Larry Bird was a lot of things including ruthless, a bit cruel, but most of all, relentlessly competitive. You could never take a lead for granted.
Like Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Bill Russell, Bird never shied from pressure. He wasn't just willing to take a critical shot; he demanded to.
At one point, according to this video, Bird told coach KC Jones to scrap the play he called or against Seattle and just give him the ball. Then he told Xavier McDaniels that he was going to get the ball and shoot, and told him exactly what he was going to do.