During his illustrious career, Michael Jordan hit 28 game-winners, including, a league-record, nine buzzer-beaters. Many players had their hearts shattered by the six-time NBA champion, including Avery Johnson, who couldn’t help but collapse to the floor after being on the receiving end of a clutch Jordan shot.
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In a game between the Bulls and the Spurs on November 3, 1997, at the United Center, the Scottie Pippen-less home team was struggling against the visitors and needed their superstar guard to rescue them. On the final possession of the fourth quarter, Chicago trailed by three points and San Antonio knew that they had to trap Jordan and make another player attempt the game-tying three-pointer.
The Spurs were able to force the ball out of Jordan’s hands, leaving Toni Kukoc with no choice but to attempt a shot from beyond the arc which he missed. Unfortunately for the visitors, the ball found its way into Jordan’s hands and he banked the three-pointer to send the game to overtime.
Johnson, who was on the court, immediately hit the floor in disbelief. He spoke about that moment in an Instagram post, saying,
“On the left wing near the Bulls bench. [Michael Jordan] knocks down a three. Sends the game to overtime. They go on to beat us in overtime. I was so devastated after that three-point shot I fell to the ground like I was a windshield wiper.”
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Jordan finished the night with 29 points, leading the Bulls to an 87-83 win. Johnson played 45 minutes and finished with 12 points, five assists, four rebounds and a steal. Over the years, he has been criticized for his reaction to the Bulls icon’s game-tying shot, but he has no regrets about it.
Johnson claims the infamous collapse showed his passion
The retired guard believes his collapsing to the floor was a natural reaction for someone as passionate as him. He claimed that he was desperate to win the game and was upset about the ball finding its way to Jordan after the Spurs played exceptional defense and nearly beat the defending champions. Johnson said,
“There’s a lot of different messages and ways that you can go about to handle that situation. But when you’re just showing passion, desire, emotions, no plays off, no games off. You want to play all 82 games, every minute. You pour your heart and soul into it. Things like that happen.”
The Spurs and their fans revered him for his passion and hunger. They loved his tenacity and his energy. Two years after having his heart crushed by Jordan’s clutch shot, Johnson felt the euphoria of hitting one as he banked the championship-winning shot in Game 5 of the 1999 NBA Finals between the Spurs and the Knicks and earned legend status in San Antonio.
