Oct
3
Remembering a Key Player in Game Three of the 1997 NBA Finals
A day released from their freshman year of high school, the liberated teens pedaled as fast as they could to the top of the hill. While thinking that they were young men, the two boys were still kids at heart, as evidenced by their bicycle journey across the city to the far-out park.
Going down the hill required no effort; the momentum from the steep decline did all the work. Getting back up the hill proved to be a much different challenge, requiring the boys to use all that they had in them.
By the time of Game Three of the 1997 NBA Finals, the Utah Jazz had been thrown down the hill thus far by the defending champion Chicago Bulls.
Seemingly on the verge of stealing Game One in the series, Jazz superstar and NBA MVP Karl Malone missed two late free throws, setting the stage for yet another Michael Jordan buzzer-beating game winner.
In a precursor of things to come for Utah swingman Bryon Russell, Jordan beat him right, crossed back to his left and hit a game-winning shot to give Chicago a Game One victory and a 1-0 series lead.
Three nights later, the Bulls would blow out the Jazz at the United Center and head to Utah with a very realistic goal of winning two out of three games.
However, Game Three would be no walk in the park for the Bulls, as the deafening crowd of the Delta Center push the Jazz up the hill and back into the series, with the help of a surprise reserve forward.
Greg Foster, who turned 39 today and briefly played for the Bulls prior to landing in Utah, had 17 points off the bench in Game Three while Malone paced the team with 37 points and 10 rebounds. The Jazz would cut the series in half, despite Scottie Pippen’s NBA Finals record-tying seven three pointers.
From Game Three, the rest of the series would go down to the wire, with Utah blowing several chances to dethrone the Bulls. The Jazz won an ugly Game Four with a late run, sparked by John Stockton’s one-armed, full-court pass that was just beyond the fingertips of a stretched-out Jordan, landing in the arms of Karl Malone for an easy lay-in.
The Jazz seemed to have the gods on their side entering Game 5 as Jordan was afflicted with a serious case of the flu bug. Utah jumped out to a 20-point lead early in the first quarter, only to have Jordan and the Bulls whittle it away to under single digits by the half. Jordan would finish with a courageous 38 points, falling into Scottie Pippen’s arms after a huge three-pointer with under a minute to go, as Chicago would steal a game and a 3-2 lead in the series.
Utah would not hang their heads while returning to Chicago for Game Six. The Jazz would build a lead in the third quarter, but a Jud Buechler three late in the period would spark the Bulls. The fourth quarter would be neck-and-neck with the Bulls breaking a tie with four seconds left when Jordan, with the defense collapsing on him, found a wide-open Steve Kerr for a free-throw line jumper. Scottie Pippen would then deflect a Jazz inbounds pass and scoop the ball over to Toni Kukoc, who would dunk the ball left-handed as the clock expired and the United Center exploded in celebration of the Bulls second-straight title and fifth in an amazing seven years.
The Bulls and the Jazz would of course rematch in the 1998 NBA Finals, with the same result of Chicago taking the series in six games. Jordan would cross over Russell once again, this time in the hostile Delta Center, rise up and hit a picture-perfect jumper in Game Six to give Chicago its second three-peat. The still image of Jordan rising above Russell and the Utah fans would come to represent his final shot in a Bulls uniform. Jordan would retire in January 1999 but return to the Washington Wizards in the fall of November 2001 in what would turn out to be two very disappointing yet still special seasons.
by Chris Maynard, chris@hoops4thesoul.com
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A day released from their freshman year of high school, the liberated teens pedaled as fast as they could to the top of the hill. While thinking that they were young men, the two boys were still kids at heart, as evidenced by their bicycle journey across the city to the far-out park. 
Greg Foster, who turned 39 today and briefly played for the Bulls prior to landing in Utah, had 17 points off the bench in Game Three while Malone paced the team with 37 points and 10 rebounds. The Jazz would cut the series in half, despite Scottie Pippen’s NBA Finals record-tying seven three pointers.
