Categories
Archives
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- July 2008
- May 2008
- March 2008
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
Calendar

September 2010

M T W T F S S

« Jun

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30

September 2010
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« Jun
	1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30

Jun

13

Chicago Bulls NBA Finals Zero & Hero

Filed Under On This Day . . ., NBA, Chicago Bulls, Loose Balls

Nizoral Online Buy Propecia Lotrisone Online Buy Topamax Seroquel Online Buy Ultram Amoxil Online Buy Inderal Synthroid Online Buy Glucotrol

With the NBA Finals likely to conclude in just a few days, it’s sad to say that the 2009 NBA Playoffs could hardly live up to that amazing Bulls-Celtics series in the first round.

In what was only weeks ago, Chicago and Boston engaged in a triple-overtime heart stopper in Game Six at the United Center, with the Bulls winning 128-127 on an improbable Joakim Noah steal and breakaway dunk and saving

Sixteen years ago today, the Bulls’ old home — the incomparable Chicago Stadium — was the stage of another memorable triple-overtime, playoff tilt — this time against the Phoenix Suns in Game Three of the 1993 NBA Finals.

While the Bulls would lose that game by eight points, it really wasn’t that much of a big deal.

Chicago had won the first two games of the 1993 NBA Finals and still had a comfortable lead in the series with two more games at home.

In fact, Game Three of the 1993 NBA Finals was one of those rare championship losses that Chicago fans didn’t have to labor over and think about for 48-72 hours.

It was just a great game, one that the desperate Suns needed at all costs to stay alive in the series.

While Game Three sparks images of Dan Majerle dropping threes from all over the place and Stacey King giving the ball and the game to Charles Barkley on a sloppy pass in the third overtime, reviewing the box score reveals some interesting things.

Only one player scored more than 30 points in that game (that would be Michael Jordan, who had 44 points in 57 minutes).
Jordan led all players with 43 shots in the game.
Jordan and Scottie Pippen (35 shots) combined for 26 more shots than the 8 other Bulls who played in this game.
The Bulls had 31 more shots from the field than Phoenix in Game Three. Specifically, the Bulls shot 130 field goals, connecting on 55 of them for 42.3 percent shooting, while the Suns were 49 of 99 from the field, a 49.5 percent clip.
While Majerle was 6-of-8 from beyond the three-point line, Phoenix only had 9 threes as a team. The Bulls made 5-of-13 from three in Game Three.
However, Phoenix shot 31 free throws, making 22 of them for a 71 percent showing, while the Bulls only got to the line 9 times, making six of them for a 66.7 percentage.
In a game that went 63 minutes, Phoenix’s Kevin Johnson led all players with 62 minutes.
Amazingly, Horace Grant was the only player to foul out in the game, with that coming after 45 minutes of playing time.

What a wild and wacky game.

Four years after this roller coaster ride at the Chicago Stadium, the Bulls played in another thriller, this one against the Utah Jazz in Game Six of the 1997 NBA Finals.

While the game wouldn’t need any extra time, it would go down to the wire.

Trailing by double digits late in the third quarter, Chicago’s Jud Buechler hit a crazy three at the end of the third that gave the Bulls life heading into a gut-wrenching fourth quarter that would go back and forth.

Ultimately, Jordan would feed Steve Kerr for an open, free-throw line jumper with under 10 seconds left, and the veteran sharpshooter would knock it down to give the Bulls an 88-86 lead with exactly five ticks remaining.

On the ensuing play, Toni Kukoc would deflect the inbound pass, and Pippen would scoop up the loose ball and dish it to “The Waiter” (Kukoc’s nickname back from his playing days in Croatia) for a slam as the horn expired to give the Bulls the 90-86 win, the series and the title.

In all honesty, the 1997 NBA Finals between the Bulls and the Jazz was Chicago’s toughest test.

If there ever was a series the Bulls could have lost, this was it.

At the end of this series, it came down to the Bulls making more big plays at the end of the games, specifically with Jordan’s game winner in Game One and his huge three with the flu at the end of Game Five, and the shot of Kerr’s career in Game Six.