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Things started out well for Karl Malone and the Utah Jazz in Game Three of the 1998 NBA Finals 11 years ago today. Malone began the game 6-for-6 from the field, and the Jazz were in the game with the Chicago Bulls for most of the first half. And that’s when things, um, got a bit messy for the Jazz. Chicago closed out the half with a huge run that resulted in an 18-point Utah deficit. In the second half, the Jazz would score only 23 minutes (not even a point per minute). By the end of this improbable debacle, the Bulls were 94-52 victors and the embarrassed Jazz were record holders in several dubious categories: the most lopsided loss in NBA Finals history and the fewest points in a game since the advent of the 24-second shot. Continue on to examine Chicago’s thorough dominance of the Jazz back in Game Three of the 1998 NBA Finals.

The 1997 NBA Finals between the Utah Jazz and the Chicago Bulls is remembered for several key moments, including Karl Malone missing two late free throws and Michael Jordan nailing a winning jumper in the series opener, Jordan persevering through the flu with an epic performance in Game Five, and Steve Kerr hitting a free-throw line jumper to give the Bulls the title in the series-clinching sixth game. In the annals of the 1997 NBA Finals, a 104-93 Utah victory in Game Three doesn’t stir too many memories beyond the Jazz cutting a 2-0 series deficit in half. But for former Jazz big man Greg Foster, Game Three was a huge highlight in the journeyman’s career. Scoring a surprising 17 points off the bench in this game 12 years ago today, Foster got some sweet revenge against the Bulls, which released him in 1994, and helped the Jazz offset seven threes from Scottie Pippen in the victory. Continue on to examine Foster’s big game at the Delta Center, one of the toughest road venues for the Bulls in the NBA Finals.

Last night the Los Angeles Lakers blew out the Orlando Magic in Game One of the 2009 NBA Finals. Eighteen years ago today, the Lakers were on the other end of a championship blowout, this one courtesy of the Chicago Bulls in Game Two of the 1992 NBA Finals. As Chicago was crushing them in the fourth quarter, the Lakers would have a close-up view at what one of the greatest and most celebrated moves in the accomplished career of Michael Jordan. Catching a pass from Cliff Levingston, Jordan took one dribble and soared to the rim. Going up and showing the ball with his right hand, Jordan would see a defender out of the corner of his eye, sweep the ball to his off hand and finish with a graceful and beautiful left-handed layup. Pumping his fist in celebration of his own amazement at the play, Jordan would be mobbed by his teammates after an immediate timeout from the stunned Lakers. Continue on to examine a move by Jordan that was famously described by Marv Albert as “spectacular.”

Well, superstar guard Kobe Bryant and his Los Angeles Lakers’ teammates came out aggressive and focused in Game One of the 2009 NBA Finals, and the result was a 25-point drubbing of the Orlando Magic. Bryant scored a personal Finals high of 40 points while the Lakers pounded the Magic on the boards. Orlando superstar center Dwight Howard made just one field goal and had only 12 points; his teammates were no better as the tentative Magic were literally and figuratively roughed up in a total team effort by the Lakers. Continue on to examine the grades in L.A.’s convincing 100-75 victory over the Magic in Game One.

In what was definitely one of the more memorable moments in his illustrious career chalked full of amazing feats, Michael Jordan shrugged off his surprising three-point stroke against the Portland Trail Blazers 17 years ago today in Game One of the 1992 NBA Finals. While this series figured to intrigue with the much-anticipated matchup between Jordan and Portland’s Clyde Drexler, who had been described by some as the “Michael Jordan of the Western Conference,” it was Chicago’s superstar shooting guard who successfully landed his punches early and often in the series opener. Hitting six threes and scoring an NBA Finals record 35 points in the first half alone, Jordan sparked the Bulls to a resounding 33-point victory in Game One. After nailing three after three in the first half, Jordan displayed his own surprise at his sudden shooting prowess from beyond the arc by turning to NBC’s announcing crew, throwing his hands up in the air and shrugging. Continue on to examine Jordan’s brilliant effort in Game One and how he fared against Drexler in the 1992 NBA Finals.

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