Michael and Reggie.

Reggie and Michael.

Was there a memo? Is it 1998 all over again?

There was Michael Jordan, backing down defenders, hitting that vintage fall-away jumper from every conceivable angle. There was Reggie Miller, one of the few guys who showed up for the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night, demanding the basketball in the fourth quarter and knocking down those lethal 3-pointers.

Did we miss something? Was it Retro Night at Conseco Fieldhouse?

This was supposed to be a night to honor Jordan. As the game wore on, though, it turned into a night to marvel at two great players, two transcendent athletes who have brought out the excellence in one another for so many years.

One is 40 years old. One is 37 years old. And yet, in this, a dog-day regular-season game late in February when younger players are wearing down, Jordan and Miller embraced the moment and somehow raised an otherwise hideous game into something resembling compelling theater.

Too old? Too diminished?

Not Michael. Not Reggie. Not when there are still games to be won, still memories to be made.