Ah, but the Garden crowd was not one to care a whit about things being out of date.

Bird joked about the Garden crowd and said he hoped the spirit would somehow stay away today.

Actually, the Garden crowd did not boo all night.

He had brought the Garden crowd to its feet with breathtaking plays; his team had lost.

Garden crowds can be ugly, but expectation and entitlement were in the air last night.

And the Garden crowd showered the home team with boos.

All the air had been taken out of the Garden crowd.

Maybe this is Jordan's last chance to show the Garden crowd to what heights his game has developed.

During the game, though, the Garden crowd had plenty of celebrations to go around.

But by raising the issue, he has invited the Garden crowd to judge him.