotaged and died too soon.

[@123slasher.16]

And yet none of those MFers win a title with any NBA team they played for

[@123slasher.16]

@@merlball8520 you have no clue what you're talking about. He was a alcoholic who the NBA discriminated against because of a disease He was pinned as a druggie which was false . He sued Dallas and the NBA and won the case. He had the exact same problem that former First Lady Betty Ford had and she received sympathy and a center named after her So did she self destruct?

[@Mike-kv5pl]

@@123slasher.16 It was almost impossible to get past the Lakers in the playoffs back then. Dallas gave them some tough series. No disgrace in losing to a dynasty. BTW, Aguirre did win a title with the Pistons.

[@123slasher.16]

@@Mike-kv5pl Houston did it in both 1981 and 1986 with 2 different HOF centers .

[@alfredooliva5175]

@ 1:00 Aquirre was "listed" at 6'6. He was a solid 6'4 and built like a tank...

[@nesnejls]

I'm on a soapbox, but Aguirre's jersey should be in the rafters in Dallas. Bird is Bird...one of the best who ever did it.

[@g.shumway5925]

1979 NCAA Final Four rematch! Bird’s ISU beat Aguirre’s Depaul by 2. DePaul also had Gary Garland, half-brother of Whitney Houston (and godson of Dionne Warwick, who was at that Final Four game).

[@EderikSchneider1973USA]

I think Mark Aguirre was great at scoring a lot of point and getting the ball to the open man, when he was double teamed. But unlike Larry Bird, he couldn't stop anybody, at least not any great offensive players.

[@mrdm1967ify]

13:47 DAGGER!

[@ClearedForTakeOf]

Larry jam!

[@BasketballJones48021]

Great battle, best era for small forwards. Aguirre could really ball but obviously can't touch Bird.

[@Amick44]

BasketballJones48021 Dream game for both. Bird guards Aguirre, vice versa. Too easy for both of em.

[@Amick44]

As an overall player, no. But Aguirre could score with most anyone.

[@MrHillccs]

Bird had better career numbers than Aguirre.

[@DWEthiopia]

Nobody in their right mind would say Aguirre is near the level of Bird but either way, Aguirre should be in the Hall of Fame and is a Top100 player of all time.

[@abaileyjr97]

@@DWEthiopia but he could score like bird

[@HarpoSpoke]

The Mavs problem was that Aguirre was the first pick in his draft so he had to be "the star". Ro Blackman was a better performer under pressure by a mile and should have been the featured player. Aguirre was better in Detroit as a complementary player. That Dallas team was tough in the late 80s, they took the champ Lakers to 7 games. Probably needed better coaching with all that talent.

[@JayPleezer304]

@gensu3k1 Ur right man...I didn't realize that til u few minutes in the game. Rolando, d harper, roy tarpley, AND MARK AGUIRRE! Wow.

[@bigdill_3922]

Cold blooded

[@viviandarkbloom100]

I was at this game.

[@bryanburnap4537]

Funny how at the 4:50 that the Cooz and Gil talk about the similarities between Mark Aguirre and Adrian Dantley. As the 2 would be traded for each other the next season

[@cygnusx-3217]

Bird vs. Aguirre. Rematch of 1979 Final 4 ... Indiana St. vs. DePaul.

[@thepianist7084]

I forget how good Aguirre was!

[@allencampbell8322]

Real basketball

[@spitshinetommy3721]

I'd rank the 2006 Mavericks that got ripped off in the finals above this one, but this was a solid ass team.

[@justsayin669]

@Spitshine Tommy They didn't get ripped off, but I feel you.

[@bignizzle6973]

Aguire took DePaul to the final four pretty much by himself

[@Amick44]

Terry Cummings was outstanding, too. Bird took Indy state nearly himself there.

[@acnicodemus4734]

Aguirre not being in a Hall of Fame is a crime, If Tracy McGrady is there, and so as Aguirre.

[@24props]

Yeah, for not having a lot of athletic ability Aguirre would pretty regularly destroy guys in the NBA.

[@Amick44]

He and Larry both.

[@ezsmith3765]

🎲🎲 🏀 💣 💥💥💥

[@snhtown9]

@JayPleezer304 As well as Schrempf and Sam Perkins! :-)

[@Amick44]

Offensively (Mavs) they were.

[@irishgrl]

Did McHale plant a smooch on Larry’s neck? 😂

[@justinxaz]

actually the 06 mavs made the finals so theyre better than the 88 mavs

[@karentelmaceda9126]

In waiting my birthday this communi july 8 that is exactly 49 years old. 3 people celebrating party my twin and my younger sister.

[@chitownref]

Yea yea the game, Bird and Aguirre were great but Cmon how many times are you going to see a black guy named Dirk!

[@123slasher.16]

Mark Aguirre and Adrian DANTLEY games were no similar. DANTLEY pounded the ball, was a poor passer, was not the ball handler Aguirre was and definitely didn't have his range Find the film of DANTLEY shooting threes. Aguirre could catch and shoot, could drive past you, dunk on you and run the floor Find the film of AD dunking The one player that benefitted from AD leaving Detroit and Aguirre joining them was Joe Dumars, who relished in Aguirre moving the ball for better shots

[@okgood8529]

15:13

[@samm8988]

this is the franchise labrone loss to in her many final losses, that's why he da c.o.a.t

[@ShutupHollywood]

Larry Bird so superior to Aguirre it isn't even close. Bird 10x better at defense than this shoot everything he touches Aguirre.

[@alfredooliva5175]

@3:20 you f kidding? 10x better? Aquirre had hands like silk around the rim and was a tenacious defender built like a tank..he was a perrenial all star and no scrub ... only negative was he sold his soul to Isiah Thomas ...

[@g.shumway5925]

1979 NCAA Final Four rematch! Bird’s ISU beat Aguirre’s Depaul by 2. DePaul also had Gary Garland, half-brother of Whitney Houston (and godson of Dionne Warwick, who was at that Final Four game).