The Ed Pinckney Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
|
Monday, April 5th, 2004
May 5th, 1991: Larry Bird dives to the floor
during the second quarter of Game 5 of a playoff series
against the Indiana Pacers. He slams his head against
the parquet, but returns to finish with 32 points as the
Celtics eliminate Indiana 124-121. What was the
atmosphere like in that game?
It was crazy – outrageous. Bird was battling with Chuck
Person when that happened. There was a lot of jawing in
the press and on the court between those two, and Chuck
was saying things like he was going to kill Bird in that
series. Person was the young gun, and he talked a lot
of trash. He said he was going to dethrone the great
Larry Bird. Bird welcomed the challenge. In so many
words he told Person to bring it. To see Bird step up
to the challenge, to come back from being hurt and
silence Person like that – to me, it was one of the most
intense individual match-ups that I’d ever witnessed.
On March 1, 2004, center Mark Blount became the first
Boston player in a decade to score more than
20 points and grab more than 20 rebounds in
the same game. The last time that
happened was on April 19,
1994 against Milwaukee. The player on that night had 21
points and 22 rebounds. Do you remember who he was?
Yeah, I could kill Mark Blount for ending my streak
[laughs]. I was broadcasting a Heat game when that
graphic came up on the scoreboard. I know Mark well, so
it was great fun. I’m glad that he was able to do it,
and I’m happy to see him developing into such a good
post player.
Final Question: You’ve achieved great success in your life. You are universally respected and admired by many people, both inside and outside of the NBA. If you could offer one piece of advice on life to others, what would that be?
In any situation, just work as hard as you can. Be
honest with yourself and with others.
