NBA Archives Debunked: The Jordan Saga

Chapter 58 I Am Legend (3)

I woke up at [-] in the morning, like I had gastroenteritis, threw up so badly that I couldn't sleep at all.I took some pills that I thought would help me sleep, but the symptoms were so severe I never fell asleep again.By the time I entered the gym, I was so sleepy that I had to fight sleepiness.I drank some coffee in the locker room trying to stay awake for the game.I had nothing in my stomach, and the coffee didn't seem to be doing anything to lift me up.

I was dehydrated at halftime, so I started drinking drinks.I thought I was drinking Gatorade, but someone mistakenly handed me a bottle of GatorLode, a drink you drink after a strenuous workout.By the time we got back on the court for the second half, I was exhausted.I had to keep drinking coffee, and that only made me dehydrated faster and faster.During the third and fourth quarters, there were times when I felt like I was going to pass out, and I remember thinking, "After this game, I can lie down." Before hitting that game-winning [-]-pointer, I was almost completely dehydrated.I was shaking, but continued to sweat.When I took that last shot, I didn't even know if it went in, I couldn't stand up.

When I got back to the locker room, the team doctors were terribly worried because I had been gutted.I was chilled, yet still sweating and dehydrated.They wanted to give me an infusion and I just slumped on a table and started drinking Gatorade.I just sat there for about 45 minutes and did nothing else.

All of this for a basketball game.

Jordan threw everything to give the Bulls the most important victory on their way to the 1997 championship, while ending the Jazz's 23-game winning streak at home.Returning to Chicago with a total score of 3 to 2, the Bulls are confident to end the series on their own territory and win the championship.

The Jazz know that the laws of history are not on their side: No team has ever won back-to-back games [-] and [-] of the Finals on the road.However, the Jazz do not intend to catch it without a fight, and they did not give up their last effort.

Jordan's career classic battle eleven
Game 1997 of the [-] NBA Finals
Time: March 1997, 6

Where: United Center, Chicago

Score: Bulls 90:86 Jazz
Jordan sat on the bench with a drink in his hand and a towel on his body.He buried his head in thought for a while, then turned his head and looked to his left, where Cole was sitting.

"Hey, Steve," Jordan called Cole, "you get ready, Stockton is coming."

Jordan was saying that Stockton, who should be man-marking Kerr, would leave Kerr to double-team him.In that case, Kerr would have an open shot.

Kerr nodded, pointed to himself, and answered Jordan: "I'll be ready. If he leaves me, I'll be ready."

At this time, there were still 28 seconds before the end of the game. The two sides tied at 86 and the Bulls held the ball.Everyone knows that the ball will definitely go to Jordan, but do you want to double-team Jordan?For the Jazz, this has always been a problem.

Twelve days ago, right here, it was also a tie between the two sides, and it was also a moment of life and death. Sloan insisted that Russell defend Jordan alone, but Jordan beat the buzzer.Now, almost the same scenario, to execute the same defensive strategy?Sloan faltered, Stockton faltered.

After the timeout, the situation on the field was exactly as Jordan expected.The ball was in his hands, and the attack time limit was less than 7 seconds. Jordan launched from outside the left-wing three-point line. Before reaching the top of the arc, Stockton abandoned Cole and came to double-team.Jordan turned to the left, took a big step into the three-point line, and made a gesture to shoot, and Stockton followed.When Jordan jumped up, he avoided the pincer attack of Russell and Stockton and had a shooting opportunity, but he did not choose to shoot, but passed the ball to the right as he had agreed in advance.Cole waited straight, facing the basket, with a wide view in front of him. He shot directly without hesitation. By the time Stockton realized that the situation was not good, it was too late to run over.The ball flew out of Cole's fingertips and went straight to the center of the net, and the United Center boiled instantly.

88 to 86, with only 5 seconds left, the Bulls took the most important lead of the entire game.Cole pointed to Jordan, and Jordan immediately ran to Cole, and the two clapped their hands together.

The Jazz didn't seize the last opportunity for the Jedi to counterattack.Russell served the ball from near the halfway line, saw Stockton entangled by Kerr, and made a big mistake in a moment of anxiety: He wanted to pass across the court to Shandon Anderson on the other side, and was caught Pippen saw through.Pippen scrambled for a steal, poked the ball into the Utah backcourt, then dived and slid the ball to Kukoc.Kukoc drove straight in, dunked easily, and the score was fixed at 90 to 86. All that was left was to celebrate, celebrate, celebrate.

