When Michael Jordan slipped out of NY and gambled during the 1993 EC Finals: "We got a limo and went and gambled for a couple of hours and came back"

The Chicago Bulls ' quest for a three-peat in 1993 was off to a strong start after the Bulls swept the Atlanta Hawks 3-0 in the first round of the playoffs and blanked the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-0 in the second. The raging Bulls, however, ran into a well-oiled New York Knicks team that took them to seven games in round 2 in 1992.

The Knicks took Game 1 at Madison Square Garden 98-90. And with the Bulls facing the prospect of falling behind 0-2 in the series, the great Michael Jordan did something nobody expected - he left New York and took the two-and-a-half hour drive to Atlantic City the night before Game 2 to gamble with his father.

“My father said, ‘Let’s get away from New York City. Let’s you and I go to Atlantic City,’" recalled Jordan in one of the episodes of The Last Dance.

Jordan claims he wasn't away for too long

Mike's gambling was no secret, as he never kept it from the public. Whether it was on the team plane or the golf course, MJ's gambling stories were well-documented.

That trip to A.C. was unique because it took place during the intensity of the playoffs, on the night before a crucial, though not do-or-die, game. His Airness admitted he couldn't turn down his father's request—or the allure of casino gambling.

"We got a limo and went and gambled for a couple of hours and came back," added Mike. "Everybody went totally ballistic – ‘He was in the casino last night.’ It wasn’t late. We got home by 12:30, one o’clock.”

The Bulls lost Game 2 before Mike locked in

Whether it was 1 a.m., as MJ claimed, or 2:30 a.m., as the reports in 1993 said, Michael didn't have any issues making it to game time. He still managed to score 36 points but was a miserable 12-32 from the floor, including 1-7 from three-point distance. The Bulls went on to lose the game 96-91, and the Knicks took a commanding 2-0 series lead.

But just as when it looked like the Knicks had the Bulls on the ropes, Jordan sucked in all the criticism and proved that he was still the best. Chicago won the next four games to eliminate the Knicks. MJ averaged 32.5 points per game in those contests, including a 54-point explosion in Game 4.

Later that year, Jordan explained to Ahmad Rashad that gambling was simply a hobby he enjoyed. He dismissed any notion of having a gambling problem, saying if he did, he'd have sold his house, or his wife would have left him.

He was right because the moment he locked in, they beat the Knicks in four straight games and completed the three-peat by defeating the Phoenix Suns 4-2 in the 1993 NBA Finals.

Related: "That guy sent me a message tonight, and I didn't like the message" - When Michael Jordan dominated Charles Barkley and the Suns in their first clash of the season