Presented by PINNACLE WINDOWS & DOORS.
This Day In Sports…June 11, 1997:
A performance recognized as the most courageous in the legendary career of Michael Jordan. Severely weakened by what was thought to be the flu (later identified as food poisoning), Jordan carried on and played 44 minutes. The glassy-eyed and dehydrated M.J. poured in 38 points to lead the Chicago Bulls past the Utah Jazz 90-88 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals at the Delta Center. Jordan also logged seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block.
A story on the famed night in E! News said Jordan and his personal trainer, Tim Grover, later revealed it was severe food poisoning from a late-night pizza ordered in Park City. Oddly, five men showed up to deliver a single pizza, according to the account. Grover felt a bad vibe and warned Jordan, but M.J. ate the entire pizza alone because no other food places were open. By 2:30 a.m., he was in a fetal position, sweating and shaking. Jordan spent the entire day of the game in bed.
Jordan staggered out of the gate that night, figuratively and literally. The future Hall of Famer was lethargic in the first quarter, managing just four points. In the second, the Jazz built a 36-20 lead, but Jordan dragged the Bulls back into the game by putting up 17 points. His struggles returned in the third quarter, when he was limited to two points. Then, running on fumes in the fourth, Jordan manufactured 15 points, including seven during a 10-0 run that erased a 77-69 Utah lead.
Then came the dagger—Jordan’s tie-breaking three-pointer over Jazz star John Stockton with just under 30 seconds remaining. The lasting image of that night was Scottie Pippen propping up Jordan to help him to the bench for a timeout after the shot. M.J. skipped the postgame celebration and instead headed to the back of the locker room to be hooked up to an IV. The win positioned the Bulls to close out the series in six games back home at the United Center. Which they did. A fully-recovered Jordan poured in 39 points in the 90-86 clincher. And he was named NBA Finals MVP.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
