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The Bulls kicked butt,
the acquisition of rebounding freak Dennis Rodman was the missing link
needed to secure Larry O'Brien NBA Championship trophy.
The Bulls also won a record 72 wins and
10 losses in the regular season surpassing the 1971-72 L.A. Lakers 69
- 13 (.841) team of Gail Goodrich, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Jim
McMillian and Happy Hairston.
An incredible comeback, after the Bulls "soul-searching" loss
to Orlando in East semi-finals last year. Suffice to say it was sweet
revenge when the Chicago Bulls swept Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference
Finals. In Game one of the East Finals, Luc Longley, Dennis Rodman and
Ron Harper combined for 35 points. MJ scored 21 points and Scottie Pippen
added 18 for the Bulls, who opened the game with a 10-0 scoring run
and never looked back. Orlando suffered its worst play-off defeat, going
down 121-83 in the conference final opener. Penny Hardaway scored a
play-off career-high 38 points and Shaquille O'Neal added 27 in the
Magic's doomed attempt to stay on terms. Dennis Scott and Nick Anderson
combined for just two points for Orlando, missing all 11 of their shots
from the field. Anderson was zero for seven from the field. In contrast,
every player who saw action scored for the Bulls. John Salley capped
the game with a fast-break dunk for Chicago's biggest lead.
"This is probably the best fun you can have playing basketball," Jordan
said. "Everything is at stake, and you just play the best basketball
you can."
Jordan said the Bulls who looked scrappy towards the end of the conference
semi-final series against New York, had had time to iron out the kinks.
Longley scored the first two baskets of the game in Chicago's 10-0 opening
spurt.
In Game two, Michael Jordan scored 25 of his 35 points in the second
half as the Chicago Bulls overcame an 18-point deficit to beat the Orlando
Magic 93-88. Jordan's offence and a smothering defence over the final
six minutes of the third quarter enabled the Bulls to climb back into
a game they had appeared to give away and seize a 2-0 lead int eh best-of-seven
series. Chicago limited Orlando to 24 points over the final 18 minutes.
Shaquille O'Neal had 36 points and 16 rebounds for Orlando which played
without forward Horace Grant and squandered a golden opportunity to
steal home-court advantage away from the Bulls. Jordan, limited to 10
points int the first half, scored Chicago's first eight points of the
third quarter. But Orlando remained in control and a basket by O'Neal
game the Magic their biggest lead at 64-46 with 6min. 11 sec. left in
the period. The Bulls finally came alive with a 21-5 run over the rest
of the quarter. Jordan scored nine points and Jud Buechler and Ron Harper
sank three-pointers as Chicago briefly shut down O'Neal in the low post.
Chicago trailed 69-67 entering the final period and a basket and free
throw by Scottie Pippen gave the Bulls their first lead since the opening
quarter. O'Neal, defending the smaller Dennis Rodman while Jon Koncak
guarded centre Luc Longley, scored 10 points in the first quarter as
Orlando opened a 23-20 lead. He took over in the second quarter, scoring
16 points. O'Neal had a pair of turnaround jumpers and a lay-up in a
7-0 run that began the period and gave the Magic a 30-20 lead with 8:55
to go. He had five more in a 14-6 burst that ended the half and gave
Orlando a 53-38 bulge. Rodman took advantage of the slower O'Neal, scoring
the first four points of the game and beating him to several rebounds.
But Chicago had no answer for O'Neal, no matter who defended him. O'Neal
had 26 points and 11 rebounds in the first half.
Game three, Scottie Pippen scored 27 points and Dennis Rodman had 16 rebounds to give
Chicago and 86-87 victory over Orlando on Saturday, moving the Bulls to within
one game of the NBA finals. The win in Orlando, where the Magic went 37-4 that season and had
been 5-0 in the play-offs, gave Chicago a 3-0 lead in its best-of-seven Eastern Conference
finals series. To become the first team in NBA history to rally from a 0-3 series deficit,
Orlando must win four successive games against a Chicago team that has followed a 72-10
regular season with a 10-1 post-season. The Bulls had only one losing streak of two games all
season and are seeking to return to the finals for the fourth time in six years. Chicago won championships
in 1991, 1992 and 1993 before Michael Jordan retired for 17 months. The Magic had only two points
in the first 8min. and 16sec. of the fourth quarter, when the Bulls turned a 63-57 lead
into a 74-59 advantage. Orlando's 67 points would have been a record for futility had Portland
not scored only 64 against Utah in a firs-round loss earlier this post-season. The
record going into this year was set by New York - 68 against Indiana in 1994.
"What's been carrying us throughout the whole series is our defence," Pippen said. "We had to
step it up because we didn't have a very cushiony lead with a 10-point lead going into the fourth.
We didn't feel very comfortable, so we had to step our defence up."
