Full Game: Heavy Lifting | Bulls vs Bullets (April 3, 1987)

Late in the 1986-87 NBA season, the Chicago Bulls arrived at the Capital Centre facing a grueling stretch and a massive identity crisis. Michael Jordan was rewriting the record books with his relentless individual scoring, but his supporting cast was routinely crumbling under the pressure. Facing the Washington Bullets, the cracks in the Bulls' foundation were fully exposed. This wasn’t a cohesive, championship-level unit; it was an underperforming outfit constantly missing its defensive metrics—much like a mismanaged regional sales team blowing their Q4 targets and forcing their top performer to carry an impossible burden just to keep the lights on. The outcome was a brutal 122-118 loss to the Bullets, a game defined entirely by Chicago's complete inability to secure a stop down the stretch. Jordan logged an exhausting 45 minutes, pouring in 32 points alongside 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block. Despite his heavy lifting against Hall of Fame talent like Moses Malone, the Bulls inevitably self-destructed, leaving head coach Doug Collins fuming over their total lack of execution. When meticulously archiving this tape today—pushing the footage through heavy rendering queues to correct the interlaced video grain, and utilizing multi-channel matrixing to isolate the raw court effects from the commentary track—the tension of the broadcast becomes palpable. It highlights the stark, grueling reality of Jordan's early career: he was a generational talent trapped on a roster that simply couldn't close. This late-season collapse was a necessary, if painful, step in the evolution of the franchise. Games like this forced the front office to realize that Jordan alone could not beat physical, deep teams night after night. The sheer exhaustion visible on the floor laid the undeniable groundwork for the eventual organizational restructuring that would finally bring in the necessary reinforcements the following summer. Timestamp Index: 00:00:00 NBA on TBS Intro 00:00:30 Intro from Capital Centre 00:01:05 NBA Standings Eastern Conference 00:01:34 NBA Playoff Bracket 00:01:45 Red Auerbach Interview 00:02:21 Michael Jordan Dunk (Archival) 00:03:50 Studio Update 00:04:11 Starting Lineups 00:04:40 Tonight's Officials 00:04:50 Series Record 00:05:01 1st Quarter 00:05:01 Opening Tip 00:05:42 Michael Jordan Made Basket 00:07:07 Michael Jordan Made Basket 00:07:42 Michael Jordan Made Basket 00:08:34 Michael Jordan Made Basket 00:10:11 Michael Jordan Made Basket 00:10:38 Michael Jordan Free Throw 00:13:29 Michael Jordan Pre-Game Interview 00:13:57 Michael Jordan Made Basket 00:14:18 Michael Jordan Made Basket 00:15:11 Jordan steal and assist 00:15:36 Michael Jordan Made Basket 00:15:58 Michael Jordan Free Throw 00:16:30 Michael Jordan Made Basket 00:20:35 Michael Jordan Made Basket 00:21:48 Michael Jordan Made Basket 00:23:54 Michael Jordan Buzzer Beater 00:24:02 2nd Quarter Start 00:34:14 Michael Jordan made basket 00:35:24 Michael Jordan made basket 00:35:50 Halftime Show 00:36:53 Prudential Sports Update 00:41:33 Fat Lever Feature 00:42:26 Doug Moe Interview 00:43:03 Fat Lever Interview 00:43:38 Bill Hanzlik Interview 00:45:06 Valvoline Special Play 00:45:32 Wes Unseld Interview 00:48:43 3rd Quarter 00:57:50 Michael Jordan Shot Chart 00:58:14 First Half Statistics 00:58:24 Scoring Leaders 00:58:43 3rd Quarter 01:05:05 Michael Jordan made basket (replay) 01:05:20 Michael Jordan free throw 01:08:23 Michael Jordan free throw 01:11:48 Michael Jordan assist 01:14:45 Michael Jordan made basket 01:15:22 Michael Jordan made basket 01:16:20 Jordan assist and basket and made basket (replay) 01:16:59 Michael Jordan made basket 01:20:14 Michael Jordan made basket 01:21:40 Michael Jordan dunk (replay) 01:23:22 Michael Jordan made basket 01:25:02 Michael Jordan made basket 01:26:39 Michael Jordan made basket 01:26:50 Mennen Scoreboard 01:26:54 Michael Jordan made basket (replay) 01:27:03 Illegal Defense explanation 01:28:35 Michael Jordan free throw 01:30:15 Michael Jordan assist 01:33:05 Michael Jordan made basket 01:33:13 Michael Jordan made basket (replay) 01:33:39 Michael Jordan made basket 01:34:50 Michael Jordan three pointer 01:34:55 End of 3rd Quarter 01:35:04 4th Quarter 01:35:16 Special Edition NBA promo 01:38:00 Michael Jordan assist 01:41:50 Michael Jordan dunk 01:43:25 Michael Jordan dunk 01:44:05 Jordan three and dunk 01:44:36 Michael Jordan breakaway dunk (replay) 01:44:57 Michael Jordan dunk (replay) 01:45:06 Mennen Scoreboard 01:46:02 Sam Vincent: Player of the Game 01:46:20 Citizen Scoreboard 01:46:25 Michael Jordan steal & dunk 01:55:50 TBS Sports Studio Segment 01:56:02 Sam Vincent: Lite Player of the Game 01:56:25 Michael Jordan dunk 01:57:46 Michael Jordan made basket 01:58:00 Michael Jordan dunk