MJ knew no one could stop him from putting on a show for the MSG crowd.
While most athletes require time to get back into rhythm after a hiatus, Michael Jordan proved to be an exception. Just days after returning from his first retirement in 1995, Mike had a statement performance at the Madison Square Garden. Derek Harper, unfortunately, was on the receiving end of it.
MJ’s message to Harper
During the 1994-95 season, Jordan returned just in time to play in 17 games at the business end of the regular season. Although he averaged 24.7 points in his first four appearances, the 6’6″ shooting guard shot 37-of-94 from the field, signaling that he was far from his best.
In his fifth game back, MJ and his Chicago Bulls were set to face the New York Knicks on the road. Right from the tip-off, “His Airness” was scoring at will, dropping ‘”30-something'” in the first half alone.
Convinced he could slow him down, Harper urged coach Pat Riley to put him on Michael for the remainder of the contest. However, the Bulls legend made sure to let Derek know that no defensive strategy would stop his scoring onslaught that day.
“I go over to try and guard Mike and looked at me like what are you doing?” Harper recalled, as quoted by SportsCasting. “He said, ‘I tell you what, Harp. I respect you. You’re a pretty hard-nosed defensive player, but it’s way too late for you. I’m already hot.'”
As Mike rightly proclaimed, he took over the game, scoring 55 points on 21-of-37 shooting from the field to lead his team to a nail-biting 113-111 win.
Jordan thrived at MSG
During the Bulls’ initial three-peat, MJ consistently led his squad past the Knicks in the playoffs. Moreover, he regularly made headlines while playing at the Garden.
Jordan delivered some of the most iconic performances at the iconic venue, such as scoring 54 points in Game 4 of their ’93 ECF and following it up with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 14 assistsin Game 5. He also scored 44 points in his final MSG performance as a Bull while wearing his iconic Air Jordan 1s.
It’s safe to say that Michael consistently brought his best to New York. Unfortunately for Harper, he was on the receiving end of one of his most iconic performances in the Mecca of Basketball.
