Everything about 1991 Nba Finals totally explained
The 1991 NBA Finals was the championship round of the
1990-91 NBA season. It was also the first NBA Finals broadcast by
NBC after 17 years with
CBS.
The season documentary "Learning to Fly" recaps Chicago's successful first championship season, narrated by Jeff Kaye. The theme song is "Learning to Fly" by
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
The
Chicago Bulls of the
East Conference took on the
Los Angeles Lakers of the
Western Conference for the title, with Chicago having
home court advantage. This Finals was Michael Jordan's first NBA Finals appearance and Magic Johnson's last. The Bulls would win 4-1 with Michael Jordan being awarded the
NBA Finals MVP.
Background
The Road to the Finals: The Chicago Bulls
The
Chicago Bulls and
Detroit Pistons had several hard-fought, bitter encounters during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In
1988, after finally ousting the
Boston Celtics as the best in the Eastern Conference, the Pistons lost to the
Los Angeles Lakers before sweeping them for the title in
1989, and defeating the
Portland Trail Blazers to repeat in
1990.
The
1988-89 season marked a second straight year of major off-season moves (after making noise by winning 50 games in the regular season before losing to the Pistons in five games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals) for the Chicago Bulls. Popular power forward
Charles Oakley, who had led the league in total rebounds in both
1987 and
1988, was traded to the
New York Knicks for center
Bill Cartwright and a draft pick which they used on center
Will Perdue. The new starting lineup of
John Paxson,
Michael Jordan,
Scottie Pippen,
Horace Grant, and
Bill Cartwright took some time to mesh, winning fewer games than the previous season, but making it all the way to the
Eastern Conference Finals, where they were subdued in six games by the eventual NBA champion Pistons.
In
1989-90, Jordan led the league in scoring for t
he fourth straight season, and was joined on the
All-Star squad for the first time by Scottie Pippen. There was also a major change on the sidelines, where
Doug Collins was replaced by assistant
Phil Jackson, a specialist in the
triangle offense. The Bulls also picked up rookie center
Stacey King and rookie point guard
B.J. Armstrong in the
1989 draft. With these additional pieces and the previous year's starting five, the Bulls again made it to the Conference Finals, and pushed the Pistons to seven games before being edged out for the third straight year by Detroit.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, no team had an answer for Jordan defensively, that's until the "Bad Boy" Pistons came along, named for their physical, street-thug tactics. Pistons coach
Chuck Daly developed a specific strategy that he called
The Jordan Rules, detailing how to stop the league's most prolific scorer. Detroit's main protagonists of this style of play were
Dennis Rodman and
Bill Laimbeer, known respectively as "The Worm" and "The Prince of Darkness" in some NBA arenas respectively. There were many cheapshots, punches thrown and media barbs thrown between the two during their rivalry.
By the 1990-91 season, the Chicago Bulls had run out of excuses, and charged through the year on a mission. In 1991, the rivalry climaxed when the Bulls swept the Pistons out of the Conference Finals, in which the Pistons, in their last show of defiance, walked off the court with :08 left on the clock in a blowout loss at home so as not to congratulate the new Eastern Conference Champions.
The Road to the Finals: The Los Angeles Lakers
Also in the 1989-90 season,
Magic Johnson became the all-time assist leader, surpassing
Oscar Robertson. The
Los Angeles Lakers' first-year coach,
Mike Dunleavy, Sr. (who succeeded
Pat Riley) was able to take them to the Finals. The year before, the Lakers seemed to adapt well to
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's absence. New center
Vlade Divac helped the team to a 63-win season and their ninth consecutive division title, and Magic took another MVP award. However, the
Phoenix Suns had their number that year in the playoffs.
In the 1990-91 season, the
Portland Trail Blazers (the defending Western Conference champions) posted a 63-19 record--the best in the league and the best in franchise history. They ended the Lakers' nine-year reign over the Pacific Division and won home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. They easily dispatched their first two opponents in the playoffs; but the season ended in heartbreak when the Lakers defeated the Blazers 4-2 in the Western Conference Finals. The Lakers narrowly won Game 1 on the road, but the home teams took each succeeding game, culminating in a Game 6 victory at home for the Lakers.
1991 NBA Finals roster
1991 Chicago Bulls
Head Coach
Bench
B.J. Armstrong
Stacey King
Craig Hodges
Cliff Levingston
Will Perdue
Dennis Hopson
Scott Williams
1991 Los Angeles Lakers
Head Coach
Mike Dunleavy, Sr.
Starting five
Earvin "Magic" Johnson
James Worthy*
Byron Scott*
Sam Perkins
Vlade Divac
Bench
A.C. Green*
Terry Teagle**
Mychal Thompson
Tony Smith
Elden Campbell
Larry Drew
*Could not start in Game 5 due to injuries
**Started Game 5
Schedule
Game 1 - June 2, Sunday @ Chicago, Los Angeles 93, Chicago 91: Los Angeles leads series 1-0
Game 2 - June 5, Wednesday @ Chicago, Chicago 107, Los Angeles 86: Series tied at 1-1
Game 3 - June 7, Friday @ Los Angeles, Chicago 104, Los Angeles 96 (OT): Chicago leads series 2-1
Game 4 - June 9, Sunday @ Los Angeles, Chicago 97, Los Angeles 82: Chicago leads series 3-1
Game 5 - June 12, Wednesday @ Los Angeles, Chicago 108, Los Angeles 101: Chicago wins series 4-1
The Finals were played using a 2-3-2 site format, where the first two and last two games are held at the team with home court advantage's (Chicago's) home court (Chicago Stadium).
