December 21, 1990

Here's a well-known fact:
Both Vince Carter and Jason Kidd had triple doubles in the same game on April 8, 2007. The last teammates to achieve this rare feat were Jordan and Pippen in January 1989.

Both of these were overtime games.

Here's a not well-known fact:
In a game in December 1990, not two but three players were literally on the brink of a triple double.

Jordan: 33pts, 15rbs, 9asts, 2stls, 1blk

Magic: 18pts, 9rbs, 14asts

Pippen: 28pts, 11rbs, 9asts, 3stls

Yes, no actual triples doubles there but they're as close as they can get. And since this wasn't even an overtime game, one could argue this is as good as those games, possibly even better because of the third player.

Besides, it's really a great game full of amazing assists, drives, offensive rebounds, steals, hustle plays and so on.

Jordan not only have some amazing assists but he also goes crazy on the boards. In his career, he has 8 regular-season games with 15+ rebounds and this is one of them. 8 of his 15 rebounds are offensive, Lakers as a team has 10 off. rebounds.

As for the game itself, it's a pretty close game until the last 4-5 minutes. Then the Bulls tightens the defense and Lakers finish without a point in the last ~4 minutes. Jordan scores 11 of his points in the 4th, including the Bulls' last 7 points.

This is also Magic's last regular season game in Chicago before announcing his retirement in 1991.

I'd like to see an English version some day. Until then, here it is.

Enjoy...

Post game notes & quotes:
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CHICAGO -- Michael Jordan did not have to shoulder the scoring burden alone Friday night. And the result was a 114-103 Bulls victory over a tough Los Angeles Lakers team.

As usual, Jordan did the lion's share. He scored 33 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, both game-high honors, and had nine assists to send home happy a standing-room Stadium crowd of 18,676.

Unlike Wednesday night when Jordan was the only Bull to score double figures in a 105-84 loss to the Detroit Pistons, this time his fellow starters supported him.

Scottie Pippen contributed 28 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. He and Jordan each fell one assist shy of a triple double. Bill Cartwright and John Paxson each scored 14 points and Horace Grant 11. The Bulls shot 55.7 percent from the field and enjoyed a 46-33 edge in rebounding.

Forwards James Worthy and Sam Perkins paced the Lakers with 21 and 20 points, respectively.

Magic Johnson had 18 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds.

"Give our team credit for bouncing back," Jordan said. "People played tonight the way we need to play to win. After a tough game and a terrible loss in Detroit, you have to bounce back. We went against a good team and played well."

Jordan hopes his team's balance is as good tonight when the Bulls (16-9) play the Indiana Pacers (10-16) at the Stadium.

"In the end, poor rebounding killed us," Laker forward Perkins said. "We gave up too many offensive boards and on the transition we turned the ball over too much. That's uncharacteristic of us. And they just capitalized on our mistakes and poor rebounding."

The Lakers, despite their worst start in 12 years, were no patsies. They streaked 9-0 to wipe out a 4-0 opener by the Bulls. It wasn't until after they had forced 10 ties and 14 lead changes that the Bulls were able to take command for keeps. That was in the mid-third when they broke a tie at 75 with a 7-2 run for an 82-77 lead.

The Lakers hung tough in the third with effective long-range artillery bombing the Bulls' defense with five three-pointers to tie a record for Bulls' opponents in a quarter set by the New York Knicks on March 4, 1989. Perkins hit two of the threes.

"We needed a boost," Perkins said, "and I was just trying to give us one. We kept up with them for a while."

Those threes were taken because that's pretty much what the Bulls' interior defense was forcing on the Lakers.

"We'll take the threes when they are there," Worthy said. "But usually as a last resort. Those threes came from getting into the offense too slow. That was just one of our problems. We had some inconsistency in executing, a problem that happened to us early in the season and I thought we were over it."

The key for the Bulls was poise down the stretch as they put the ball in Jordan's hands. He scored 11 of his points in the fourth to hold back a Laker rally that pulled within six at 109-103 on Worthy's free throw with 4:05 to play.

The Bulls' defense stiffened and held the Lakers scoreless the rest of the way as Jordan ended scoring with five consecutive free throws.

"Michael took over in the end, which you knew eventually would happen," Johnson said. "We play them hard here but just can't seem to get a win."

The Lakers haven't won in the Stadium since Nov. 28, 1986. They are last in the NBA in forcing turnovers. First in defensive rebounds.

"We tried to make it tough on Jordan," Lakers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "We broke our rules on how to cover him and it cost us. The book on the Bulls is to make them shoot from the outside. But we just gave them too many second shots, offensive rebounds and let them get the timely loose balls and jump balls."

"Our offense executed well,' Bulls coach Phil Jackson said. "Our people off the bench performed and played well, and we got a lot of distance out of them. It was a good, solid game.'

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