The Western Conference champion Utah Jazz took on the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls for the title, with the Bulls holding home court advantage.

For the Knicks, Patrick Ewing, John Starks, Allan Houston and Larry Johnson left the bench.

8 spot in West × Skip to main content ... Get key stats and category leaders for the 2019-20 season. On the next possession, Michael Jordan's potential game-tying 3 with less than 10 seconds left rattled out; Stockton grabbed the rebound and threw another full-court pass to Bryon Russell, who escaped the intentional foul and dunked with 5 seconds left in the game to seal it, drawing a huge roar from the crowd.

1996-97 Playoffs Game Highs

Harden became the first Rockets player with a 30-10 playoff game in fewer than 35 minutes or fewer since Hakeem Olajuwon in 1995.

Here are Kirk Goldsberry's must-know storylines and eye-popping stats heading into the 2020 NBA playoffs. Michael Jordan hadn't fully recovered from his illness, but he was feeling much better and led the Bulls with 39 points. The series were played under a best-of-seven format, with the first 2 games in Chicago, the next 3 games in Salt Lake City, and the last 2 games in Chicago. The score was tied going into the fourth quarter. The Jazz expected Jordan to take the final shot. Chicago attempted a 4th-quarter comeback, cutting a 24-point deficit down to 7, but Utah ultimately won its first game of the series. Shandon Anderson then missed a reverse layup. Rodman would hit that mark one last time in his final year, though he appeared in only 12 games.While the high-flying Jordan rightfully earned the “His Airness” moniker early in his career and during the Bulls’ first three titles, his trademark move in the second three-peat was the midrange jump shot. Game 1: TOR 118, GSW 109 Dennis Rodman grabbed the rebound and called time-out with 28 seconds left in a tie game. Malone finished the second half 1-for-6 from the field. The 1997 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1996–97 season.The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls defeating the Western Conference champion Utah Jazz 4 games to 2. The Jazz argued that this was due to Pippen grabbing the rim before the shot, causing the basketball standard to shake. (4) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Portland Trail Blazers Meanwhile, Steve Kerr and Luc Longley both missed time with knee injuries in '98, while Pippen spent the first 35 games recovering from foot surgery.The 1998 NBA Finals remains the most-watched finals series in the league’s history. Jordan made a jumper to give the Bulls a 73–69 lead, but the Bulls would not score again. The 1998 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1998 playoffs of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the conclusion of the 1997–98 NBA season.The defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls played against the Western Conference champion Utah Jazz, with the Jazz holding home-court advantage for the first 2 games in Salt Lake City. Instead, Jordan drew a double-team, then passed to a wide-open Steve Kerr, who hit a 17-footer with 5 seconds left to send the United Center into a frenzy. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Neither team would score after that, and the Bulls beat Atlanta 100–97. NBA.com is part of Turner Sports Digital, part of the Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network.

Afterwards, Jordan was named Finals MVP for the 5th time. Totals; Per Game ; Per 36 Minutes; Per 100 Possessions; Advanced; East Conf 1st Round.

Scottie Pippen made the series-winning dunk with 7.4 seconds left as the Bulls swept the Bullets 96–95 and advanced.With his team trailing 107–104 with 4.3 seconds left, Phoenix guard Scottie Pippen broke a 97-97 tie by making a 3-point shot with 43.9 seconds left. This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the SuperSonics winning the first five meetings. At first, he displayed little energy, and Malone was the high-scorer for the Jazz with 19 points but shot poorly during the game, air-balling an off-balance shot on the possession prior to Jordan's 3-pointer. This was the first NBA Finals meeting between the Bulls and the Jazz. However, the officials ruled that the ball had no chance of going in. Late in the game, Michael Jordan made a fast break dunk to give the Bulls a 71–66 lead, but John Stockton made a momentum-shifting 3 at the top of the key to cut the deficit to 71–69. Rockets role … The Knicks, under-manned by the suspensions, lost the series in 7 games to start the Heat-Knicks rivalry.

With the Bulls struggling in the third quarter, Michael Jordan dunked after a steal, bringing the crowd to its feet and Jud Buechler buried a 3 to help give the Bulls the momentum. 2000-01 Los Angeles Lakers After Phil Jackson led the Chicago Bulls to multiple NBA championships he turned his attention to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Jazz looked for a final shot to stay alive, but Scottie Pippen made a significant defensive play as he knocked away Bryon Russell's inbound pass intended for Shandon Anderson and rolled the ball over to Toni Kukoč, who dunked the final 2 points of the game before the roaring crowd to bring the Finals to an end, despite there being 0.6 seconds left in the game.

League Champion: ... 1996-97 Reg.

Season Summary; More 1997 Playoffs Pages.

After some Bulls misses, Karl Malone made two free throws with 17 seconds left to put the Jazz up by 3. Utah's fans welcomed their proud Western Conference champs with force. Utah was led by Karl Malone, who scored 37 points and had 10 rebounds.