On June 11, 1997, Michael Jordan defeated two opponents: food poisoning and the Jazz in a pivotal meeting of the Finals, which became the “Flu Game.” Before this game, the two teams are tied (2-2) and the best player in the world is having a roller coaster series.
A basket at the buzzer for the first game, followed by a huge game close to the triple-double with 38 points, 13 assists and 9 rebounds. Result: two victories for the Bulls. Then the two matches at the Delta Center are more complicated. Two average performances for him with 26 points (9/22 in shooting) and 22 points (11/27) and two losses for Chicago.
Food poisoning that nails Michael Jordan to bed
Game 5 of this Wednesday, June 11 promises to be the most important. It’s a pivotal match. Utah is on a good momentum. The problem is that the day before, Michael Jordan wakes up sweaty and nauseous. He finds it difficult to sit up in his own bed and feels paralyzed. From his room, he then calls the club doctor. He suffers from food poisoning, and we will even talk about poisoning later. For the doctor, the Bulls star cannot play on Wednesday.
The Bulls star then stayed in bed for 24 hours, missing practice on Tuesday morning and Wednesday, game day. He is dehydrated and even loses a few pounds. Despite everything, three hours before the start of the meeting, he leaves the hotel himself and goes to the hall.
It’s only about an hour and a half later that Scottie Pippen finally sees him. His words are not reassuring. “At no time did I think he could be in uniform. I had never seen him like this, he was not well, I mean really not well. »
Still, Jordan goes into the locker room and concentrates for the game. He then puts on his outfit and goes to see Phil Jackson. He can and will play this game. He assures that he will keep his coach informed of his state of health.
“The greatest Michael performance I’ve seen”
Michael Jordan is therefore titular and begins with a fadeaway but we feel that he is not 100%. He manages his races, does not offer intensity in his game and, as soon as he can, bends with his hands on his knees. At the end of the first quarter, he scored 4 points at 2/5 on shots and Chicago is already at -13, 29-16.
After three minutes in the second quarter, the gap increased to -16 (36-20). This is when Jordan finds his game. He goes to the free throw line, something he hadn’t done in Game 4. He puts in the baskets at mid-distance and finds aggression in attacking the basket, evidenced by his tap on the lay-up of Pippen. Under his leadership (17 points), the Bulls pick up the score. 53-49 at halftime for the Jazz.
In the third quarter, fatigue and nausea returned, once again limiting its impact on the pitch. As at the start of the second quarter, Utah made the break at the start of “money time”. But the rear of the Bulls raises his level of play and Chicago manages a 10-0.
He collapses in Pippen’s arms
Less than a minute from the end, he got two free throws. He succeeds in the first but misses the second. But he still takes his rebound and puts the attack back in place. There are then 40 seconds left, and the score is 85 everywhere. Jordan sends Pippen in a low post on Jeff Hornacek and the Jazz make a tactical error by doubling up. The Jazz thus leaves “His Airness” all alone at 3-pts. The Chicago winger sees the opening and his teammate sanctions: 88-85 for the Bulls, with 25 seconds to play.
Two actions later, and a new error from the Jazz who forget to make a mistake, Jordan collapses in the arms of his lieutenant. The Bulls won 90-88 and regained the lead in the series. The 1996 MVP finished the game with 38 points at 13/27 shooting, 7 rebounds and 5 assists and 3 steals. “It’s probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done. If we had lost I would have been devastated. he says, completely exhausted.
Even Phil Jackson remains in awe of his player’s performance. “Because of the circumstances, in such an important match, I must admit that this is the greatest performance from Michael that I have seen. Just standing up was hard for him, it was truly a heroic effort. One more in his collection which made his legend”, says the coach.
That evening, Michael Jordan proved to everyone that he was one of the greatest competitors in the history of the sport, but also one of the most courageous, able to plant 38 points, and to be clutch despite illness. “He’s the biggest and everyone understood why tonight,” summarizes Scottie Pippen.
