Today in Celtics history: Henderson steals the ball!

Today, May 31st 2017 is the 33rd anniversary of Gerald Henderson's crucial Game Two steal against the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1984 NBA Finals. Henderson, father of the Philadelphia 76ers Gerald Jr., somehow managed to get his mitts on a pass from James Worthy in the waning seconds of the contest, sending it to overtime. The Boston Celtics, who had lost the previous game 115-109, went on to win the game 124-121 and the series in seven games to secure Banner 15's spot in the rafters. Said Larry Bird of the unexpected victory (courtesy of NBA.com):

"To be honest, if it wasn't for that steal, we probably would have been swept."

For more about Gerald Sr., check out Tbt727's longform piece here.

Today also happens to be the birthday of several noteworthy Celts, including:

• John Russell, the team's first coach (1946-47 to 1947-48)
• Ron Bonham, a wing player with the 1964-65 and 1965-66 squads, and
• Nate Robinson, a Seattleite guard who played with the 2010-11 team and cousin of Tony Wroten