NBA Archives Debunked: The Jordan Saga

Chapter 27 Killer (3)

Pitino may have been joking, but it was too much.The next day, in Game 47 of the series, Jordan, dragging an injured leg, scored 11 points and grabbed 106 rebounds in a 93-18 victory for the Bulls.In warm-ups before the game, Jordan still walked with a little limp, but as the game progressed, he got better and better, scoring [-] points in the fourth quarter.

In one weekend, the Bulls won two games in a row, leading the total score 3-1, while Jordan scored 87 points in two days.Knicks star Ewing said: "Everything is out of our control, the ball just can't make the shot, and Michael seems to be able to shoot no matter what."

In the end, the Bulls defeated the Knicks 4-2, and Jordan broke through the second round of the playoffs for the first time in his career.Since this year, Jordan has become the nemesis of the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks. As long as he is there, those two teams will lose to the Bulls in the playoffs.

On the stage of the Eastern Conference finals, the Bulls' opponent is their mortal enemy-the Detroit Pistons. In 1989, the Pistons had experienced the baptism of the finals of the previous year, and their strength was stronger than ever. They achieved 63 wins and 19 losses in the regular season, and swept the Celtics and Bucks consecutively in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Dugu seeks defeat.

Even in the face of such a powerful opponent, the bull's indomitable momentum has not weakened.After the first three games of the Eastern Conference Finals, the total score was 2 to 1, and the Bulls took the lead again.Like the previous two rounds, the Bulls stole their first away win, and after returning to Chicago with a 1-1 tie, they took the lead at home.

The third scene deserves special mention.In the last 8 minutes, the Bulls had trailed by 14 points. By 4 minutes before the end of the game, the Pistons still led 91 to 83, but under the leadership of Jordan, the Bulls caught up.28 seconds before the end, the two sides tied at 97, the Pistons called a timeout, and Daly arranged for Thomas and Laimbeer to play a pick-and-roll.Assistant coach Brendan Suhr said: "It's a very safe play, one of our basic plays, and that's why we chose to use it." With about 11 seconds left, Lambiel put on the screen.Thomas broke through to the right, and Jordan chased after him. At the top of the arc, Jordan ran into Lambiel, the whistle sounded, and referee Bill Oakes called Lambiel an offensive foul.Daly sat on the sidelines and looked dumbfounded, covering his face with his hands.Lambiel was quite dissatisfied with the special treatment given to Jordan by the referee. He said meanly after the game: "I know that whenever a ball is related to Michael Jordan, you have to pay attention, and you have to make sure you don't touch it. to him. But I didn't think about that at the time, I just thought about doing my job properly. I did do my job properly, and I did a routine cover, like I do a thousand a year as I did last time.”

With 9 seconds left, the Pistons tried their best to prevent Jordan from getting the ball. They sent their best defensive player Rodman to deal with Jordan.Rodman did a good job. Jordan finally broke free from him and ran to the center line to catch the ball.Jordan walks to the right, with Rodman at his side the entire time, staying in position while Thomas waits on the edge of the lane, ready to double-team.Jordan didn't back down, and he didn't plan to split the ball. He took off in a long stride, jumped on Thomas's head, and almost rode Thomas to throw the ball, and the ball hit the basket.

凭借这记终场前3秒命中的投篮，公牛以9 9比9 7击败活塞。乔丹第四节独得17分，全场2 6投16中，贡献4 6分、7个篮板、5次助攻和5次抢断。罗德曼赛后面对记者，只扔下一句：“我什么都不说。”

The losses to the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals were the only two losses for the Pistons in the 1989 playoffs.Later, they faced the Lakers in the finals, and they did not lose a game, sweeping the championship 4-0.

Starting from Game 23 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons did not give Jordan another chance. They continued to use the "Jordan Rules" to block Jordan's offense with all their strength.In the fourth game, Jordan scored only 15 points and made 5 of 18 shots; in the fifth game, Jordan scored only 8 points and made 4 of 32 shots; in the sixth game, Jordan scored 13 points and 8 assists, but had 4 turnovers.The Pistons eventually won and advanced with a total score of 2 to [-].In the six Eastern Conference finals, the Bulls have not scored a hundred points in one game.

