Michael Jordan sat on the bench in the fourth quarter, smiling and joking with teammates as the sellout crowd chanted, ``We want Mike! ``We want Mike!''
Though he didn't want to go back in, Jordan wouldn't disappoint the fans in the final game of his NBA career.
PHOTO: AP
Jordan pulled off his warmups, received yet another lengthy ovation, went back on the court, and was purposely fouled by Eric Snow. Fittingly, Jordan made his final two shots -- both free throws.
One of the greatest players in NBA history, Jordan then exited for good with 1:44 remaining in the fourth quarter of Washington's 107-87 loss to Philadelphia on Wednesday.
Another standing ovation followed, this one including the coaches and other players. Jordan flashed his familiar wide smile, waved to the crowd and took a seat on the bench one last time.
``It's time to move on,'' Jordan said. ``It's easier to accept that because physically I know it and feel it.''
Jordan finished with 15 points, four rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes -- drawing several adoring ovations from a Philly crowd notorious for its boorish behavior.
The fans did boo, but only when they thought Jordan wasn't coming back into the game. He went to the bench with 4:13 remaining in third quarter, and didn't return until 2:35 remained in the game.
With the Sixers ahead by 21 points in the final 9 1/2 minutes, the chants of ``We want Mike!'' started. The chant grew louder as the period progressed with Jordan remaining seated, and fans ignored the game to stand and stare at the Wizards' bench, wondering why Jordan wasn't playing.
``The game didn't merit me going back in,'' Jordan said. ``Obviously, they wanted to see me make a couple of baskets. That was very, very respectful.''
While the fans implored Jordan to return, Wizards coach Doug Collins pleaded with him.
``He really didn't want to, but I said, 'Michael, please, you got to go out there,''' Collins said.
Jordan's final points almost looked scripted, with Snow fouling him in the backcourt for no apparent reason except to send him to the line.
``Coach (Larry Brown) told me to foul him, get him to the line to get some points and get him out of there,'' Snow said.
After both foul shots went in, the Wizards committed a foul a second later so that Jordan could be removed from the game and receive the proper send-off. In a rare scene, the players on the court turned to Jordan and applauded, too.
The 40-year-old Jordan would have preferred to end his career in the playoffs, but the Wizards never clicked during his two years in Washington and finished 37-45 in both seasons.
But that was merely a footnote on a stirring night in which the basketball public watched one of the greatest athletes in history playing the game one final time.
Jordan finished his career with 32,292 points -- the third-highest total in league history, behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone. Jordan's career average of 30.12 goes down as the best in NBA history, just ahead of Wilt Chamberlain's 30.07.
``I never, never took the game for granted. I was very true to the game, and the game was very true to me. It was just that simple,'' Jordan said.
Earlier in the game, Jordan showed his age.
There was a play in the first quarter when he looked like the Jordan of old, except for the result. Starting near the foul line, Jordan ducked his shoulder, lowered his head, stuck out his tongue and drove to his right, the ball rolling off his fingers ever so softly as it arched toward the net.
Rather than going in, though, the ball hit the front rim and missed -- one of several of his shots that came up a few centimeters short.
One of the exceptions was Jordan's final shot of the first half -- a one-handed dunk that came after he received a nice pass under the basket from Bobby Simmons.
Jordan hit his first two shots of the third quarter but didn't do much else positive in the period. On an alley-oop pass from Tyronn Lue, the ball hit him in the fingertips and bounced harmlessly away. A lazy cross-court pass was picked off by Aaron McKie, leading to one of Philadelphia's 31 fast-break points. Jordan's final field-goal attempt was a missed layup with 8:13 remaining.
``I'm not embarrassed,'' Jordan said, ``but it's just not ... I've had better feelings in terms of playing a competitive game.''
Allen Iverson scored 35 points as the Sixers got home-court advantage in the playoffs first round.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS