NBA Archives Debunked: The Jordan Saga

Chapter 17 Shocking World (2)

In the first half of the series, Jordan scored 30 points and the Bulls led by two points.The Celtics' defense against Jordan was Dennis Johnson (Dennis Johnson). He is a well-known perimeter defensive expert in the league. Also missed the first 7 pitches.

In the second half, the situation completely changed.Jordan continued to score, but the rest of the Bulls were unable to compete with their opponents. Dennis Johnson scored 26 of his 24 points in the game.In the end, the Celtics easily won 123 to 104. Bird, McHale, and Parish scored 80 points, completely blasting the Bulls inside.

Jordan scored 36 points in 49 shots in the first game.After the game, the locker rooms on both sides were full of praise for Jordan, but Jordan's gorgeous personal statistics are only a footnote to the Celtics' all-round dominance. No one could have imagined that the second game three days later would be so earth-shattering event.Jordan himself said that he thought that 49 points was already his top performance on the basketball court.

The second scene, how earth-shattering? The 23-year-old Jordan played a truly historic game that captured the attention of the basketball world.In a sense, the fame and status he later enjoyed all started from that game.In the words of CBS TV commentator Dick Stockton (Dick Stockton), that battle was Jordan's "appearance party" as a professional basketball player.

Jordan's career classic battle II

1986 NBA playoffs first round game [-]
Time: March 1986, 4

Location: Boston Garden Stadium

Score: Bulls 131:135 Celtics (double overtime)

On April 1986, 4, Jordan played golf with Danny Ainge and McHale at a course in Boston, accompanied by two sports reporters.Angie is the main guard of the Celtics, a chatter guy, McHale also likes to talk trash, after a game, Jordan and them have a lot of bickering.

At the end of the game, Jordan threw a harsh word at Angie: "You will be surprised tomorrow."

Angie was not willing to show weakness, and replied: "I won't be surprised, DJ (Dennis Johnson) is guarding you."

"Okay, go back and tell DJ that I might have a surprise for him tomorrow," Jordan said, "and tell him to get a good night's sleep."

The next afternoon, Game [-] of the Bulls-Celtics series started at Boston Garden and was televised throughout the United States. Of course, this was mainly because the Celtics were getting a lot of attention in the United States, not because of Jordan.

The Bostonians didn't take the Bulls too seriously. After all, this was only the first round of the playoffs, and it was just a routine on their way to the championship.Television commentator Dick Stockton noticed that Boston fans were far less invested in such a game than they were in the Celtics-Philadelphia 76ers.As Jordan began his historic performance, the crowd at Boston Garden seemed quieter than usual, waiting to see Jordan stand alone again and to see the Celtics dominate the court sooner or later.

As the game progressed, though, Dick Stockton could feel the mood shift in the arena as Jordan's attacks increasingly overwhelmed the Celtics.The discussion in the stands grew louder. At first, it was doubt, then worry, and finally admiration and admiration.Boston fans, of course, had to support their home team, but they couldn't help cheering in front of Jordan's artistic performance.

The appearance of Jordan at that time was not the same as that of the peak period in the 90s.He only weighs about 84kg to 86kg, more than ten kilograms lighter than the later stage, not so strong, not so muscular, but more agile and dexterous.At that time, he still had a little hair, not completely bald, and he was wearing the short shorts that were common in that era, rather than the long ones that were more popular later.Jordan, who looks young, wrote his first miracle in the NBA.He scored 17 points in the first quarter, 6 points in the second quarter, 13 points in the third quarter and 18 points in the fourth quarter.

In the last three minutes of the third quarter, Dennis Johnson made too many fouls, and Angie had to go up and face Jordan by himself.Dennis Johnson is taller and Angie is faster, but neither of them can restrain Jordan this afternoon.Angie decided that he should at least let Jordan take some energy off the defensive end, so in those few minutes, he broke through continuously and scored consecutive points to help the Celtics bite their opponents.

With 6 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Bulls trailing by two points, Jordan made a desperate shot from outside the three-point line. The ball hit the basket and missed.At this time, the referee blew the whistle and blew that McHale fouled Jordan when he made up defense. McHale put his hands above his head, his face full of surprise.Jordan stepped to the free-throw line and made two free throws to the roar of Boston Garden. 116 to 116, overtime.If Jordan made three free throws according to the later rules, the Bulls might have won.

