Despite his rift with management, the moment he stepped onto the hardwood, he was still the most reliable "Mailman."
Malone caught the ball near the free-throw line. Facing P.J. Brown's body-to-body defense, he drove his granite-like muscles into him, then rose for a textbook turnaround jumper.
The ball traced a flat arc and swished cleanly through the net.
"Michael and Karl are playing for real!"
Bill Walton screamed from the commentary booth, his trademark exaggerated voice echoing throughout the arena.
"Look at their chemistry! What feuding teammates? These are two demons awakened by the playoffs!"
In the third quarter, the Heat tried to mount a comeback, with Mourning repeatedly powering his way to scores inside.
But the Chicago Bulls responded quickly.
During a fast break, Jordan fired a full-court pass that found the cutting Malone with pinpoint accuracy.
Malone caught the ball in midair, ignored Hardaway's foul, and forced it down through the hoop.
And one!
As the game entered its closing stretch, the Heat's defense completely collapsed under the alternating bombardment of the Chicago Bulls' two superstars.
The final buzzer sounded, and the score was set at 102:91.
Miami's home court fell into deathly silence.
The numbers on the scoreboard were like resounding slaps across the faces of every doubter.
Michael Jordan: 38 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals.
Karl Malone: 38 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists.
Together, they scored 76 points, nearly accounting for three-quarters of the team's total.
"This is nothing short of a miracle."
Kevin Harlan's voice trembled during his postgame recap.
"We've all been talking about regular-season standings, age, and locker-room conflict. But we forgot the most important thing—this is the playoffs."
"In the playoffs, a superstar's will can rise above every tactic and system."
"The Heat played hard, and they executed their game