1998 NBA Finals
The 1998 NBA Finals was among the best NBA Finals matchups ever produced. The Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz faced each other for the second consecutive season.
Series Summary
Legend: OT denotes a game decided in overtime
| Game | Date | Home Team | Result | Road Team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | June 3 | Utah | 88–85 (OT) | Chicago | |
| Game 2 | June 5 | Utah | 88–93 | Chicago | |
| Game 3 | June 7 | Chicago | 96–54 | Utah | |
| Game 4 | June 10 | Chicago | 86–82 | Utah | |
| Game 5 | June 12 | Chicago | 81–83 | Utah | |
| Game 6 | June 14 | Utah | 86–87 | Chicago |
Bulls win series four games to two to win the Larry O'Brien Trophy
In Game 1, the Jazz defeated the Bulls in overtime. However, the next game displayed the Bulls' power, as they stole the show for the home team to even the series at a game apiece. As the series shifted to Chicago, Game 3 saw the Bulls score a big blowout victory to take the lead in the series. In Game 4, the Bulls pulled it out for a formiddable 3–1 lead and stood 1 win away from the championship. But in Game 5, the Bulls trailed by two points in the waning moments and Michael Jordan couldn't secure the championship at home when his potential winning shot bounced out. As they arrived at the Delta Center for Game 6, things didn't look good for the Bulls. Scottie Pippen's back gave away. But in the 4th quarter, the Bulls closed the gap. With 41.3 seconds left down by three, the Bulls had one last chance to stay alive. After Michael Jordan made a layup to cut the Jazz lead to one, the Bulls needed to stop the Jazz from scoring again. When John Stockton passed the ball to Karl Malone, Michael Jordan stole the ball away and dribbled to the front. When he faced Bryon Russell, he drove inside the 3-point line. Then, when Bryon Russell slipped, Michael Jordan made a 20-footer to give the Bulls an 87–86 lead with 5.2 seconds left. With time winding down, John Stockton's three-pointer hit the rim and bounced away, failing its purpose, and the Bulls won their sixth NBA title in 8 years. The famous winning shot has been immortalized in many records. Michael Jordan was, not surprisingly, named the Finals MVP.
External Links
The following sites are all from the NBA official site:
The following links are to other sites on the Internet:
Categories: Wikipedia cleanup | National Basketball Association