3. 1993 NBA CHAMPION CHICAGO BULLS v 14. 1998 PAC DIV CHAMP SEATTLE SONICS
Bulls: 57-25, 1st Cen Div, 2nd Off, 7th Def
d. Hawks East 1st Rnd 3-0
d. Cavs East Semis 4-0
d. Knicks East Finals 4-2
d. Suns NBA Finals 4-2
#39 overall seed
Coach: Phil Jackson
Starters
C Will Perdue 27-Vandy 4.7 PPG 14.8 PER 2.5 WS
F Horace Grant 27-Clemson 13.2 17.5 9.1
F Scottie Pippen 27-Cen Ark 18.6 19.2 8.6
G BJ Armstrong 25-Iowa 12.3 14.7 7.5
G Michael Jordan 29-UNC 32.6 29.7 17.2
Rotation Reserves
C Bill Cartwright 35-USF 5.6 8.3 1.2
F Stacey King 26-Oklahoma 5.4 12.8 1.9
F Scott Williams 24-UNC 5.9 14.6 3.9
G John Paxson 32-NDame 4.2 9.3 1.9
G Trent Tucker 33-Minnesota 5.2 14.1 2.8
Leaders: Jordan: 1st PPG, 1st Steals, 1st Steals/Gm, 1st PER, 1st WS, 1st WS/48, 1st +/-, 1st VORP, 3rd Steal %, 5th TO%, 2nd Trip-Doub
Armstrong: 1st 3pt %, 3rd Off Rtng
Grant: 5th Off Reb %
Pippen: 2nd Trip-Doub
It's Jordan and the World Champion Bulls - he's first in PER, Win Shares, VORP. Everyone else is support.
Sonics: 61-21, 1st Pac Div, 3rd Off, 10th Def
d. Wolves West 1st 3-2
Lost Lakers West Semis 4-1
#218 overall seed
Coach: George Karl
Starters
C Vin Baker 26-Hartford 19.2 PPG 20.4 PER 10.4 WS
F Sam Perkins 36-UNC 7.2 13.6 4.5
F Detlef Schrempf 35-Washington 15.8 18.7 10.4
G Gary Payton 29-Ore St 19.2 21.6 12.5
G Hersey Hawkins 31-Bradley 10.5 15.4 8.6
Rotation Reserves
C Jim McIlvane 25- Marquette 3.2 9.5 1.9
F Aaron Williams 26-Xavier 4.6 13.4 1.7
F Jerome Kersey 35-Longwood 6.3 12.6 1.2
G Greg Anthony 30-UNLV 5.2 16.8 2.7
G Dale Ellis 37-Tennessee 11.8 16.6 6
Leaders: Baker: 3rd Off Reb, 5th FG%
Payton: 5th Assists, 3rd Steals, 4th Steals/Gm, 5th WS, 4th VORP
Ellis: 1st 3Pt %, 1st Eff FG%, 3rd TS%
Baker and Payton, the only starters still in their 20s, lead the way, 20+ PER and double digit WS. 35 year old Detlef Schrempf and 37 year old Dale Ellis provide some shot making
Matchup:
C Baker (Sonics)
F Grant (Bulls)
F Push
G Payton (Sonics)
G Jordan (Bulls)
Bench: Sonics
Game One
1st Qtr
9 Sonics 11 Bulls 2
Bulls Pippen
Sonics Hawkins(3) Baker, Hawkins(3) Baker(3)
6 Sonics 19 Bulls 13
Bulls Armstrong(3) Pippen, Williams, Perdue
Sonics Perkins(3) Perkins, Payton(3)
Seattle comes out bombing ; 5 triples in 6 minutes.
3 Sonics 25 Bulls 21
Bulls Williams, Jordan(3) Pippen, Pippen(1)
Sonics Ellis, Williams, McIlvane
Score Sonics 32 Bulls 30
Bulls Pippen, Paxson(3) Pippen(1) Jordan(3)
Sonics Payton, Williams(3) McIlvane
6 apiece for Jordan and Pippen in the back half of the quarter, Sonics still up a bucket.
