Michael Jordan had to be carried by a Bulls teammate of his when going up against the Nuggets, where the teammate doubled his score.
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Michael Jordan was the perfect amalgamation of a lockdown defender and a lethal scorer. Everything from his 10 scoring titles to his 9 All-Defensive team selections, MJ was the epitome of what it was like to be a Swiss-army knife at the highest level possible.
The perfect complement to Jordan was Scottie Pippen who fit beside him like a glove. Widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of all time, Pip could run the floor, spot up from 3, and take the ball to the rack for any easy deuce.
Pippen truly grew as a player when MJ stepped away from the game in 1993 to go play Minor League Baseball. In his first year leading the Chicago Bulls, he implemented a much more team-oriented structure to the offense, having everybody touch the ball on most possessions.
The Bulls were the 3rd seed that year and managed to take the ‘mighty’ New York Knicks to 7 games in the ECSF before getting knocked. That would be the only postseason series victory the Knicks would have over the Bulls in the 90s.
Michael Jordan had to be bailed out by Scottie Pippen against Nuggets.
40+ point games for Scottie Pippen were a rare occasion. When you have perhaps the greatest scorer in the history of the league at your side, scoring over 40 or even over 30 doesn’t seem to be all too much of a priority.
However, on this fated night against the Denver Nuggets on February 18th, 1997, Pippen rose to the occasion. He went off for a career high 47 points which was one point away from doubling how much Michael Jordan had that night.
He did everything from run the fast-break, notch 2 steals, to even drain two shots from beyond the arc. Jordan had himself a decent night as well with 24 points on 55% shooting from the field to go along with 12 assists.
Seems as though the roles for both the Bulls superstars had switched that night and it worked to perfection as they won 134-123.