Series Scoring Summary
| Game |
Date |
Home Team |
Result |
Road Team |
| Game 1 |
June 2 |
Chicago |
91-93 |
Los Angeles |
| Game 2 |
June 5 |
Chicago |
107-87 |
Los Angeles |
| Game 3 |
June 7 |
Los Angeles |
96-104 (OT) |
Chicago |
| Game 4 |
June 9 |
Los Angeles |
82-97 |
Chicago |
| Game 5 |
June 12 |
Los Angeles |
101-108 |
Chicago |
Bulls win series 4-1
Game 1
Sunday, June 2, at the Chicago Stadium
Michael Jordan had no problem in his first NBA Finals appearance, as he started dominating with 15 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists in the first quarter alone. In the second quarter, the Lakers continued to stay competitive despite Magic Johnson not attempted one field goal in the second quarter. Despite this, Magic Johnson would hit back-to-back 3 pointers in the third period to give the Lakers their largest lead, and also Magic Johnson's 29th career playoff triple-double. Jordan made a comeback in the fourth quarter with 13 points, but it was Scottie Pippen's two free throws that would give the Bulls a 91-89 lead. Each team ran the shot clock down but neither could hit a shot until Sam Perkins hit a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left to give the Lakers a 92-91 lead. Michael Jordan would then miss his 17-foot field goal and Byron Scott would connect only one of his free throws. The Bulls, unfortunately, were out of time outs so all they could manage was a 50-foot heave by Pippen that was well off.
| Los Angeles |
29 |
22 |
24 |
18 |
93 |
Game 2
Wednesday, June 5, at the Chicago Stadium
The biggest decision of the game was putting Scottie Pippen on Magic Johnson, while Michael Jordan guarded Vlade Divac. This proved to be effective as Scottie Pippen stopped Magic from "going off" keeping him to only 14 points and 10 assists. For the Bulls, the hero was Horace Grant who led the Bulls with 14 first half points, while Jordan only had 2 points for the first 20 minutes. However for Jordan, this shooting drought would only prove to be temporary and Jordan would hit his next 13 shots in compensation. The Lakers were in the game even when Chicago was leading 58-51 until Byron Scott fouled Pippen, and the Bulls would make 17 of their next 20 field goals in the third quarter despite Jordan on the bench with foul trouble. By the time Jordan returned, their lead was 16 and then Jordan led the Bulls to a 11-0 run to a Bulls victory. The Bulls shot a Finals record 61.7% from the floor, with a Jordan layup over Sam Perkins a highlight.
| Los Angeles |
23 |
20 |
26 |
17 |
86 |
Game 3
Friday, June 7, at the Great Western Forum
The Bulls were having trouble in the frontcourt (in Game 1, the Lakers frontcourt outscored Chicago's 60-31). In Game 3, the Lakers would be the ones having trouble, setting a rebounding low in the Finals. Despite this problem, the Lakers went for an 18-2 run that brought them from 3 down (49-52) to 13 up (67-54). The Bulls would answer with a 20-7 run that would tie the game in the 4th quarter at 74. Horace Grant's layup gave the Bulls a 3 point lead with 1:07 to play, while Perkins then scored to cut the lead to 1 with 0:39 left. Vlade would then go for a layup, only to be fouled and give the Lakers a 2 point lead. Michael then went up and shot a 2 point field goal to tie the game. In overtime, Jordan would score half of the Bulls 12 points to win the game.
| Chicago |
25 |
23 |
18 |
26 |
12 |
104 |
Game 4
Sunday, June 9, at the Great Western Forum
The Lakers had a 28-27 lead in the first quarter; only the second time in the 1991 playoffs that a team led the Bulls at the end of the first quarter. This didn't matter as Chicago went on a 19-9 run to start the second period and gain a 46-37 lead. While Michael Jordan scored 11 points in the second quarter, the Lakers only made 12 of their 41 shots in the second and third quarters. The Lakers faced a huge blow as Worthy and Scott left the game (and eventually the series) with an injury to the ankle and shoulder, respectively. With the lack of Worthy and Scott, and bad shooting, the Bulls were able to take a 16 point lead in the third quarter. Lakers refused to go down and brought the deficit to 7 points in the fourth quarter, but that's the closest they'd go, as Pippen and Jordan led the Bulls to a 19-8 run to put them one game to the NBA Championship.
Game 5
Wednesday, June 12, at the Great Western Forum
The Lakers were facing elimination, and the lack of Worthy and Scott wasn't any help to the Lakers. This wouldn't stop Magic Johnson as Johnson had 20 assists in the game, but it wasn't enough. Elden Campbell outscored Michael Jordan with 13 points in the first half, but it wasn't enough. The Lakers still fought and even led 93-90 in the fourth quarter, but a Bulls 9-0 run, and Paxson's 10 points in the final half of the fourth quarter helped secure the Chicago Bulls, and Michael Jordan's, first NBA title.
Quotes of the Finals
"Oh, a spectacular move...by Michael Jordan!" - NBC Sports play-by-play man Marv Albert commentating on Michael Jordan's unbelievable lay-up in Game 2, where he switched hands in mid-air.
"Oh boy! That'll make every highlight here for the next ten years!"-Jim Durham, Bulls announcer, on Jordan's fantastic move.
"We're not in a hole...we're in a ditch!"-Mike Dunleavy, Lakers head coach, during a press conferenceFurther Information
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