2nd Qtr
9 Sonics 39 Bulls 39
Bulls Pippen, Pippen(1) Armstrong, Jordan, Jordan
Sonics Schrempf, Ellis(3) Hawkins
6 Sonics 45 Bulls 45
Bulls Paxson, Grant, Grant
Sonics Hawkins, Ellis, Schrempf
Seattle's never trailed, but Baker has 3 fouls.
3 Sonics 52 Bulls 47
Bulls Grant
Sonics Perkins(3) Perkins, Payton
Halftime Score Sonics 58 Bulls 56
Bulls Williams, Armstrong, Jordan, Pippen(1) Pippen
Sonics Baker, Baker, Ellis
Seattle's led from the tip - 24 minutes left in game one.
3rd Qtr
9 Sonics 62 Bulls 62
Bulls Pippen, Pippen, Williams
Sonics Anthony, Kersey
6 Bulls 68 Sonics 66
Bulls Williams, Williams, Pippen
Sonics Baker, Kersey
Gary Payton's got 4 fouls and a Pippen layup at 6:22 gives Chicago its first lead.
3 Bulls 74 Sonics 74
Bulls Williams, Jordan, Jordan
Sonics Perkins(3) Baker, Schrempf(3)
Score Bulls 78 Sonics 75
Bulls Jordan, Armstrong
Sonics Payton(1)
Jordan goes for 6 to close the 3rd, 12 minutes left.
4th Qtr
11:48: SEA: GP from the paint.
11:39: CHI: MJ pull up.
11:26: SEA: Baker off glass.
11:17: CHI: King floater
11:02: SEA: Nope, no one has missed yet in the quarter - GP from 8 feet. 82-81 Bulls.
10:46: CHI: Pippen finger roll.
10:39: SEA: Detlef midrange.
10:24: CHI: Paxson misses a 3, first missed shot of the quarter, but Perdue is there for the putback.
7:03: SEA: The baskets then close down completely, no one scores for 3+ minutes until Baker's runner in the lane.
6:51: CHI: Pippen from the foul line.
6:23: CHI: Pippen steals the ball, BJ Armstrong scores from the wing. 90-85.
5:55: CHI: Jordan steals the ball - eschews the dunk, instead, makes a modern decision and drills a pull up 3. Bulls by 8.
4:42: SEA: Seattle misses 4 times - but dominates the glass and GP scores from the wing.
4:08: SEA: Paxson misses and GP hits a corner 3. Seattle cuts it to 3.
3:58: CHI: Jordan just takes it himself, layup.
3:39: SEA: Baker hits the 8 foot turnaround.
3:25: CHI: Pippen off glass.
2:34: SEA: Baker off glass.
1:48: CHI: Pippen hits the 11 footer.
:53: CHI: That might do it - the Sonics are empty and Perdue scores from the paint. 101-94
:45: SEA: GP triple
:28: CHI: Jordan 2 FT
:23: SEA: Baker from the block
:21: CHI: Jordan 1 FT
:15: SEA: Detlef cuts it to 3.
:12: CHI: Jordan 2 FT after a Payton miss
:04: CHI: Jordan 2 FT
Final: Bulls 108 Sonics 101
You can't play much better than Seattle did, really taking it to Chicago, but Jordan hits 7 foul shots in the last 28 seconds and the Bulls get game one.
Pippen: 32 pts/11 boards/10 assists - Player of the Game
Jordan: 32 pts/7 boards/9 assists/4 steals
Armstrong: 11 pts
Williams: 14 pts/8 boards
Baker: 23 pts/14 boards
Payton: 20 pts/6 boards/8 assists
Schrempf: 11 pts/6 boards/7 assists
Perkins: 13 pts
Hawkins: 10 pts/5 boards
Game 2
2nd Qtr
9 Bulls 4 Sonics 4
Bulls Pippen, Jordan
Sonics Baker, Payton
6 Bulls 11 Sonics 8
Bulls Grant, Pippen, Pippen, Pippen(1)
Sonics Perkins, Payton
Sonics hung so tough in game one; can they do the same today?
3 Sonics 16 Bulls 13
Bulls Grant
Sonics Baker, Hawkins, Baker, Payton
Score Sonics 23 Bulls 19
Bulls Jordan, Paxson, Pippen
Sonics McIlvane, Hawkins, Hawkins(3)
The answer is yes. Bulls held under 20 points and Seattle is up 4.
