The NBA playoffs are where the stars shine brightest in the biggest moments.
At fewer points was this more true than exactly 32 years ago at the Boston Garden.
On May 22, 1988, the Garden hosted Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks. And it wasn't long before two players took center stage: Larry Bird and Dominique Wilkins.
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Bird and Wilkins went back and forth all night, especially in the fourth quarter, where Wilkins scored 12 of his game-high 47 points. But Bird tallied 20 of his 34 points in the final frame, helping the Celtics win a 118-116 thriller to advance to the NBA Finals.
Check out highlights from the game below (Yes, that's Tommy Heinsohn on color commentary alongside Brent Musberger):
Boston Celtics
Here are two other notable May 22 performances from the C's, who are 3-1 all-time in games played on this date:
May 22, 2010: Glen "Big Baby" Davis scores a team-high 17 points off the bench to spark the Celtics to a 94-71 rout of the Orlando Magic in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
May 22, 1985: Bird's steal in the final seconds helps the Celtics edge the Philadelphia 76ers 102-100 in Game 5 of the East Finals and advance to the NBA Finals.