It would be remiss not to mention the Utah Jazz in any discussion of Chicago Bulls rivals of the 1990s, even if, as a Western Conference team, Utah wasn’t a “traditional” rival. The Jazz gave the Bulls arguably their two toughest NBA Finals series, and were the only duplicate Western Finalist in Chicago’s entire six-year run of Championships.
The Bulls were 10-9 in the regular season versus Utah in the 1990s, and the two teams played a somewhat historic, if forgotten, regular season game on January 6, 1997. The contest, pitting the 28-4 Bulls versus the 23-8 Jazz, was second only to a Milwaukee Bucks versus Los Angeles Lakers game in 1972 for the highest combined winning percentage game in NBA regular season history. The Bulls won that one, 102-89 at the United Center, and would go on to finish 69-13 on the season.
In the back-to-back NBA Finals, four battles stand out. The first was Michael Jordan’s “flu game” in Utah in 1997. The Jazz were on the verge of completely turning the series in their favor by sweeping the middle three games at home, and had the added “advantage” of a gravely ill Jordan on the court. All Jordan contributed from the sick bay was a 38-point, 44-minute effort that defied even the loftiest expectations.
The legendary MJ proved super-human in overcoming a wicked bout of food poisoning during Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals, scoring 38 points and nailing the game-winning three in 44 minutes.
The clinching game came two days later at the United Center, extending the incredible emotion of Game 5 with a John Paxson-esque winning shot by Steve Kerr in the final minute. “In our last timeout, I was sitting down, watching Mike,” Kerr says. “He just sat there for awhile, and then he said to me, ‘Be ready. Stockton’s coming to me.’ I said, ‘OK, I’ll make it.’”
A year later, the NBA Finals casts were the same, but this time Utah held home-court advantage. On top of that, Utah had 10 days of rest before the series, while the Bulls barely paused for breath after their seven-game epic against the Indiana Pacers. Improbably, after five titles in seven years, the Bulls were underdogs.
After splitting two games in Salt Lake City, the Bulls returned home and dealt a defeat of historic proportions to the Jazz. The 96-54 thrashing set NBA records for biggest margin of victory in a playoff game, fewest points allowed in a playoff game … and fewest points allowed in an NBA game in the post-shot-clock era. |
