Bulls @ Knicks - 1996 Playoffs Game 3. Jordan 46 points
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- čas přidán 15. 07. 2007
- May 11, 1996
This one had just about everything.
Bulls vs. Knicks, Jordan vs. Starks, Jordan's end game heroics, all kinds of hard physical play, referee Hollins knocking down Jeff Van Gundy and, of course, Charles Oakley...
After their historic 72-10 season, Bulls swept Riley's Miami and they were looking absolutely invincible. They beat the Knicks in the first two games of the next round but the victories didn't come easy. The third game became a do-or-die situation for the Knicks.
And they played as well as they could throughout the whole game. They were up by 8 points 1:21 to go and even the most optimistic Bulls fans were losing hope. Then it happened again. Jordan took over, scored 8 and sent the game to OT. He carried the team to a 3 point lead but even that wasn't enough in the end.
Both Ewing and Starks had terrific games but despite having a bunch of turnovers, I'd say Oakley was at least as important as them. He was just on another level, and I'm not talking about his 13 points and 13 rebounds. He intimidated and frustrated everybody. Just look at the footage and I'll think you'd agree. He would have been ejected in the first quarter under today's rules.
Jordan scored 46 on 17/35 (49%) shooting but he didn't get any help on the offensive end. Kukoc didn't play because of injury. Even though he was 3/15 in the first two games, he was still an offensive threat. Pippen, intimidated by Oakley, shot 10/29, Harper was 1/8. Bulls starters other than Jordan shot a combined total of 16/48 (33%).
By the way, Oakley really got into Pippen's head that year. Pippen was 29/88 (33%) in this series and his best game was the last one in which he shot just 5/12 (42%). That's how effective Oakley was in his job.
Before getting a little bit bored and losing 2 games, Bulls were up by 3-0 against the Sonics in the finals and they were 14-1. Up until that time, this was the only game they lost in the playoffs.
Post game quotes and notes:
=========================
NEW YORK -- After the Bulls' 102-99 overtime loss to the Knicks in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference playoff series, Jordan said he was "dead tired." You can't get more zonked than that unless you're in a casket being lowered into the ground.
But the real weariness for Jordan is playing the mind battles that come when his teammates fall by the wayside, as they fell on Saturday.
"We're totally out of sync," Jordan summed up postgame. "I've found myself bailing the team out in certain situations, because we're not in sync. And that's more rustrating than anything, that we haven't played the kind of basketball we're capable of playing."
The Knicks, with their tenacious, muscular defense, can do that to a frailer, athletic team like the Bulls. At least they do it to everybody but Jordan.
In the first half, the Bulls scored just 38 points to New York's 43. Much-needed scorers Scottie Pippen and Ron Harper were a combined 3-for-17 from the floor, largely as a result of being hurried and banged and pressured away from their comfort zones by the Knicks bruisers upfront - Anthony Mason, Charles Oakley and Patrick Ewing.
Moreover, the Bulls' center trifecta of Luc Longley, Bill Wennington and John Salley had first-half grand totals of three rebounds, two points, one turnover, zero assists, zero steals, zero blocks and six fouls.
Jordan, by contrast, had 22 points on 7-for-14 shooting from the floor and eight free throws. He had come to the bench for just one minute in the first half, and admitted he didn't want to come out then. The only fatigue he was feeling was caused by the mental support he had to give to teammates who seemed incapable of hitting barn doors with bulldozers.
When the Bulls finally made their run at the end of regulation - coming from 13 down with five minutes to play to snare a last-second tie at 88 - it was Jordan who scored the final 10 points. It was his remarkable three-point basket with 19 seconds left that forced overtime. It was Jordan who scored 16 of the Bulls' final 25 points, en route to a game-high 46 points. 24 of his 46 points came in the final 17 minutes. If he had not done this before, it would seem implausible.
And it was Jordan who had to consider how much more he could do with his teammates off their feed and Toni Kukoc off the traveling squad.
"Somehow we have to find our rhythm, so we have much more balanced productivity on offense," Jordan said. He added that he was "concerned" by Pippen's tentative and unproductive shot-taking. And then there was the sight of Steve Kerr blowing two layups off steals late in the third quarter.
"We had to laugh, we had to hug him, we had to support him," said Jordan, sounding like Mr. Rogers.
Before leaving for New York, Jordan talked about the way he begins to focus on a game long before the tipoff. He reads the moods and cycles and confidence levels of his teammates during practices and travel, so he can adjust his own game to benefit the team.
Taking a whole bunch of shots - he took 35 Saturday - is not what he wants to do, nor does he want to score almost 50 percent of the points. Not unless he has to.
And, if he has to, it means the Bulls, as a team, are in trouble.
"In this offense I could average 40 points a game, if I wanted to," Jordan said. "But that wouldn't be good for the team."
