Playoffs has started and so does
the excitement. We are just in the very first round of playoffs and we could
already see a lot of players on fire. Speaking of that, what’s your favourite 1st
round match-up of all time? Is it AI’s 55 points against the Hornets way back
03’, Mt. Mutombo’s 1st seed upset
against the Sonics, Golden State Warriors upset Dallas on 07’, or was it when
the Bulls swept the defending champs the same year?
Played as good as advertised, the
1st round of the playoffs is home for jaw dropping performances that
captivated the past, the present, and the future. And for us to see the best among the rest, in
this case, we need to go back to time when Michael Jackson was still hitting
his moonwalk, the Guns n’ Roses was still intact, the old Converse was still
the majority choice for basketball shoes, men wore short shorts (still freaks
me out until now), and practically the time when HD TV’s aren’t yet invented. It was that classic performance and not those
short shorts made me wish to see the matchup live. I’m talking about the
greatest single game scoring performance set by an individual in playoffs
history and still stands far from reach. It is from no other than, Michael Jordan’s 63 point game at
Boston Garden on April 20, 1986.
After finishing the season with an awful
win/loss record of 30-52 yet made it to the playoffs and Jordan missing 64
games in the regular season due to a broken foot; it’s no surprise that the
Bulls would face in the first round the eventual NBA champions, Eastern
Conference 1st seed Boston Celtics.
Losing by 19 points in the 1st
game against the Bird-led Celtics, which regarded by many as the greatest team
of all-time, Jordan bounced back on game 2 with an effort remembered as the
greatest playoff performance. Then the bombardment on Boston materialized with
MJ dropping 63 points on a double overtime showdown. Though they end up being
swept despite MJ’s 43.7 ppg, his airness’ lights out performance still stands
out until now as the greatest playoff performance of all time.
Jordan's spectacular numbers provided a sure lift for the Bulls and almost succeeded on making an upset against the Celtics. Larry Bird himself, Celtics ace player, expressed his awe to MJ's epic performance that he even said that it was God disguised as Michael Jordan.
Remarkable, isn't it? But wait there's more! Jordan didn't attempted a shot beyond the arc. 63 points without a 3-point basket? Well, I guess the shoes has something to do with it.
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