It is not easy for the Bulls to win this championship.The Jazz broke through and defended desperately, limiting the Bulls' shooting percentage to 34% in the first two quarters.At the same time, the Bulls were also in foul trouble. Pippen, Longley, and Brian Williams all got 3 fouls.Jordan was not in good shape at the beginning, scoring only 4 points in the first quarter, but in the next three quarters, he scored 12, 13 and 10 points successively, and his personal offense remained at a very high level.

The Jazz once led by 10 points in the second quarter, and had a 9-point advantage at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but under the leadership of Jordan, the Bulls chased them back.About 5 minutes before the end, it was Jordan's mid-range shot that allowed the Bulls to overtake the score, 82 to 81; more than a minute later, it was Jordan's turnaround jumper that expanded the Bulls' advantage, 8 4 to 81; Malone scored two After the score, it was still Jordan who made a mid-range shot about 2 minutes before the end of the game, protecting the Bulls' initiative, 86 to 83.

In the end, Kerr played the key role, and Jordan used assists for the first time to lock the championship for the Bulls.The pass to Cole was probably the most important assist in Jordan's career."Tonight, Steve Kerr earned his wings," Jordan said in a news conference after the game. "I trust him, he trusts himself, I pass him the ball, he puts it in ... if that No goals, I don't think he'll be able to sleep all summer."

Kerr stole Jordan's thunder, but Jordan enjoyed it.He was a "green leaf" for a while, but in fact, no one would call a superstar who scored 39 points and grabbed 11 rebounds a "green leaf", even though he only made 35 of 15 shots in the game.

Cole knew well that his opportunity was created by Jordan. "Without Michael, this opportunity would never have come by itself," Kerr said. "It was his excellence that gave me the opportunity to make the game-winning shot in the NBA Finals. How exciting!"

A few days later, Cole, who is naturally humorous, "falsified" the facts.At the parade party celebrating the Bulls' championship in Chicago, he had an even more interesting statement:

A lot of people have asked me about the investment a few days ago, some misunderstood facts, I want to clarify.

25 seconds before the end of the game, we called a timeout and huddled together.Phil said to Michael, "Michael, I want you to take the last shot." Michael replied, "You know, Phil, I don't always feel good in situations like this, so let's think about it again." Think of another way."

Scottie also said, "You know, Phil, Michael said in his ad that he was asked to take the last pitch 26 times and failed. So, why don't we give it to Steve?"

I thought to myself, "Okay, I have to save Michael one more time. I've been doing this for him all year, so what does it matter one more time?"

Anyway, the goal went in, that's what I said, I insist that's what happened.

Winning the championship at home is happiness.Once again, Jordan got carried away and jumped onto the sidelines to raise his hand to the more than 2 fans present. "The Chicago fans are the best fans in the world," Jordan said. "They've been there for me since I came here in 1984. They never gave up on me. As a team, we went from the bottom to the top. Tonight, The fans are an inspiration to all of us."

When the Bulls trailed by double digits, Jordan didn't want to disappoint the fans. He said: "If I give up, they all give up. No matter how sick I am or how tired I am, I remember my love for this city, this city. The team has an obligation. I'm tired, I'm weak, but I have a whole summer to recover."

This finals is a chapter in Jordan's career.In six games, Jordan averaged 32.3 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, and was elected Finals MVP for the fifth time in his career.Before him, no one in the history of the NBA has ever been the MVP of the Finals for four times. Even Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magician, and Bird have never done it, and Jordan has already won the fifth one.

After the Jazz lost the Finals, Coach Sloan praised Jordan and said, "He's the greatest player I've ever seen. I don't know what you can say. He's such a great player, he's such a great player." Fighter, his willingness to win games is unbelievable, which I think is pretty awesome for the game of basketball."

Pippen averaged 20 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game in this finals. His contribution on the defensive end is even more difficult to measure with statistics. Although he could not win the MVP award, he enjoyed a great performance at the championship award ceremony. Treatment of the highest standard.Jackson turned to the microphone handed over by the host, and specifically mentioned Pippen's name: "I want to take off my hat to the two leaders of this team, Scottie and Michael." Jordan said generously: "Only by me It's hard for me to get this MVP, he should take half of it. I'll take the trophy and he can take the car away."

The dressing room was filled with the smell of champagne, but this joyous championship night did not end well.Jordan left the United Center furious after someone took advantage of the chaos to steal more than $10 worth of jewelry from him, including a watch and necklace, including his wedding ring.The theft kicked off an embarrassing and brutal summer in Chicago.

1996-1997 season
Regular season: 82 games, 29.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.7 steals, shooting 48.6%
Playoffs: 19 games, 31.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.6 steals, 45.6% shooting
Finals: 6 games, 32.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.2 steals, 45.6% shooting
NBA championship

NBA Finals MVP
NBA All-NBA First Team

NBA Defensive First Team of the Year

NBA scoring champion

(End of this chapter)