He took that many shots because his teammates weren't producing at his level.
Isn't it better to ball hog and win, rather than to defer and lose?
^ This
Scoring 30 points on 36 shots = ball hoggy
Scoring 55 points on 36 shots = putting the team on your shoulders.
Bird's historic game was 60 points on 36, so not far off...gotta shoot to score...by the way I came across this when looking that up...I have been following bird since 86 and totally did not remember this...
The Left-Handed Game
We've seen players take free throws with their eyes closed, centers orchestrate fast breaks, and plenty of other attempts at showing off how truly talented players are. None of them, however, come close to touching Larry Bird's famed Left-Handed Game.
Having won 14 of 15 games heading into Portland on Feb. 14, 1986, legend has it that Bird became a bit bored with making those wins look so easy. So what did he do? He played left-handed. That's correct; the right-handed forward chose to shoot the ball left-handed throughout the contest, mostly with shots anywhere around the paint. However, only astute onlookers would have realized this in the midst of the game. Why, you might ask? Well, because Bird still managed to pour in 47 points, sent the game to overtime and then drilled the game-winner in OT. Not bad.