His partners in the ratings game desperately wanted to salvage some pride on their home floor, but Michael Jordan was even more determined to have at least three days off. He was willing to work every angle, possible and impossible, to secure them. The baseline. The wing. Straight on from 15 feet. Off one foot or off the glass, he kept hitting net and he kept fading away -- farther and farther -- until Anfernee Hardaway, Shaquille O'Neal and their once-potent basketball team resembled minuscule blips from high atop the ridge. The Chicago Bulls were much closer to the pinnacle than the Orlando Magic was today because Jordan reached the climax of a yearlong vindication process by backpacking his team to a 106-101 victory in Game 4 and a sweep of the Eastern Conference finals. "Judging from the look in Michael's eyes, we could have rode him all day today," forward Scottie Pippen said. "I know I rode him. We all did. What's new?" With a menacing glare attached to nearly every basket he made, Jordan erupted for 45 points, wagged his tongue, kicked up his left foot ever so slightly and walked out of Orlando Arena with a Cuban cigar tucked snugly in his blazer pocket. He made 16 of 23 shots and 10 of 14 free throws and performed the same riveting theater on the floor that carried Chicago to its last finals, in 1993, the last time the Bulls were this close to a championship. They overcame a 56-47 halftime deficit in the final seconds of the third quarter and then let Jordan do ...
Tags: Michael, Jordan, Chicago, Orlando, NBA, Basketball, Revenge, Redemption, Sweep, Penny, Hardaway, Shaq, Comeback, Return, Finals, Or, One, 79
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