Bulls vs. Pistons 1984-85 - Rookie Jordan saves the day

March 12, 1985

64 games into the 1984-85 season, Bulls are 30-34. Prior to this game, they lose two straight and this game becomes a must win as every game is crucial to earn a playoff spot.

It's a heated game from the start with some hard fouls throughout the first 3 quarters. Then the brawl at the start of the 4th makes the game even more intense.

Rookie Jordan comes to the rescue by scoring 14 of his 32 points in the final quarter, including 4 straight clutch free throws when the game is on the line. Bulls snatch the win in a nail-biting finish.

Among other things, Jordan tries three no look passes in this game. The first one is unsuccessful, but he doesn't get discouraged as both of his next tries are good. Finishes with 32/8/4. There was no official record for steals but I saw at least 4 some of which are in the video.

Kevin Loughery gives permission to broadcast one of his final timeouts and I thought it would be good to include that. Also included Jordan's last free throws unedited. (And yes, I included all Jordan replays that were available in the broadcast.)

A couple of things to mention: Broadcasters had technical problems at the start of the game and missed game's first two baskets. Unfortunately, both of them were by Jordan
(one dunk, one 18 footer). At halftime, they show the dunk. So, we miss only the 18 footer. They somewhat miss another Jordan basket when they are showing the replays of the brawl. (not replayed)

There were minor sound problems with the tape, most noticeable between 7:12 and 7:45. Just turn up the volume and you should be able to hear. It comes back to normal after a while.

This was also the night when Bird scored his career-high 60 points against the Hawks. All the articles that I could find focused on that game. Thus, no detailed post-game
notes were available for this one. Sorry about that.