The specter of MJ carrying everyone on his cape during the playoffs is not a pleasant one. He is 33 and cannot possibly fly without a break the way he did when he was a 25-year-old ball of flame.
"I'm dead tired right now," said Jordan. "It's a good thing that we play at 5:30 (New York time). I'm just going to go and try to get rejuvenated, eat food or whatever.
"But I'll be ready at 5:30."
Indeed. He played 51 minutes and, as he spoke, had less than 24 hours to rest for Game 4.
He added that the Knicks played like a desperate team.
"They were fighting with their backs to the wall," he said. "They're scratching and fighting and doing everything they can to stay alive."
"This is a team we were not intimidated by," Knicks forward Anthony Mason said. "We knew we could beat them."
The game, as intense and grueling as any played in this rivalry during the Ewing-Jordan era, even featured a bit of the bizzarre when Referee Hue Hollins inadvertently knocked Van Gundy to the floor as he made a 3-second call against the Bulls with 9:31 left. Like his team, he rose to his feet.
Heading into overtime, Ewing said he told his teammates he wanted the ball. Ewing, who had 22 points and 13 rebounds, opened the extra quarter with a block of Luc Longley, which Starks converted into a 16-foot jumper. Starks and Ewing accounted for 18 straight points in the fourth quarter and overtime period. They were the only Knicks to score in overtime.
Pippen was wildly erratic after contributing a mediocre 30 points combined in the first two games of the series. He shot just 10 for 29 from the field and barely grazed the rim on an open three- pointer at the buzzer that would have created a second overtime.
"They won 72 games," said Knicks guard John Starks, when asked if he thought his team had figured out the Bulls. "The best ever. They're not gonna lay down."
============================ - Sport
i miss rugged rivalries like this
If this game took place today, there would've been a total of 97 technical fouls called.
One of the best games of all time
@2:00 you'd be hard pressed to find a shake m9ve better than this. MJs footwork had no competition
One of the best games of all time indeed. Starks's move is better than Jordan's.
this was a classic game I remember watchin this
JORDAN "O What a move by Michael Jordan" Marv Albert voice
I saw we all get together, buy a Delorean, figure out the Flux Capacitor and we all go back and watch these games again in real time like when we were younger.
I'm On board with that
michael at 2:01. another reason why michael will always be the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time)
90s basketball was so good and the Bulls and Knicks made 4 a nice rivalry!
tough tough game, so much heat and confrontation, love it. where is it now?
This was NBA basketball at its best- I was there for all these Knick-Bulls games @ MSG and there has been NOTHING since to compare- today's NBA basketball cannot compare...
This was the good old days. Growing up watching the bulls just beat down the rest of the NBA in the 90s was just a sight to see. I miss that. Basketball was alot more exciting back then.>_>
Damn i wish i had that whole game now it's one of those games that defined Michael Jordan as the GOAT!!!
story of the system that we live in today always trying to make people forget the past to make more money today but thank god youtube is here.
Luv watching MJ!
8:23 Clutch
I was a Huge Jordan Fan back in the 90's. But people who complain and say there will never be anyone like jordan are living in the past. I'm actually rooting for guys to achieve greatness like Jordan or even better. Thats what makes sports so much fun, anything is possible and the fact of the matter is that records are meant to be broken.
In echoing the feeling of a lot of other posters here these were the days when the NBA was FUN.When you got home from church and you ran to turn the game on while Mom cooked.
You remember as a kid seeing Dr J dunk? Kareem skyhook? Magic with the look-away pass? Dawkins smashing backboards? King with the turnaround jumper from the baseline? Moses bumping down in the low-post? Bird sinking another 3?
Those days are gone but the highlights do live on here and for that I am grateful for.
I'm a Bulls fan, but its so refreshing to see a guy like Oakley on the court- he represents the everyman in the league, not superbly talented like Jordan or Pip, but works just as hard. Back in the the 80s and 90s, you needed an enforcer on ur team 2 win. That's who Rodman was to Detroit and Chi-town
In these series, the Bulls won fairly only Game 5, all the others wins (1,2,4) were last-second ref travesties...
What a crazy game. Games like this made me fall in love with basketball
Can the NBA please have these New York Knicks back?? It’s 2019 and it has been a clown show for the Knicks and the Bulls suck as well. Back then the East was loaded Chicago, New York, Indiana, Miami, Orlando, Charlotte and Atlanta. There was like 5 or 6 decent teams in the East.
