A look back at the game when Michael Jordan dropped 55 points on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1988 NBA Playoffs

Michael Jordan was unstoppable against the Cavs.

© USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Bulls and the Cleveland Cavaliers share a history of heated encounters, both in the regular season and the NBA Playoffs. Time and time again, it was Michael Jordan who derailed the Cavs whenever they tried to move up in the Eastern Conference.

On May 1, 1988, the Bulls added another chapter to this rivalry, and Jordan was once again the star, scoring 55 points in a 106-101 Game 2 victory that gave the Bulls a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five first-round series.

Relentless aggression

Jordan always seemed to turn his game up to another level whenever the Playoffs came around. This game was another example of that as MJ scored 55 points on 24-of-45 shooting and added 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals to his stellar stat line. Most importantly, Jordan came up big for the Bulls when they needed him the most, scoring 6 of the team’s last 8 points to seal the victory.

It was an epic game since it was the first time in NBA history that a player scored 50 or more points in back-to-back games. Jordan had 50 in Game 1, resulting in a 104-93 win for the Bulls. Afterward, the former North Carolina Tar Heel star did not care about any record—the only thing that mattered to him was the 2-0 series lead they held at the time.

“I didn’t know anything about any record,” Jordan said. “We’re 2-0 instead of 0-2 because we’re playing as a team. I know I’m scoring, but I’m contributing to all parts of our game. Records don’t mean anything.”

Ron Harper made it worse for Cleveland

In case someone forgot, Jordan never took anything anyone said about him for granted. After His Airness’ 50-point outing in Game 1, the Cavaliers’ wingman Ron Harper—who missed Game 1—made the mistake of asserting that the Bulls star would not have gotten that many buckets had he played and guarded him.

Jordan apparently caught wind of that statement, and, true to form, he made Harper pay the next game. Jordan scored 55 points in Game 2, and it was clear he had something to prove.