During Jerry’s fourth year in Chicago, the Bulls were fighting to keep their season alive and had to win four out of five games in five nights to make the Playoffs. They won their first three games, but Jerry broke two ribs and separated his sternum when Lew Alcindor [i.e. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar] knocked him down with just seconds to go in the third game.
“[The doctor that met the team at the airport that night] told us that Sloan shouldn’t go, that he should stay home. But Jerry insisted on going just to be with the team. We just needed one more win. The next day I went to the arena, and Sloan was there. He said, ‘I couldn’t sleep. I’ve been walking around. I’ve found this little corset thing. Let me warm up.’
“I said, ‘No, I’m not gonna let you,’” Motta recalled. “He said, ‘Coach, you gotta let me warm up.’ So he warmed up … Later…he came up to me and said, ‘You know I’ve never asked you to do one thing. I’ve never told you to do one thing. I’m gonna ask one favor now.’
“I said, ‘What’s that, Jerry?’
“He said, ‘If I were you, I’d start me.’
“I started him,” Motta said, “and he couldn’t raise his arm. Chet Walker and I had to stretch the uniform to get him in it. His ribs were broken, but he just wouldn’t quit. We were down three early in the second half, and Cincinnati called a quick timeout. In the huddle, Jerry said, ‘C’mon guys, let’s go. We’ve come from 33 down before.’
“I looked up at the clock and said, ‘Jerry, what’s wrong?’
“He said, ‘Oh, I thought we were down 33.’
“The pain was so excruciating that he was incoherent,” Motta said. “He was going on an empty tank. We won the game in overtime, and made the playoffs. I was able to rest Jerry the last game, and he played in the playoffs.”
