Steve Kerr invoked Michael Jordan’s 1991 playoffs to motivate Kevin Durant to pass the ball. It didn’t work.

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr wants Kevin Durant to trust his teammates. After all, it’s what Michael Jordan did back in 1991 to lead the Bulls to their first title — and who better to impart some MJ knowledge than Jordan’s former teammate?

Kerr implored his All-NBA forward to rely on the rest of the Warriors and share the scoring load by reflecting on Jordan’s experience as a player with Chicago in the ‘91 NBA Finals. He told Durant the story, borrowed from classic NBA book The Jordan Rules, of coach Phil Jackson making an in-game adjustment to tell Jordan to find his open teammates to escape double-teams and let teammates shoulder some of the offensive burden.

When I was with the Bulls we had a playoff game, and [Jordan] kept trying to score. And he was scoring, but we weren’t getting anything going. Phil Jackson said ‘who’s open?’ and [Jordan] said ‘John Paxson.’ I want you to trust your teammates early.

What you’re doing is you’re getting to the rim and then you’re trying to hit them. I want you to trust the first guy, and then move. Still attack, still look to score, but trust these guys, OK?”

While Kerr wasn’t with the Bulls at the time, that plan worked back in 1991. The Bulls were locked in a tough battle with a shorthanded Lakers team in the second half of Game 5 of the NBA Finals, when a timeout gave Jackson the opportunity to adjust his offense. He implored Jordan to pass the ball from double-teams and look for open teammates; Paxson was the biggest beneficiary.

The veteran point guard made nine of 12 shots in a 20-point performance that evening, most coming in the fourth quarter. That was enough to push the Bulls to their first championship. Though Jordan would still take 23 shots in a 30-point, 10-assist night of his own, it was a balanced scoring effort from an overworked group of starters that helped Chicago overcome a second-half deficit and earn a world title.

The strategy didn’t work as well with Durant. The 2014 league MVP struggled against the Rockets’ defensive pressure in a Game 5 loss, shooting just 36.4 percent from the field. While he was able to attack the rim and get to the foul line efficiently enough to score a game-high 29 points, it wasn’t enough to push Golden State to a road win in Texas.

Kerr will have to work harder to invoke Jordan’s spirit before Saturday, when the Warriors face an elimination game at home. The Hall of Famer was undefeated in conference finals series after winning his first NBA title in ‘91. If Durant really wants to be like Jordan, he’ll have to find a way to push Golden State to two more wins — and that may mean more passing to find wide-open teammates in hopes they’ll be the next John Paxson.