On this day in 1984, Boston Celtics point guard Gerald Henderson stole a pass lobbed across the court by forward James Worthy of the Los Angeles Lakers.
With 13 seconds left on the clock in Game 2 of the 1984 NBA Finals and Boston down 113-111, Henderson would score on a layup to send the game into overtime, forward Magic Johnson dribbling out the game’s final seconds inexplicably.
The historic steal would give the Celtics a critical 124-121 win after dropping Game 1 of the series, and forward Larry Bird would later say the team might have been swept on Los Angeles if not for the timely steal.
While Boston would lose Game 3 of the series, they would eventually win the series in seven games to secure their 15th banner, then the most in league history.