Oct
12
Remembering Triple J Versus Scottie Pippen in 1994
The Chicago Bulls open the home portion of its pre-season schedule in about twenty minutes against the Dallas Mavericks. Whenever the Bulls and Mavs play at the United Center, Hoops 4 the Soul thinks back to the epic battle between the teams during the 1994-1995 season.
That year was, of course, the first season that the Bulls played in the United Center after retiring the legendary Chicago Stadium. Anyways, the Bulls and Mavs squared off on WGN on November 12, 1994 in a thrilling overtime game.
Dallas would eke out a 124-120 victory (remember when the NBA featured such high-scoring games) with its young triumvirate of Jamal Mashburn, Jim Jackson and Jason Kidd shining. Mashburn would drop 50 points on Chicago while Jackson would chip in with 38 points. Rookie Jason Kidd was, well, typical Jason Kidd, falling two rebounds and an assist and point away from a triple-double. The Bulls were led by Scottie Pippen’s 26 points while Toni Kukoc and a surprising Will Perdue each had 19 points.
Anyways, the game would be memorable for not only Mashburn’s and Jackson’s performances but also the fact that the Bulls had lost at home at its new digs. The defeat was a disturbing sign at the time as the Bulls seemingly never lost at the Chicago Stadium and were now doing so against the lowly Mavs in their new home. Entering the second-full season without Michael Jordan and replacing Horace Grant with current Milwaukee Bucks’ coach Larry Krystowiak, the Bulls looked like a team on the decline in that game against Dallas.
With that said, the 1994-1995 Bulls team would struggle most of the season, even when Jordan came back from retirement late in the year, and eventually lose to the eventual Eastern Conference Champion Orlando Magic in the second round of the playoffs. The Bulls would, of course, rebound in the off-season, stealing Dennis Rodman from the San Antonio Spurs for Perdue, and go on to rattle off the second three-peat.
Dallas would finish with a 36-46 record in the 1994-1995 season. Amazingly, the talented but contentious trio of Mashburn, Jackson and Kidd (known as “Triple J”) would all be shipped out of Dallas in separate trades during the 1996-1997 season.
by Chris Maynard, chris@hoops4thesoul.com
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The Chicago Bulls open the home portion of its pre-season schedule in about twenty minutes against the Dallas Mavericks. Whenever the Bulls and Mavs play at the United Center, Hoops 4 the Soul thinks back to the epic battle between the teams during the 1994-1995 season.