In the first overtime, Jordan added 5 points to his account, but in the last few seconds, he tied at 125, and he missed an excellent chance to win.He made many more difficult shots throughout the game, but the mid-range jumper with no one in front of him bounced off the basket and sent the game into the second overtime.

After that, Jordan scored 4 more points, so that he scored 63 points in the game, setting a new personal single-game scoring record in the history of NBA playoffs.Regrettably, in the last minute, after the two sides tied at 1, the Bulls showed the execution gap between themselves and the championship team, and finally lost. 131 to 135, the Celtics kept their home court and led the series with a total score of 131 to 2.

The Bulls lost, but Jordan's 63 points, transcending victory and defeat, can be called epic. There are so many famous superstars in the NBA, so many great scorers, from Wilt Chamberlain, to Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, to "Dr. J", Bird, "Magician" , No one has scored as many points as Jordan in a playoff game.The previous highest score was 1962 points scored by Elgin Baylor (Elgin Baylor) in 61. The record has been maintained for more than 20 years and was broken by Jordan in the second grade.After Jordan's new record was set, more than 20 years have passed, and no one has surpassed it so far.

On that afternoon in 1986, Jordan made 41 of 22 shots in the game. Among the 22 shots he made, there were 13 jumpers, 7 breakthroughs, 1 second offensive tip-up, and 1 opponent interference ball.Basketball fans across the United States have seen through live TV that Jordan can shoot and pass, not only can complete difficult aerial work like "Dr. J", but also has a very good jump shot without obvious technical defects.In the eyes of insiders, the most amazing thing about Jordan is his timing.He has an insight into the whole court, and every time he takes the ball, he only takes a few thousandths of a second to make a decision, whether to pass, shoot or rush.Albeck once asked Jordan: What is going on in your mind when you encounter an opponent double-teaming?Albeck was startled by Jordan's answer, saying, "I think I have about half a second to a second to make a decision -- dribble to break or go through the two, or shoot before the No. 2 defender is in place. .If I go between the two, I can go right and get to the basket. But you want to know what happens next?" Sure.Jordan continued: "There's going to be a 7-foot guy out there waiting for me. But anyway, I'm going to dunk the ball in over his head."

Throughout the game, Jordan suffered a total of 10 shooting fouls, which were completed by five Celtics players.Because Walton always faced Jordan after switching defenses, it was unfortunate that he fouled Jordan four times and ended up with six fouls; Dennis Johnson was the main defender and was unavoidable. Six fouls; Angie, McHale, Parish, each had a shooting foul on Jordan.Jordan made 21 free throws and made 19.

For Walton, who has been in the NBA for more than ten years, this game is tantamount to a brand-new shocking education.Generally speaking, as a good defensive big, you can roughly estimate when the offensive player is coming to you, you know their movements, you know which angle they will appear from, you know the limits of their reach Where.Jordan, on the other hand, is a young man who can break through all the above normal thinking.He comes in through the perimeter, hangs so long, and just when you think you know what he's going to do, he switches the ball from one hand to the other, avoids your block, and then shoots.

It's not that the Celtics don't know how good Jordan is, but they just didn't think that Jordan and the Bulls could threaten them, fight them in two overtimes, and almost beat them in Boston Garden.Coach KC Jones (KC Jones) has experienced countless ups and downs from being a player to being a coach. Today, he encountered a new situation. "Want to know how good Jordan is?" KC Jones said. "Normally, the guys on the bench would lean forward, make eye contact with me, and wait for me to send them on. And when they saw Jordan's performance No one wanted to guard him. I looked at the bench and they were all leaning back, so I leaned back. When someone finally got to play, it took a long time to warm up."

In fact, by the end of the game, Jordan was exhausted.The net time of this game was 58 minutes, and Jordan played 53 minutes, of which the last 39 minutes were continuously on the court without going down to rest. "I think he played 78 minutes and definitely looked like that," KC Jones said.

McHale played 51 minutes and was exhausted.He was so focused on winning on the court that he didn't realize how many points Jordan had scored.After taking a shower after the game, McHale took a piece of technical statistics paper handed over by someone else without looking at it. He first said compliments like "Jordan played very well today" to the media, and then he bowed his head and found that the technical statistics paper was handed over by others. On the statistics paper, Michael Jordan's column, the score item, "63" was written impressively, and he was so shocked that he couldn't speak.

