Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.
Until Sunday, the role of game-winning hero had eluded Ben Gordon this season.
That’s because Gordon has failed to come through in the clutch six times this season with last-second game winning shots, including two shots he threw up for airballs. But that all changed in Indianapolis Sunday as the Bulls beat the Pacers 92-90 on a last-second turnaround jumper from Gordon, capping a tremendous 31-point effort.
“Going into the play I just kept singing to myself, ‘I want to be like Mike, I want to be like Mike,'” Gordon said. “Then I just shut my eyes and chucked it up there. Thank goodness it worked.”
But if it seemed the rest of the team watched from the bench, they essentially did. Only Gordon, Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng posted points in double-digits.
The Bulls also continued to struggle defensively, allowing Jermaine O’Neal to put up 39 points and 14 rebounds, prompting further speculation about their shelf life in the playoffs.
After the game, a lawyer for Michael Jordan was on hand reviewing tape of Gordon’s game-winning jumper to determine whether or not it infringed on Jordon’s copyrights.
“His Airness has copyrights on any and all forms of game-winning turnaround jumpers,” Jordan’s lawyer said. “This is something we take very seriously. Just yesterday, we slapped an injunction on a bunch of kids on a playground for practicing the last-second countdown and turnaround. If they want to pull they crap, His Airness better be getting paid.”
Number of the Night: 1.5
Games back the Bulls are from the Cavs in the Central, prompting widespread speculation of whether or not the Bulls can pass them. One must wonder, even if the Bulls do catch them, won’t they just lose in the first round anyway?