In the 1989 playoffs, Jordan created a surprise for the Bulls, but it did not change the ending. The Pistons were still an insurmountable obstacle for the Bulls.

During the offseason that year, Jordan overcame an obstacle and completed a major event in life: getting married.

The woman who married Jordan was named Juanita Vanoy (Juanita Vanoy). She was 30 years old this year and was nearly 4 years older than Jordan.Of course, age wasn't an issue, height wasn't a distance, and Juanita later said that Jordan "quickly proved to me that he was mature enough to engage with me on the same level of maturity."

Jordan and Juanita first met through friends at a restaurant in 1984.A few weeks later, the two reunited at a friend's party.About half a year later, in 1985, they became stable boyfriend and girlfriend.Before meeting Jordan, Juanita was a hard-working, motivated, ambitious, and assertive smart woman. She worked as a model and as the executive secretary of the American Bar Association. When she met Jordan, she was a loan officer.

The two dated for several years, and on the last day of 1987, Jordan proposed to Juanita at an upscale restaurant in downtown Chicago, and Juanita nodded yes.I thought it would be a good thing, but then, the wedding was put on hold, and half a year later, it turned out that there was going to be a lawsuit.

On July 1988, 7, Juanita approached a lawyer named Michael Minton. "She told me she was pregnant, unmarried, and that the father was Michael Jordan," Minton recalled years later, "and she felt like she couldn't get Michael's attention without having a legal representative on file. Cooperate and respond.”

Although five months pregnant, Juanita looked neither angry nor distressed.She is well-dressed and elegant, but she is extremely firm in her heart."She's very well educated and she's very practical. She knows what she has to do and she's not indecisive," Minton said.

Juanita had been looking for a lawyer for a few days, and after talking with Minton, she decided to hire him to represent her in the lawsuit against Jordan.Minton contacted Jordan and discussed Juanita's situation with Jordan. Jordan said almost nothing at the time, and made no statement about Juanita and the child in her belly.Minton told Jordan: Your only choice is to voluntarily admit that Juanita's child is yours, and then the two parties will negotiate to resolve the marriage issue.Soon, Jordan transferred the matter to his lawyer, and the two sides began a long negotiation that lasted for two and a half years.

Anyone who knows Juanita well knows that Juanita has never been afraid of Jordan because of his money, fame, or status. She knows where she is. In November 1988, Juanita gave birth to the child, whose birth certificate has Jordan's name on it.This is Jordan's first child, and they named him Jeffrey Michael Jordan — "Jeffrey" being Jordan's own middle name, and Jordan's full name is Michael Jeff Ray Jordan.

The matter between Jordan and Juanita was kept very well kept secret, and the media did not even know that Jordan had become a father.Until March 1989, "Sports Illustrated" reporter Jack McCallum (Jack McCallum) visited Jordan's home. Jordan disappeared for a while, and then came out to see McCallum with Juanita and four-month-old Jeffrey.Jordan introduced: "This is my girlfriend. This is Jeffrey Michael." His face was full of pride.McAllen was stunned. He couldn't believe that he and all his colleagues in the media had missed such a big news.Jordan is very concerned about his public image, and he wants to release the news himself, but McCarron said that as a professional reporter, he can't pretend not to know that Jordan has a son.Later, when McAllen mentioned this in the article, the outside world learned about it, and Jordan was angry with McCarron for this.

On September 1989, 9, at 2:03 in the morning, Jordan and Juanita held a secret wedding in the famous Little White Church in Las Vegas. Jordan put a five-carat diamond ring on Juanita.The wedding was simple and quick, the ceremony took only 30 minutes, and there were only four guests present.Shortly after the marriage, Jordan said in an interview: "I am very happy, getting married is a big thing, it helps me mature."

The marriage is concluded, but the prenuptial agreement between the two has not been signed, and financial negotiations are still in progress.This matter dragged on for another year and a half after their marriage, and it was not fully completed until February 1991.During this period, Juanita has given birth to Jordan's second son, Marcus (Marcus Jordan), and Jordan has a complete American family.

1988-1989 season
Regular season: 81 games, 32.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 2.9 steals, shooting 53.8%
Playoffs: 17 games, 34.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 7.6 assists, 2.5 steals, 51.0% shooting
NBA All-NBA First Team

NBA Defensive First Team of the Year

NBA scoring champion

(End of this chapter)