Jordan's Sequel To Famous Shot Ended Cavs Era

CLEVELAND - Every pro basketball fan over the age of 25 knows about Michael Jordan's amazing buzzer beating, series clinching jumper over Craig Ehlo in the 1989 NBA Playoffs.

Most don't know about the sequel on the same court four years later.

That's right, Jordan struck again and this time, ended an outstanding era in Cleveland Cavaliers basketball 16 years ago today in the 1993 Eastern Conference Semifinals. The two-time defending champion Bulls won the game 103-101 and went on to face New York in the Conference Finals.

Jordan's shot made the inevitable happen.

After MJ's incredible shot in '89, the Cavs went in a tailspin for the following two seasons, but had a rebirth of sorts in the 1991-92 season. Jordan spearheaded a 4-2 series victory in the 1992 East Finals vs Cleveland, so during the offseason, the Cavs acquired swingman Gerald Wilkins in an effort to improve and defeat Chicago in a possible future rematch by utilizing Wilkins' size, athleticism and notable defense to curtail Jordan's incredible offensive abilities.

Uh oh.

The 1992-93 NBA season unfolded a bit surprisingly. Chicago was sluggish most of the way and seemed far off the pace of their two previous championship seasons. In their meetings with Cleveland, Jordan "struggled" his way to a 27.4 ppg average in five games, well below his NBA-leading 32.6 ppg for the season. An early January contest, in which the Cavs routed the Bulls by 22 points fueled talk that Wilkins was "The Jordan Stopper" as he "held" the basketball icon to just 23 points in the blowout.

When it was time for the teams to do battle in the semifinals, the "Jordan Stopper" talk was all the rage. Jordan was fired up from Game 1 as he blitzed Wilkins for 43 points and continuously put incredible moves on the foolish Cavs guard. Going into Game four, Chicago led the series 3-0 and had just won a pivotal game three in Richfield. Game four was competitive and the Cavs actually owned a 10-point 4th quarter lead.

Then Jordan took over.

MJ knocked in two huge three-pointers in the fourth and rallied Chicago in much the same way he'd done in that legendary '89 game. With Ehlo missing the potential go-ahead jumper with 17 seconds left in this game, the Bulls controlled the rebound and called timeout. When play resumed, Jordan got the ball on a post-up with Wilkins who battled him tough, even knocking the ball away at one point. Jordan retrieved the ball, backed his "defensive roadblock" down, turned, faded and fired the ball at the basket.

All net.

The ball dropped through the hoop at the buzzer as his coaches and teammates stormed the court and mobbed him. Dubbed "The Shot II," it was was a near mimicry of the one four years earlier. This one came from 18-feet out, to the right of the key. In a post game interview, Jordan noted the other key difference: "The [one from '89] was, if I miss, we go home. This one, even if I missed, we go into overtime. So the pressure wasn't the same, but the gratification is."

After Jordan's shot ended the Cavs season (for the 4th time in 6 years), Cleveland head coach Lenny Wilkens resigned (ahem, was fired) and the team began to loose its identity. Mike Fratello replaced Wilkens, and by his 2nd season, had slowed down the offense to a crawl. The '93-'94 campaign also saw all-star center Brad Daughtery sustain a career-ending injury and Larry Nance miss 49 games to injury.

And Jordan? Well, after The Shot II, he led the Bulls to a 4-2 victory over the Knicks, then averaged a record 41 points per game in the NBA Finals and lead Chicago to their 3rd straight NBA Championship. His stunning retirement that following autumn predated the Cavs makeover even though he was the catalyst in their downfall (which actually began with the '89 shot).

I salute MJ on yet another anniversary of excellence. His greatness never knew when to quit.