Karl Malone is the second highest scorer in NBA history for two reasons, longevity and being nearly unstoppable. Karl was probably the greatest big man in transition, running like a deer while being the size of small bus had something to do with it. On this play the Jazz come up with a steal and Malone's running mate John Stockton finds him in transition where he proceeds to dunk over Michael Jordan.
Between the regular season and playoffs Michael Jordan scored 50+ 39 times. While there are a lot of exciting 50+ point games for me to choose from for nbatbt this one stood out to me because Jordan gets to battle with the only shooting guard who could challenge him at the time, Clyde Drexler. Michael got to go back and forth scoring with a lot of players, Bird, Magic, Malone, but he wasn't defending them and they weren't defending him most of the time. In this game two of the best shooting guards in history go head-to-head as they steal, block, and score on one another in a classic game from 1988 you won't want to miss. Oh and it gives me a reason to mention Kevin Duckworth who was the third highest scorer in the game with 27 for Portland.
Ever since 1891 when Canadian Dr. James Naismith invented basketball people have been doing baller shit with the sport. Thousands of these moments have occurred throughout the history of the NBA, some like Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points or a multitude of Michael Jordan game winners have been replayed hundreds of times but there are still many baller instances in the NBA that haven't been largely publicized. This is where NBA TBT comes in. Each week I'll be bringing you a baller moment that you've hopefully never seen before starting this week with Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and the game where he scored 51 points against John Stockton and the Jazz. It was December 7, 1995 when the Nuggets led by Dikembe Mutombo arrived in Utah to challenge on Stockton and Malone, and challenge them Mahmoud did as he finished the game scoring more points then the two did combined! That night Abdul-Rauf was unconscious shooting 9-14 from 3 and making all of his 8 free throws. Mahmoud looked to be in attack mode all night as he knocked down shot after shot against tight defence making buckets both off the dribble and in catch and shoot situations. His performance was very Stephen Curry like as his ability to create a shot for himself wrecked havoc on the opposing defence. This game was simply amazing but not just a fluke either since during his 9 year career Mahmoud averaged 14.6 ppg and made 1051/1161 of his total free throws (.905) with a career high of 19.2 ppg during the 92-93 season with the Nuggets.
If you're a stickler for the highest video quality possible watch it here
If not then I'd recommend checking it out here, if only to hear one of the commentators say "What screen? he don't need no screen," around the 2:50 mark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-w3vbrj7KQ
If you're a fan of Mahmoud's game here are 3 other instances where he took over that's worth checking out:
Mahmoud was also a key factor in ending Jordan's Bulls 18 game winning streak. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e93l5so7f9s
He's just one of those players who helps prove that 'getting hot' is a real thing, scoring 2 points through 3 quarters only to finish the game with 28 pts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozxEUAUlEFc
Abdul-Rauf was never afraid of the competition proving it once again by scoring 39 points and getting 10 assists during his win over Jason Kidd and the Mavericks in 1995. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sewdK-uoX3I
I hope everyone who read this enjoyed it and don't forget to check back next Thursday for another edition of NBA TBT.
