He started out that game hitting 21 of his first 23 shots and then went 3 for his last 6. Amazing game; I have it on tape.
69 points
18 rebounds
6 assists
4 steals
1 block
2 turnovers
7 offensive boards against a big front line, too (Daugherty/Nance/Williams).
My picks include some lesser known games:
- 57 points/10 assists (22-37 FG FG) vs. Washington in 1993. Remains one of only two 50+/10+ games in the last 30+ years, the other being Stephon Marbury vs. LA in 2001 (50 pts/12 ast).
- 53 pts/14 reb/8 ast (20-28 FG) vs. Phoenix in '88. Sick all-around game.
- 44 points/9 ast/5 stl/5 blk (16-28 FG). More steals than every non-center on Houston had that game combined, and more than doubled the combined blocks of Hakeem/Sampson that game. Oh yeah, 44 points and 9 assists, too.
- 43 pts/6 ast/8 stl/5 blk (16-29 FG) vs. Cleveland in '87. 8 steals
and 5 blocks
and accounting for at least 55 points? Wtf!?
- 32 pts/10 stl/2 blk (14-18 FG) vs. NJ in
27 minutes played in '88. 10 steals in 27 minutes! Jordan most likely would have tied if not broken the all-time steals record of 11 in that game had it not been a blowout -- and had he been concerned with records.
- 52 points/9 steals (18-33 FG) vs. Boston in '88. Jordan had
8 steals at the half (and a block or two along with other deflections) and Boston was totally discombobulated; they couldn't run any of their sets because Jordan was
everywhere that game. You could see they were hesitant to run what they wanted to run by early in the 2nd quarter.
- 34 pts/14 reb/15 ast vs. Denver and 32 pts/11 reb/16 ast vs. Milwaukee
as a rookie.
- Two straight 40+ point triple doubles and 3 straight games of 40+ pts/11+ ast in 1989. Here are the games in order: 40/7/11, 40/10/12, 47/11/13.
- 46 pts/7 reb/5 ast/5 stl/4 blk, a blanket job on Isiah Thomas (held to 7 pts/5 ast on 2-10 FG) and the game-winner over Rodman and Salley in game 3 of the 1989 ECF.
- His 3 straight 45+ point games vs. Philly in the 1990 playoffs. Here are the lines in order: 45/8/7, 49/5/5, and 45/6/11. He also averaged 3 steals and 2 blocks over this span (I have the series on DVD). The middle game (49 pts) included a furious 27 point 4th quarter by Jordan as he rallied the Bulls to within 2 late after being down big.
- 38 pts/19 reb (8 off. reb)/7 ast vs. Philly in the '91 playoffs. This is actually Jordan's career high rebounding game, but it occurred in the postseason. Jordan also had two 18 rebound games (with 7 and 8 off. rebs) vs. Cleveland in 1990 (the 69 pt game) and Seattle in '98.
- 38 pts/13 reb/9 ast in game 2 of the '97 Finals. Easily could have had 12+ assists if guys weren't blowing layups.
- 48 pts/9 reb/8 ast vs. Charlotte in the '95 playoffs (returning from baseball). Underrated game with many awesome plays.
- 59 pts/6 ast/2 stl/2 blk (21-27 FG) vs. Detroit in 1988. Jordan was something ridiculous like 13-16 FG in the first half; most of his point came off 14-19 foot J's this game. A fantastic midrange display and the game that forced Chuck Daly to devise "The Jordan Rules" for the postseason that year and beyond.
- Several games from his 1989 playoff run: consecutive games of 44/7/10, 50 points, and 44/9/6 vs. Cleveland; the final 4 games of the Knicks series where he
averaged 42.5 pts/9.8 reb/8.8 ast etc.
- 33 pts/7 reb/13 ast/4 stl/2 blk (15-18 FG) vs. LA in game 2 of the 1991 Finals. This is the game where Jordan hit 13 consecutive FG's, culminating in "The Move." He didn't play the final 9:00 or so.
- Back-to-back games of 39 pts/10+ ast vs. Portland in the '92 Finals: 39 pts/11 ast in game 1 (where he hit 6 threes and scored 35 points in the first half in just
17 minutes of playing time) followed by 39 pts/10 ast in game 2.
- The entire first round vs. Miami in 1992 where he
averaged 45.0 pts/9.7 reb/6.7 ast, capped off with a 56 point outburst where, after being taunted by some Heat players after a 2 point first quarter, he scored
54 points over the final 3 quarters. Sick.
- 54 points on contested long range bombs (including 6 threes) while being grabbed, pushed, hacked, and snake-bitten vs. NY in the '93 playoffs. An awesome shooting display against gritty defense.
- The entire 1993 Finals where he averaged 41.0 pts/8.5 reb/6.4 ast (51% FG), especially his 55 point explosion in game 4. Just a tremendous expenditure of energy and effort in that series. Jordan wouldn't be denied.
- Averaging 37 pts/8 reb/7 ast/3 stl/1.5 blk (53% FG) vs. Milwaukee in the 1990 playoff against two of the best defenders in the business in Paul Pressey and Alvin Robertson, who were visibly frustrated at times.
The list is honestly endless. I decided to throw some lesser known games in the mix. This doesn't even include memorable games like the flu game in '97, the double-nickel vs. NY after returning from retirement, 51 pts/45 pts back-to-back at the age of 39 etc. His career was simply incredible, and filled with countless mooments such as these.