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On this date: Michael Jordan had two of his 31 career 50-point games
There's something about Michael Jordan and January 21.
Chicago Bulls legend has 31 50-point performances to his name—he ranks second in NBA history behind only Wilt Chamberlain with 118—and two of them took place on this date; against the New York Knicks in 1997 and the Phoenix Suns in 1989.
Jordan drops 53 pts vs. Suns
MJ always prioritized wins over high-scoring performances. That's why he described his 64-point display against the Orlando Magic as "wasted energy" despite it being the second-highest-scoring game of his career.
After he put up 53 points in a 116-107 loss to the Suns, Mike stated something along the same lines.
''I'm not happy about it," the Bulls superstar said after his fourth 50-point game of the 1988-89 regular season and 16th of his career.
The Bulls had won six straight when they hosted Phoenix at Chicago Stadium. They were even up 19 early into the game but allowed the Suns to come back and end their five-game losing streak against the Bulls.
MJ posted the highest-scoring performance of the season, along with 14 rebounds and eight assists. However, the only thing he cared about was allowing the Suns to end what was, at the time, Chicago's longest winning streak of the season.
MJ scores 51 in a win vs. Knicks
Fast forward to January 21, 1997, and Jordan put up another 50-point game—30th in his career. Only this time, he was happy about it.
Not only did the Bulls pick up a 88-87 win against the Knicks at home, but Michael also got his revenge against the then-New York head coach Jeff Van Gundy who, just weeks before their matchup, said MJ tries to "con" other NBA players into thinking they're friends before destroying them on the court.
“It was probably a tactical mistake by the coach of the Knicks to attack Michael in the press. I thought he went out and played with a vendetta, a score to settle,” Chicago's head coach Phil Jackson said after the game.
MJ finished with 51 points, four rebounds, and four assists on 18-of-30 from the field. He reached his point total with a mid-range jumper with 26.7 seconds left, after which he yelled something at Van Gundy.
“Some choice words,” MJ said when asked what did he say to the Knicks coach. “I guess I didn’t make any friends out there tonight.”