2nd Qtr
9 Sonics 25 Bulls 24
Bulls King, King(1) King
Sonics Anthony
6 Sonics 32 Bulls 28
Bulls Pippen, Williams
Sonics Schrempf, Payton, Ellis(3)
Great defensive effort for the Sonics; Jordan has just 4 points.
3 Sonics 38 Bulls 32
Bulls Pippen, Pippen
Sonics Payton, Baker, Schrempf
Score Sonics 41 Bulls 39
Bulls Grant, Jordan, Perdue
Sonics Kersey(1) Kersey
Terrific defense by Seattle; the Bulls held up 40 first half points. Can Seattle hold tough?
3rd Qtr
9 Sonics 47 Bulls 46
Bulls Jordan, Jordan(3) King
Sonics Baker, Payton, Hawkins
6 Sonics 51 Bulls 51
Bulls Jordan(3) Armstrong
Sonics Hawkins, Hawkins
Jordan comes out firing, 8 in the first 6 of the 3rd to tie this score.
3 Bulls 58 Sonics 56
Bulls Grant, Williams(1) Williams, Jordan
Sonics Hawkins(3) Schrempf
3rd Qtr Score Bulls 64 Sonics 57
Bulls Jordan, Cartwright, Grant
Sonics Baker(1)
Its maybe slipping away from Seattle; they have just 57 points and trail by 7.
4th Qtr
9 Bulls 72 Sonics 67
Bulls Jordan, Williams(1) Williams, Pippen(3)
Sonics Schrempf(3) Anthony, Baker, Schrempf(1) Baker
6 Bulls 84 Sonics 74
Bulls King, Grant, Jordan, King, Armstrong, Williams
Sonics Schrempf, Baker, Payton(3)
Chicago's just got too much for Seattle; Scott Williams hits 5 to open the 4th and now the lead is double digits.
3 Bulls 94 Sonics 76
Bulls Paxson, Pippen, Grant, Cartwright, Nealy
Sonics Ellis
Score Bulls 96 Sonics 83
Bulls Corey Williams
Sonics Cotton(3) Cotton, Cotton
Chicago's just too much for a game Sonics club. They move on.
Jordan: 22 pts/5 boards/10 assists-Player of the Game
Pippen: 20 pts/8 boards/5 assists/4 steals
Grant: 14 pts/12 boards
Williams: 10 pts/6 boards
King: 11 pts/5 boards
6. 2020 CEN DIV CHAMP MILWAUKEE BUCKS v 11. 2002 DALLAS MAVERICKS
Bucks: 56-17, 1st Cen Div, 8th Off, 1st Def
d. Magic East 1st Rnd 4-1
Lost Heat East Semis 4-1
#90 overall seed
Coach: Mike Budenholzer, Asst Vin Baker
Starters
C Brook Lopez 31-Stanford 12 PPG 15 PER 5.5 WS
F Giannis Antetokounmpo 25 29.5 31.9 11.1
F Khris Middleton 28-Texas A&M 20.9 21.1 7.9
G Eric Bledsoe 30-Kentucky 14.9 17.6 5.4
G Donte DiVincenzo 23-Villanova 9.2 14.1 4.3
Rotation Reserves
C Robin Lopez 31-Stanford 5.4 10.2 1.5
F Ersan Ilyasova 32 6.6 14.9 3.6
F Wesley Matthews 33-Marquette 7.4 8.1 3.2
G George Hill 33-IUPUI 9.4 16.9 5.5
G Pat Connaughton 27-NDame 5.4 11.5 3.4
Leaders: Giannis 5th PPG, 4th Reb, 2nd Reb/Gm, 1st PER, 3rd WS, 1st WS/48, 1st +/- 2nd VORP, 1st Def Rtng, 4th Reb %
BLopez 2nd Blocks, 2nd Blocks/Gm, 4th Def WS, 5th Def +/- 2nd Def Rtng, 3rd Block %
Middleton 3rd FT%
DiVincenzo 3rd Def Rtng
Hill 1st 3 Pt %, 3rd Off Rtng
It's Giannis and the Covid Bucks; he's got a PER over 30. Middleton goes over 20; the Lopez twins are on this club. Vin Baker was in the previous series with the Sonics and two decades later he's on the Bucks bench.
