The Warriors once held Michael Jordan to a then-career-low 2-of-17 shooting in a game.
And still lost.
Such was the dominance of the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls, whose story will be told in ESPN’s “The Last Dance," debuting Sunday.
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Jordan’s lackluster shooting night came in Oakland, although a quick review of the box score showed he still was a force. Jordan went to the free-throw line 11 times and hit 10, to finish with 14 points in the Bulls’ 87-80 win. Scottie Pippen (22 points) and Luc Longley (16 points) helped pick up the scoring load that night against a Warriors team still reeling from Latrell Sprewell’s Dec. 1, 1997, choking of coach P.J. Carlesimo.
The Warriors hadn’t fared much better against the eventual NBA champion Bulls 20 days earlier in Chicago, losing 87-82 as Jordan led all scorers with 32 points while adding six rebounds and three assists. Joe Smith topped the Warriors with 23 points and 11 rebounds, but he was a minus-10.
All in all, the Warriors went just 9-17 against Jordan, but three of those wins came at the downside of his career, when he was with the Wizards.
[RELATED: Jordan's 10 most memorable games of Bulls career vs. Warriors]
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The Warriors did, however, hold Jordan under 30 points in 12 of their 26 meetings. He averaged 28.8 points against them, below his 30.1 career scoring average, and that 2-of-17 shooting mark (11.8 percent) from their 1998 meeting remained Jordan’s worst until he hit only 1 of 9 attempts (11.1 percent) in a 2002 Wizards loss to the Toronto Raptors.
Golden State is one of 15 teams that held the six-time NBA champion under his career scoring average. Jordan was a winner, though, and it certainly isn't shocking that he got the best of the Warriors throughout his championship-filled Hall of Fame career.