Bird Ignores Pacer Pressure

May 26, 1998 / 10:25 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Reggie Miller shook off Michael Jordan and spun to hit a 3-pointer in the final second.

The ball swished and Miller leaped and began twirling as if caught in a gyroscope. The fans at Market Square Arena went into a frenzy.

Larry Bird? He looked as if he awoke from a nap.

"It's sort of my demeanor," he said. "Everybody was hooting and hollering."

Miller's basket with seven-tenths of a second left gave Indiana a 96-94 lead Monday.

"I knew there was still time on the clock," Bird said Tuesday before his team left for Chicago for Wednesday's Game 5 with the best-of-7 Eastern Conference finals even at two games each.

"You don't get too excited until the game is over. I knew they had an opportunity to get a shot off and win the game."

Bird, the NBA coach of the year in his rookie season on the sideline, has been down this road many times as a player.

"Somebody has to keep a level head," he said. "If you've got your coaches running and jumping around, and the game is not over, bad things can happen. In that situation I try to stay as calm as I can."

Bird's point was brought home when Chicago inbounded to Jordan. His 3-point attempt at the buzzer hit the glass, bounced into the basket and then spun out. Victory, Pacers.

Even then Bird wasn't getting carried away. He knows two more games must be won.

Bird put his team in position to even the series with daring substitutions in a pair of two-point victories at Market Square, where Game 6 will be played Friday night.

He's basically gone with a nine-man rotation in the series, giving Antonio Davis, Jalen Rose, Travis Best and Derrick McKey an average of at least 18 minutes each.

He credits his playing career with giving him a feel for the right move when to replace starting point guard Mark Jackson with Best or going with Antonio Davis in place of Dale Davis or Rik Smits, as well as McKey and Rose.

"It helps tremendously. For a guy who has never coached on any level, it's completely different," Bird said. "I've got two assistants who help me, but you've got to go by feel. Sometimes you hit the right button, and sometimes you don't.

"Being a player in this league definitely helps. There are a lot of ex-players in this league who are coaches who have a great feel for the game and can make the right adjustments."

Bird knows all about playoff tension, having been the MVP in the NBA finals twice while the Boston Celtics were capturing three championships.

"There's obviously a lot of stress and definitely a lot of pressure. I want these guys to do as well as they possibly can," said Bird, who guided the team to its best winning percentage (.707) during the season. "I also eel they're going to watch every move I make. They know I've been there before. They know I've done it. They're watching me, and they're listening to me.

"They need somebody they can lean on. They don't need someone to cheerlead for them, hoot and holler when they make big plays. They just need somebody who can focus and keep their mind in what they're trying to do."

What they're trying to do is end Chicago's bid for a sixth NBA title in eight years by reaching the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.

"I've had coaches that got excited when the game wasn't over and ended up losing," he said. "I've also had coaches that have been calm throughout every situation. It really helped me as a player."