Pippen Ain't Easy
Fansided

On this day in 1986, Michael Jordan was God, according to Larry Bird

By Michael Whitlow

Dec 23, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan yells at an official in the second half against the Chicago Bulls at Spectrum Center. The Hornets defeated the Bulls 103-91. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 23, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan yells at an official in the second half against the Chicago Bulls at Spectrum Center. The Hornets defeated the Bulls 103-91. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

April 20 has more meaning than it being the official holiday of the stoners across the world. April 20, 1986 is when God was on Earth playing basketball and his name was Michael Jordan.

“God disguised as Michael Jordan.”

Those were Larry Bird’s exact words after Bird and the Boston Celtics defeated the 23-year-old Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in double overtime on April 20, 1986, 135-131, and took a 2-0 series lead on the Bulls.

(The series would end in three games, as the 67-win Celtics swept the Bulls right out of the Eastern Conference’s first round.)

The rest of Bird’s quote on MJ was pretty good, too:

"He is the most awesome player in the NBA. Today in Boston Garden, on national TV, in the playoffs, he put on one of the greatest shows of all time. I couldn`t believe anybody could do that against the Boston Celtics."

During the 30th anniversary of MJ’s 63 at the old Boston Garden last year, ESPN Stats & Info tracked Jordan’s performance and some of the stats they recorded were just amazing.

Here’s a list of a few, including one I personally noticed on my own at the end:

  • Jordan shot 12-of-22 on pull-up jumpers
  • MJ made eight of his 14 shot attempts on drives
  • Jordan attempted a field goal against seven different defenders, including five Basketball Hall of Fame members
  • Only three of Jordan’s 41 shot attempts were uncontested shots (Reminder: Jordan shot 53.7 percent from the field and didn’t shoot a single 3-pointer.)
  • Hilarious number: Jordan actually led the Bulls with six assists that night
  • The rest of Jordan’s teammates combined to score 68 points in the loss

To this day, Jordan’s 63 points are the most any NBA player has scored in a playoff game in any round. The closest anyone has come to that number recently was Allen Iverson all the way back in 2003 with the Philadelphia 76ers (55). Jordan scored 55+ points in a playoff game five times, including his 63-piece 31 years ago on Thursday.

You can watch the entire historic game here:

Or, if you just want the MJ-related version of the highlights, you can watch those here:

Oh, and one last thing on this: before Jordan dropped 63 points on the C’s in Game 2, he dropped 49 points in the Boston Garden in Game 1.

Next: It's time to hop on the Playoff Rajon Rondo Express

All of this happened after Jordan broke his foot in the third game of the 1985-86 season. It’s safe to say he had a future in this game, right?

Home/Bulls News