Angie, like McHale, had to turn trash talk into compliments.Ainge, who genuinely thought it was a great day for basketball, said later, "The danger is, he's so good, you want to stop and watch. Not just what he does, but how he does it." .Before this game, we knew that he was very good, but no one knew that he would be the best player in history. We are all still in the process of learning, and that afternoon was a good start."

Jordan's teammate Woolrich also felt the same way as Angie.Albeck let Woolrich and Jordan take charge of the offense together before the game. Woolrich scored 24 points, but he would rather not play. He said: "It's unbelievable. I only wish I could be a spectator, sit Come down and enjoy it."

Surrounded by praise and wonder, Jordan himself was not very happy. He said: "If we can win this game, I am willing to return all the points. I want to win so much." After many years, others will take this I went to review the video of the game with Jordan, feeling nostalgic, but Jordan flatly refused."That wasn't one of my favorite games because we lost. That fact, it's never going to change," he said.

Later in NBA history, Jordan's 63-point battle was defined by Bird's assertion.Bird's praise was so widely spread that it was known to all women and children. He said: "God dressed up as Michael Jordan."

Not long after the start of the game, Jordan once faced Bird directly, first dribbling the ball under the crotch for several consecutive times, changing hands and changing directions, and then drifting and hitting a mid-range jumper.That ball is regarded as the iconic picture of this game.Bird said after the game: "He is the best player in the NBA. Today, in Boston Garden, in front of a national TV audience, in the playoffs, he played one of the greatest performances in history. Did that against the Boston Celtics. I can't believe he's making so many shots. There's no question he's in control of the game, he's gotta have the best feeling. Playing against this guy, It's really interesting."

As much as the media loved Bird's classic thesis and his use of the word "God," they also loved the timing of the game.Since it was the afternoon, the reporters had ample time to polish their articles, trying to put in the best possible terms what had just happened. Chicago Sun-Times reporter Ray Sons put it this way: "He painted his masterpiece on the zenith of the basketball Sistine Chapel, and he didn't need a brace to lift himself that high. Michael can fly."

Jordan's performance inspired many people, and there were endless punchlines on that day. KC Jones has another sentence: "I'm watching, and everything I see is the giant Jordan, and everyone else is the background."

In the first two games of the series, Jordan scored 11+2 points.The 4+9 points three days ago turned out not to be his limit on the basketball court."I kept putting pressure on myself," Jordan said. "When I got to a place where I thought I might not be able to go further, I went further. I scared myself."

Game [-] goes to Chicago.Now, everyone is paying attention to the Bulls, and everyone thinks the Celtics will not have a good time in the Chicago Coliseum-who knows what Jordan will do when he returns to his own turf?
The Celtics are mentally prepared, but still optimistic.Flying to Chicago, McHale didn't even take the suitcase, he claimed that he only brought sneakers and a toothbrush. "I don't need (the suitcase)," McHale said. "We're only going to be there for one night."

The Celtics changed their defensive strategy.They determined that the Bulls had no one to pose a threat to them except Jordan.So in the third game, they double-teamed Jordan early and tried to force the ball out of Jordan's hands as much as possible.The tweak worked.Every time Jordan catches the ball to make an action, he will find two or three Celtics players wearing green jerseys blocking the way in front of him. He has no choice but to pass the ball.The superhero, who scored 56 points in the first two battles, only scored 19 points in this game, and only 5 points in the last three quarters.Jordan was so depressed that he even got a technical foul and ended up committing six fouls before the end of the game.The Celtics led by 14 points at halftime and 28 points after three quarters, winning 122-104. In addition to 19 points, Jordan also contributed 10 rebounds and 9 assists. This is a quasi triple-double, but the Celtics don't care about his statistics other than scoring. As long as you can't score, we can handle it.

The Bulls were swept 0-3, ending a failed season. However, through the series against the Celtics, Jordan issued a declaration to the NBA: I am coming-yes, this is still dominated by Bird and "Magic" age, but here I am.Since then, the entire league has looked at Jordan differently.Jordan, who played for less than two seasons, has leapt to the ranks of first-line stars.

1985-1986 season
Regular season: 18 games, 22.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 2.1 steals, shooting 45.7%
Playoffs: 3 games, 43.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 2.3 steals, 50.5% shooting
NBA playoff single-game scoring record (63 points, the second game of the first round of the playoffs vs. Celtics)

(End of this chapter)