Michael Jordan's 63-point playoff game

Michael Jordan’s 63-point playoff game took place in Game 2 of the first-round series between the Chicago Bulls and the Boston Celtics at the Boston Garden (the Celtics were 41–1 at that point in the season at home). Although the Bulls lost 135–131 in double-overtime, Jordan's performance broke Elgin Baylor's single-game postseason scoring record and remains an all-time record to this day. The game occurred on April 20, 1986 and was televised on CBS.

Jordan averaged 43.7 points per game in the series (the second most-ever in a playoff series), but was unable to prevent the Bulls from being swept by a more experienced, more talented Celtics team that went on to when the NBA championship. Jordan's performance elicited the famous quote from Celtics star Larry Bird, "I think he's God Disguised as Michael Jordan". Many consider it the greatest individual performance in NBA playoff history. In 2006, it was named the 10th greatest playoff moment in NBA history for the NBA's 60th anniversary.

TV Guide named it the 26th Most Memorable Moment in Television History.

For the Bulls, 1985–86 was a near disaster. Michael Jordan, fresh off his superb was rookie season in 1984–85, missed 64 regular season games due to a broken foot. The Bulls made the playoffs despite Jordan's injury with a 30–52 record, which was at the time the fifth-worst record of any team to qualify for the playoffs in NBA history. The Bulls organization, led by general manager Jerry Krause, wanted Jordan to sit out the rest the rest season after his broken foot, but Jordan requested to play. He recovered in time to comeback in March and played the last 14 games of the season, showing signs of rust at first, but regaining his form just before the start of the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Celtics were in the midst of their Larry Bird-led dynasty. They finished the 1985–86 regular season with the best record in the league at 67–15, including a 40–1 record at home. Larry Bird won his third consecutive MVP award and Bill Walton won the Sixth Man of the Year Award in his first season with the team. They came into the playoffs heavy favorites to avenge their 1985 NBA Finals lost and win their 16th championship.

In the first game of the series, the Bulls got off to a fast start and Jordan scored 49 points overall in the game. However, the Boston oiutscored Chicago 96–69 after the first quarter and won the game going away. Bird scored 30 points, Kevin McHale was in double-figures with 27 points and 10 rebounds, as was Robert Parish with 23 and 10, and Dennis Johnson added 26 points.

In Roland Lazenby’s “Michael Jordan: The Life,” Bill Walton recalled, "In the first game he scored 49 and we won by 20. And we said, ‘Ah, he’ll never do that again."

Jordan came out aggressive, scoring eight quick points in the opening minutes by attacking the baseline and hitting jump shots. In the first quarter, he had 13 points, and the Bulls held an eight-point lead, similar to their start in Game 1. They led by as many as 13 points in the second quarter, but the Celtics slowly cut into the lead over the next two quarters. Jordan scored 10 points in the second quarter and eight in the third quarter. With Bird starting to heat up in the second half, the Bulls began double-teaming him, leaving open shots and cuts to the basket for Dennis Johnson, Danny Ainge, and Jerry Sichting. In the final minute of the third, Jordan hit a mid-air, double-clutch bank shot while being fouled by Bill Walton. The Bulls entered the final quarter up 91–88.

The fourth quarter was where Jordan turned a great effort into a historic one. At 36 points entering the quarter, Jordan scored 18 points in the fourth, including two free throws on a foul by Kevin McHale as time expired. Jordan surpassed Bob Love’s Bulls single-game scoring record with 56 points, then scored the first points in overtime. Moments later, he drew a foul from Dennis Johnson, converting an and-one for his 59th point. With 12 seconds left in overtime, Danny Ainge tied the game at 125. Jordan had a chance to put the Bulls ahead with two seconds left but missed an open jump shot.

In double overtime, Jordan tied the game and scored his 63rd point with 1:11 remaining. This prompted an "Oh boy!" from CBS color analyst Tom Heinsohn, who sounded in disbelief at Jordan’s performance. The Celtics did not pull ahead by two possessions until a Robert Parish jump shot put them up 135–131. Orlando Woolridge, who led the Bulls in minutes played, airballed a three-pointer, giving the Celtics the hard-fought win and a 2–0 series lead.

Celtics star Larry Bird scored 36 points on 14-of-27 shooting despite being double-teamed for most of the second half, though he scored only once in the final five minutes of regulation and in both overtimes. Jordan finished with 63 points on 22-of-41 shooting and led the team with six assists. He did not attempt a single three-pointer in the game and made only one basket via a dunk. It was also his first 50-point or more scoring effort in his career.

Facing more aggressive double-teams and a stronger, more experienced team overall, Jordan took just 18 shots in Game 3 at Chicago Stadium and made only eight. He finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists as his team was swept, 122–104. Notably, this was the last game of George Gervin's Hall of Fame career.

Six weeks later, the Celtics won their 16th championship, defeating the Houston Rockets in six games.

The Celtics and Bulls met again in the first round of the 1987 playoffs. The Bulls had a new coach (Doug Collins) and Jordan did not score as much in the previous series, but still had 35.7 ppg. The outcome was another sweep. Despite already being one of the best players in the league by year three, Jordan had a 1–9 playoff record. Jordan would get help in the form of Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant later that summer in the 1987 draft, which eventually led to three consecutive championships from 1991–1993, before his temporary retirement to attempt to play Major League Baseball. He came back in 1995 in March and won three more consecutive championships with Chicago from 1996–1998, before retiring again, then coming back to play for the Washington Wizards for two seasons from 2001–2003, before retiring for good. In his career, Jordan would bring basketball and the NBA to new heights and become a global icon.

Jordan later in his career reflected on his 63-point performance, stating the most important fact he took from the game was that “I earned Larry Bird’s respect—to me that showed me I was on the right track. Not the points I scored, because at the end of the day we lost the game.”

Over his career, Jordan's name became synonymous with scoring. He won 10 scoring titles, scored 50-points or more in eight playoff games, and set multiple scoring records in NBA venues, such as most points scored at Madison Square Garden, a record he eclipsed in 1986 and broke again in 1995 just a few weeks after coming back from his first retirement. Jordan would not score 63 in a game again until 1990, when he tallied 69 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Since the shot clock was adopted, there have been 51 50-point playoff games, with Jordan's eight such games being double than the next player, which is Wilt Chamberlain's four. To date, Jordan and Baylor are still the only 60-point playoff games in NBA history.

• Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game
• Bam Adebayo's 83-point game
• Kobe Bryant's 81-point game
• List of career achievements by Michael Jordan

• Schwartz, Michael; McTigue, John (April 20, 2020). "A closer look at Michael Jordan's 63-point playoff game". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2026-06-28.

• Michael Jordan's 63-PT Playoff Game... Still Untouched 40 Years Later via NBA's official YouTube channel