That was probably the most difficult thing I've ever done. I almost played myself into passing out just to win a basketball game. If we had lost, I would have been devastated."
When Michael Jordan lifted himself up from his bed in his Utah hotel room, his head began viciously spinning...
...He feared that somehow, some way, someone had slipped some kind of drug in something he ate.
It was the middle of the night in Salt Lake City, an off day between Games 4 and 5 of the NBA Playoffs. The series was tied, 2-2, following Utah's second consecutive win, but how in the world could Jordan play in this condition in Game 5?
Jordan called the Chicago Bulls' medical personnel, which came rushing to his room. They determined that he was suffering from food poisoning or an intestinal stomach virus...
"There's no way you'll be able to play Game 5."
He'd remain in bed for the next 24 hours, missing the Bulls' morning practices the day before AND the day of Game 5.
By this time he'd lost several pounds... He was dehydrated...
Then, at 3 p.m., just three hours before tip-off, Jordan rose from his hotel bed and dragged himself to the Delta Center.
When he got there he isolated himself in a dark room next to the Bulls' locker room and lied his weak body down... closed his eyes... and visualized himself running, shooting, passing, rebounding, dunking.
Soon, he emerged from the room, staggering slowly... Put on his uniform and walked out to the court, weak and pale...
"I can play," he told coach Phil Jackson."I'll let you know how I'm feeling as the game goes on."
He was essentially useless in the first quarter, but in the second quarter, after Utah took a 16-point lead, something happened to Jordan physically, emotionally and mentally. He began running harder, running faster and making shots...
...Somehow, miraculously, he started looking like the typically dominant Michael Jordan.
He scored 17 points in the quarter. "It was all about desire,"he would tell the media."Somehow I found the energy to stay strong."
In the third quarter, fatigue and nausea would return, dragging him down again, rendering him virtually useless.

Early in the fourth quarter, when the Jazz went up, 77-69, Jordan somehow turned it on again, leading a 10-0 run that put Chicago back on top with five minutes left in the game.
The brutal tug-of-war would continue until the final seconds of the game when Jordan hit a three-pointer with 26 seconds left on the clock, to lift the Bulls to a 90-87 victory.
He ended up playing 44 out of the 48 minutes and scored 38 points to clinch game 5 in Utah...
...All while barely being able to walk let alone stand up straight.
After the game teammate Scottie Pippen was at a loss for words, but finally told the media...
"He's the greatest, and everyone saw why tonight.."
...
..
.
Next time you're searching for a little motivation to get you through your workout - remember this story.
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