Mavs: 57-25, 2nd MW Div, 1st Off, 25th Def
d. Wolves West 1st Rnd 3-0
Lost Kings West Semis 4-1
#167 overall seed
Coach: Don Nelson, Asst: Sidney Moncrief
Starters
C Juwon Howard 28-Michigan 12.9 PPG 15.1 PER 3.4 WS
F Dirk Nowitzki 23 23.4 24.1 13.4
F Michael Finley 28-Wisconsin 20.6 17.6 6.3
G Steve Nash 27-Santa Clara 17.9 20.7 9.9
G Adrian Griffin 27-Seton Hall 7.2 14.2 3.5
Rotation Reserves
C Shawn Bradley 29-BYU 4.1 14.6 2.3
F Raef LaFrentz 25-Kansas 10.8 15.8 1.9
F Eduardo Najera 25-Oklahoma 6.5 14.8 4
G Tim Hardaway 35-UTEP 9.6 13.4 1.6
G Nick Van Exel 30-Cincinnati 3.2 16.3 1.5
Leaders: Dirk: 4th Def Reb, 5th PER, 3rd WS, 3rd WS/48, 4th Off +/-, 5th Def Reb %
LaFrentz: 2nd Blocks, 2nd Blocks/Gm, 3rd Block %
Nash: 5th FT%, 5th 3Pt %, 5th Eff FG%, 5th TS%
Finley: 5th TO%
Fun team that can't play defense - 23 year old Dirk leads the way; he and Nash both go over 20 PER; look at Hardaway and Van Exel coming off the bench. Sidney Moncrief returns to Milwaukee as a Dallas assistant for Nellie.
Matchup
C Push
F Giannis(Bucks)
F Middleton(Bucks)
G Nash(Mavs)
G Push
Bench: Bucks
Game One
1st Qtr
9 Bucks 5 Mavs 2
Bucks Bledsoe(3) DiVencenzo
Mavs Finley
6 Bucks 12 Mavs 8
Bucks Middleton(3) Giannis, BLopez
Mavs Nash, Howard, Griffin
Mavs don't have a lot of defense and Milwaukee can score points, factor in the three ball and maybe this isn't as close as it looks on paper.
3 Bucks 22 Mavs 14
Bucks DiVincenzo(3) Giannis, Hill, Middleton(3)
Mavs Van Exel(1) Nash(3) Bradley
1st Qtr Score Bucks 33 Mavs 18
Bucks Middleton, RLopez, Connaughton, Ilyasova, Connaughton(3)
Mavs Van Exel, Griffin
Blowout alert. Winners to meet the '93 Bulls.
2nd Qtr
9 Bucks 42 Mavs 22
Bucks Connaughton, Ilyasova(3) Ilyasova, Giannis
Mavs Finley, Dirk
6 Bucks 46 Mavs 28
Bucks Giannis, Matthews
Mavs Finley(1) Dirk, Finley(1) LaFrentz
If Ilyasova comes off the bench to score more than Dirk, this is going to be a quick 2-0 series.
3 Bucks 56 Mavs 40
Bucks Giannis, Middleton, Middleton, DiVincenzo, Giannis
Mavs Dirk, Van Exel(3) Dirk, Finley, Finley(3)
Halftime Score Bucks 63 Mavs 45
Bucks Matthews(1) Bledsoe(3) RLopez(3)
Mavs Nash(3) Finley
Game one is done; you can change the channel.
3rd Qtr
9 Bucks 68 Mavs 57
Bucks DiVincenzo, Middleton(3)
Mavs Finley, Finley, Dirk(3) Nash(3) Hardaway
6 Bucks 81 Mavs 59
Bucks Middleton(3) Middleton(3) Middleton(3) DiVincenzo, Giannis
Mavs Dirk
Khris Middleton nails 4 straight triples for the Bucks and the whipping continues.
3 Bucks 89 Mavs 62
Bucks Middleton(3) Giannis, BLopez(3)
Mavs Nash(3)
3rd Qtr Score Bucks 100 Mavs 64
Bucks Middleton, Ilyasova(3) Middleton(3) Bledsoe(3)
Mavs LaFrentz
100 points and still a quarter to play. Khris Middleton scores 18 in the third.
