During the first 24 minutes of Game 1 of the 1992 Finals against the Blazers, Michael Jordan was giant and broke Elgin Baylor's record for the greatest number of points scored in a first half of the Finals (35 against 33 for the inside of the Lakers, in 1962).
Six times in a row, number 23 of the Bulls found the target behind the 3-point line, which was also a “must” at the time. The image of “His Airness” turning towards the scorer's table and shrugging his shoulders in surprise is imprinted on everyone's retinas.
Under the eyes of Magic Johnson, his future teammate with the “Dream Team”, he finished the evening with 39 points (16/27 including 6/10 at 3-pts), 11 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 interceptions.
Surprised to be “so hot”
“The 3-pointers were like free throws” will comment outright on Michael Jordan after the match. “I don’t know what happened but they were coming back… Nobody expected it, but I took my chance. I surprised myself for being so hot. »
A heatwave which will disgust the Blazers, relegated to 15 points at the break, and who will let go when they return from the locker room. A rout that went down in history under the name of the “Shrug Game”, for this “shrug of the shoulders”.
“Michael was incredible tonight, and it was the best match I've seen him play,” will summarize Horace Grant, who had seen many others…