Oak would be fouled out by the end of the 1st quarter nowadays....
its cool how oakley and mj were teammates at the beginning of their carrers in chicago and again at the end of their carrers in washington
lmao. Oakley is hilarious, but this is classic late 90s Jordan. Not as explosive as he was pre-retirement > best post-up guard (tied w/ Magic). His fade-aways are legendary. Simply the G.O.A.T.
that 3 pointer that jordan hit (8:21) is such a hard thing to do. i've tried it on the basketball courts with my cousins and shit is insane. u have to be very strong to come off a move like that to shoot like that.
One of the best games ever and I'm not even a Knicks fan. Totally forgot about that Van Gundy incident. I was falling from my chair. It's hilarious. Man, Oakley totally terrorized this game. what's ironic is that I think they waive off the basket when he literally punches Pippen at 5:27.
Even the coach was getting hit.
Oakley is pure tank lol! Nobody messes with Oak! :D
Love your uploads Starks23! another great game! Thanks
This is the power of MJ than Lebron lacks in the 4th quarter
Oakley and Mason were as hard as they come. You had to man up when you played that 90's knicks team.
6:11 referee gets revenge on the coach!!! i like it!!
golden years baby --- miss that drama!!!
Now THIS is a playoff game! I can't even watch this run-and-gun, no defense, style that they play today. It's so damn boring. These weak-ass kids today seem to love it though. These players don't even earn their money nowadays.
One of my favs, the defeat takes some of it but its still one of most enjoyable games to watch. The referee almost stole the show though lol. Thanks starks ur doing a great job, its nice to see this again.
8:20 FREAKIN DAGGER 3 BY MJ AT A TOUGH ANGLE!!! listen to the New York crowd cheering for MJ right after the Knicks called time out after MJ's 3!
These True rivalries are a thing of the past. Everybody jumping ship to a team that's all but guaranteed to get to the finals.
1989-91 NBA Defensive Player of the Year
1989-93, 1996 NBA All-Defensive Team
1990, 1992 NBA All-Star Team
1991-94, 1997-98 Led the league in defensive rebounds
1992-98 Had 7 consecutive seasons where he led the league in total rebounds and rebounds per game
He was JUST AS dominate defensively on perimeter, as he was in the paint.
He ROUTINELY guarded Bird, Magic, MJ, Drexler, Richmond, Pippen, etc.
His Rep & Body of work speaks for itself..
Knicks were really the only team to play the Bulls tough in this 96 playoff run. I dont count Seattle really because the Bulls had a 3-0 lead and took their foot off the gas in Games 4-5...before finishing the job back home in 6. But this series vs NY...the first 2 games in Chicago were close, the Knicks won this game, and Game 4 wasnt decided to the final seconds.
I miss this rivalry, nothing today compares. Also miss the glory days, it was tough, hard, and ultra competitive and no one was more competitive then Michael.
wow that was one heck of video awesome
Scottie Pippen wanted to act tuff he saw it was Charles Oakley LoL 😂😂😂😂 and had a change of heart real quick
Oakley and Pippen were buddies. Oakley played for the Bulls when Pippen entered the league. He ain't scared of Oakley.
Oakley is part of MJ's entourage, even today. 😂
5:51
Someone needs to do that to JVG again. Like before every game
This game was a classic example of righteous basketball!!
The games were so rough in the 90's even the coaches weren't safe. Check out what the ref did at 5:51!
Mannn That FadeAway is Impeccable!!! @ 0:18 billionAire!
7:02 HANDLE!
Man Oakley made rodman seem like an angel there
"Jordan......yes"
OmG, this game was brutal!! Oak was the Garden Landlord. HE don't like Bulls soliciting in his property....
Okay, MJ is really the best ever.
plumber
Yes. MJ is the GOAT
MJ will always be my fav Super Hero
@RingoChen that was the good old days, when refs wouldn't call fouls due to a little push or shove.
Come on, how can you watch his antics in this game and not enjoy it. My favorite part is when Oak saves the ball then intentionally hurls himself into the Bulls' bench.
96 playoffs the Bulls were hurt. They had a lot of people with injuries going into the Finals. 6th man of the year Kukoc wasn't even on this game because of injuries. Pip was hurt, so were Ron and Luc during the Finals. Yet they still managed to pull through.
i remember watching these playoffs with my homeboys and homegirls in my cramped hot ass apartment while my moms made hot ass friend chicken lmao everybody cheering going nuts. those were such good times. we watched bulls playoffs since the 80's and the early 90's were un fucking real man. so much fun a gut wrencher.
i was at this game. it was a great game indeed.
in the playoffs you can clearly tell pippen was playing on a bad ankle. his offensive game was highly affected by it.