The Magic shot just 34% from the field, 22% from the three-point range and 42% from the
free-throw line. Anfernee Hardaway had 18 points but shot 8-of-24. Shquille O'Neal had
17 points on 8-of-19 shooting. The Magic which has lost six straight games to Chicago,
was without starting forward Horace Grant and top reserve Brian Shaw. Grant missed his second
consecutive game with an elbow injury and Shaw could not play because of muscle spasms in his neck.
And they got more bad news in the fourth quarter when Nick Anderson, playing his best game of the
series, had to be helped off with an wrist injury after a hard fould by Luc Longley. The
game never rose to great heights. Chicago was not all that much better than Orlando, making only
44% of its field goals and missing 13 of 31 free-throws. Only Pippen, 11-of-14 from the field, provided
consistent offense.
Game four, Michael Jordan hit 45 points as the Chicago Bulls swept past the Orlando Magic
106-101 and into the NBA finals for the fourth time in six years. Chicago, 11-1 in the play-offs, is at the
doorstep of NBA history with a chance to complete the greatest season of any team. It was vindication for Jordan, who
returned to the NBA last March after a 17-month retirement and made key turnovers at the end of two games in
last years's conference semi-finals, won by Orlando in six games.
"In the play-offs, that's the most crucial time," Jordan said. "You want to execute, you want to play defence, you want
to do what you have to do. Last year, I couldn't do that. We didn't really have a good understanding of how we
functioned as a team. This year, we have that understanding."
In Game one of the NBA finals, there was nothing the Seattle Supersonics could do to stop Chicago. The Bulls toyed with
the Sonics but blitzed them every time the game got close, pulling away for a 107-90 victory.
"We were out of synch a little bit offensively," Jordan said. "That's natural for having eight days off. I think the guys really
had the determination to come out and run hard and play hard."
It was a case of the best team in the NBA showing why it is considered almost unbeatable. And although it
was far from a flawless performance, the Bulls still turned it into a stroll in the final few minutes.
"It was a feel-out game, a game where we were coming to terms with each other," Chicago coach Phil Jackson said. "We
found our rhythm late in the game and we were able to take over."
Toni Kukoc scored 10 straight points in Chicago's 14-5 run to open the fourth quarter, and Jordan's supporting cast
had all the points in a subsequent 8-0 run that removed any doubt. Jordan finished with 28 points but didn't
contribute much in the game deciding run, Scottie Pippen had 21 and Kukoc had 18 on a night when the Bulls shot
only 43%.
Chicago outscored Seattle 28-13 in the fourth quarter, however, and attempted 18 more shots than the
Western Conference Champions.
"I liked some of the stuff we did out there," Seattle coach George Karl said. "I think we learned
some stuff out there. It;s a learning process and as we get into more of a comfort zone we'll be able to compete
better and better."
The first thing they can try to do is stop Jordan's underlings. Ron Harper had 15 points and seven assists
and shot 60%, Luc Longley dominated the middle in the first quarter and finished with 14 points
and four blocks and Dennis Rodman had 13 rebounds and seven points - all on uncontested lay-ups.
"Ron Harper did a heck of a job on Gary Payton," Jordan said. "He created a lot of breaks for us down
the stretch."
Shawn Kemp led Seattle with 32 points. Payton had 13 points and 10 rebounds while Sam Perkins added 14 points for the
Sonics.
 The
AJ 11 was inspired by a pair of tuxedo shoes. It has patent leather
and was the first Nike sneaker with a carbon fiber spring plate. In
the beginning, they weren't exactly flying out of sneaker stores. People
just lost interest in MJ after the Chicago was defeated by Orlando in
the 1995 playoffs. Following that defeat, people felt Jordan was missing
some of his competitive edge. But that changed as the 95-96 season progressed
and the Bulls looked likely to beat the Lakers 1971-72 regular season
record of 69-13. More people started paying attention as the Bulls dominated
the league. Team after team were destroyed. Chicago was unstoppable
and you know what?!? A strange thing happened, the Air Jordan 11 started
selling like hotcakes! People just jumped on the Jordan bandwagon...
In fact, the whole world jumped on the bandwagon and boy did we get
a ride of our life.
Well, the XI are extremely light. It's the second lightest AJ of all.
But performance-wise, they had poor midfoot support and mediocre traction
compared to the other Jordans (Anyone saw MJ slip in the Black/Red XI
during the 1995-96 Finals? I thought he broke his knee-cap or something.
Thank God he's OK). In addition to traction problems, the midsoles wear
out and crease up so quickly. So why would anybody shell-out US$125
for these under-performing puppies. Well Jordanettes, if you look at
it carefully, the XI screams SOUL. Something saying "I'm special",
"I'm a classic", "I'm cool". Like MJ's personality,
it's a uniqueness that re-endeared the masses back to the NBA and got
people to wear Air Jordans with pride again...
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