4th Qtr
9 Bucks 100 Mavs 73
Bucks
Mavs Finley, Howard, Finley, Nash(3)
6 Bucks 106 Mavs 78
Bucks Giannis, Donte, Giannis
Mavs Nash(3) Nash
3 Bucks 123 Mavs 87
Bucks Giannism Connaughton, Hill(3) Giannis(3) RLopez, Middleton(3) TAntetokounmpo(3)
Mavs Finley, Nash, Finley, Najera, Johnson(1)
Final Score Bucks 135 Mavs 91
Bucks Mason(1) Thanasis, Thanasis, Mason, Mason(3) Brown
Mavs ZhiZhi(3) ZhiZhi(1)
The Bucks just blast Dallas - just a terryfing offensive performance.
Middleton: 35 pts/7 boards - Player of the Game
Giannis: 25 pts/12 boards/11 assists
DiVincenzo 13 pts/7 boards
Iyasova: 10 pts
Nash: 24 pts/6 boards/9 assists
Finey: 25 pts/5 boards
Nowitzki: 13 pts/12 boards
Game Two
1st Qtr
9 Bucks 10 Mavs 7
Bucks DiVincenzo(3) Giannis, Giannis, Giannis(3)
Mavs Howard, Nash, Nash, Howard(1)
6 Bucks 19 Mavs 9
Bucks DiVincenzo(3) DiVincenzo, Giannis, Giannis
Mavs Dirk
Giannis opens up with 11 - the Bucks might end this early.
3 Bucks 27 Mavs 13
Bucks Giannis, Hill, Giannis(3) RLopez(1)
Mavs Nash, Bradley
1st Qtr Score Bucks 33 Mavs 15
Bucks Giannis(3) Giannis(1) Bledsoe
Mavs LaFrentz
It's done, the Bucks are moving on.
2nd Qtr
9 Bucks 36 Mavs 19
Bucks Connaughton(3)
Mavs Najera, Nash
6 Bucks 47 Mavs 22
Bucks Ilyasova, Middleton, Ilyasova, DiVincenzo(3) RLopez
Mavs Najera, Bradley
Ready for Giannis/Middleton against Jordan/Pippen in Rnd 2?
3 Bucks 49 Mavs 30
Bucks RLopez
Mavs Dirk, Nash, Griffin, Dirk
Halftime Score Bucks 58 Mavs 32
Bucks Hill(3) Giannis, BLopez, Giannis
Mavs Finley
3rd Qtr
9 Bucks 64 Mavs 38
Bucks Giannis, Middleton, DiVincenzo
Mavs Bradley, Van Exel, Finley
6 Bucks 73 Mavs 45
Bucks Ilyasova, Giannis, Giannis, Middleton(3)
Mavs Bradley, Van Exel(3) Dirk
Bucks sure look better than the 90th overall seed. 6 more for Giannis.
3 Bucks 82 Mavs 51
Bucks Bledsoe, Bledsoe, Ilyasova(3) Bledsoe
Mavs Najera, Najera, Dirk
3rd Qtr Score Bucks 94 Mavs 59
Bucks BLopez, BLopez(3) Hill(3) Hill Middleton
Mavs LaFrentz, Nash, Nash, Hardaway
4th Qtr
9 Bucks 100 Mavs 68
Bucks DiVincenzo(3) Middleton, Giannis(1)
Mavs Howard, LaFrenz(3) Finley, Bradley
6 Bucks 112 Mavs 78
Bucks Giannis, Giannis, Giannis(1) RLopez, RLopez(3)
Mavs Finley, Najera, Dirk(3) Nash(3)
Another Giannis half dozen.
3 Bucks 120 Mavs 80
Bucks Matthews(3) DiVincenzo(3) BLopez
Mavs Finley
Final Score Bucks 127 Mavs 82
Bucks DiVincenzo, DiVincenzo, Wilson(3)
Mavs LaFrentz
Giannis: 36 pts/13 boards - Player of the Game
DiVincenzo: 23 pts/9 boards/5 assists
Middleton: 11 pts/8 boards/11 assists
Hill: 10 pts/5 boards
RLopez: 12 pts
All Region Team
C Walton ('77 Blazers)
F Giannis ('20 Bucks)
F Pippen ('93 Bulls)
G Jordan ('93 Bulls)
G Curry ('16 Warriors)