2:01 stuff of legend.
back when defense was allowed to play defense. even van gundy got slapped by the ref. those days were fantastic. bulls vs knicks & previously bulls vs pistons were the best
@2:00 he has the same move like Penny Hardaway against the Heat in 1997 Eastern Conferense Round1 Playoff
+Frank Castle You mean Penny has his move. lol
+Wis Dom Tell him bro... lol
- obviously it was Mj's move first but that raises a great point. Next to MJ, I've always felt Penny was the most polished player even as a rookie and young player that I've ever seen, except for MJ. He had almost as many moves in the post and at the basket. MJ could simply do more but still, Penny had almost as large hands, he could pass the ball a la Magic Johnson (who he was often compared to) and he was a good defender as well. He was really an MJ lite without the freakish level athleticism, but still very good athleticism.
Yes, Kobe, later in his career, developed many of the same post up moves training under Hakeem - but Penny, like MJ, came into the league with an incredible, fully developed arsenal of moves.
This was when playoff basketball was for real... not the whistlefest like it is now.
Hard fouls, refs let the guys play... guys got their points the hard way, not giftwrapped at the charity stripe.
Not to mention, the best SNEAKERS EVER with the AJXIs and Air Pippens.
that was madd
Love the physicality of this era. And the referees are allowing it without too much technicals being given out. Players are just laughing it off like longley and harper when Oak had a few words for them at halftime. If it happened today, players would most likely brawl and suspensions would be given out together with hundreds of thousands of fines.
Scottie Pippen at 5:37: "Goddamnit!"
Who is Oakley kidding? He had been a Jorran D rider for 40 years.😂 He is still part of MJ's entourage.
Jordan came up clutch as usual damn...too bad they lost.
8:25 "Jordan.. for three, to tie it... HE DOES!!!"
The knicks were tough..Oak and Mase hit everything in their path...
Oakley was one of the last "Enforcers" left in the NBA by 1996. I don't think any of the big guys are like that now in the NBA.
Actually the Pistons walked out on Chicago in '91. In a world where you have athletes going to jail and driving drunk, not shaking hands seems pretty small. If people can only criticize LeBron for not shaking hands then he's doing a pretty good job of staying out of trouble.
great
The Knicks won this game, but the Bulls won the series 4-1. The Bulls were 15-3 in the '95-96 playoffs losing only 2 other games to Seattle in the finals.
5:22 after realizing who was trailing behind him on the break, steve kerr soiled his paints and blew an easy score! lmao
Jeff Van gundy geting hit in the face thats so funny. lol.
Jordan is obviously the greatest ever, but if you want to see how the game has changed in the last decade, watch Oak and Rodman.
You're exactly right, Starks, five minutes into any of today's game and Oak and Rodman would be done for the year. I miss that style, enough with the flopping Euro-ball.
this is when the NBA was at its best. the "rivalries" aint shit now. starks and mj used to battle
classic kicks the
air jordans and the air pippens
Todays NBA the whole Knicks team would have been ejected. Shows you the mental toughness of the Bulls.
2:00. God bless his soul!
For the record, Pippen traditionally destroyed the knicks every year in the playoffs, so to have one bad series against them is not the end of the world.
Oakley knew what he was doing he was trying to mess up the 1-2 punch and what better way than to go after the #2 man on the bulls team. Jordan wouldn't of been affected by his nonsense.
you can see that with old rules the defenses were hard and tough!!!just watch oakley!that was real basketball man!now nba just looks like wnba!!!
Ahahahahaha I cant believe Starks couldnt crossover Steve Kerr!! And to make matters worse Kerr actually took off down the other end with the ball! HAHA
These were the good old days. They let em play! They shouldn't have ever changed the rules to gear the game for offense.
lol at MJ scoring the last EIGHT points in one minute to send it to OT
The kids in the NBA today dont have near the mental toughness required to compete at the level we saw back then. Imagine an enforcer like Oakley playing in the NBA today, he would send every player in the NBA today home crying.
And after 19 years Jeff van gundy still looks the same that guy does not age and James Dolan has to fire Phil Jackson and Fisher and bring back van gundy we need a coach like him really bad
i think cuz they said that he didn't have full posession when he got hit he bobbled the ball in mid air
@blackwolves355 you mean the low ie black/varsity-reds?
@BM1F There are reasons why. Rules have taken away the more physical play which invoked more rivals and hard play. Personally I still like watching the NBA very much and enjoy all the young players but those days were awesome.
Poor Jeff Van Gundy. Wrong place at the wrong time. lol.
I was talking about the Settle series fool.>_>
Oakley might be the scariest man to ever play basketball
im from ny so i hate that the bulls were so good that damn michael jordan
Bahahahahahaaha 5:52, Van Gundy is such a little worm.
5:44 how is that not continuation???
today thats a flagrant
5:42 why they didn't count this baket ? Pippen was in mid air when there was contact with Oakley
2:00 pffff ye digg
i love this rivalry. i like how oakley is such an asshole to make the whole game way more interesting.
and mj is just great, it is almost like he fight the knicks singlehandedly.