To add fuel to the fire, the defending champions had a target on its back the whole season following Pat Riley’s promise of a repeat to the crowd of the championship parade in Los Angeles a year earlier.īecause of the starkly contrasting styles of play, none of the first five games were particularly close.
#Best games of 2016 nba series#
The series also feature a marquee match-up between two of the best point guards ever in Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas. The up-tempo and flashy style of LA versus the gritty and in-your-face style of Detroit made this a fun series to watch. The Showtime Lakers and Bad Boy Pistons were a clash of basketball ideology. The sharpshooter nailed the series clincher to get Chicago its fifth title in seven years. After Jordan’s clutch shot in game 5, it was Steve Kerr’s turn in game 6. Game 1 featured a late-game jumper by Jordan to clinch the game for Chicago. The sheer number of late-game heroics also made this a memorable series. Jordan would get the last laugh as the Bulls would hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy at the expense of the Jazz. Jordan, who averaged 29.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.7 steals for the 69-13 Bulls, felt robbed with Malone’s coronation. The Jazz center averaged 27.4 points, 9.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.4 steals. One, of course, is the MVP award, which was won by Karl Malone for leading the Jazz to a 64-18 regular season. A visibly sick MJ torched the Jazz defense in Utah on his way to 38 points-including a clutch game-tying trey-to help the Bulls nab a pivotal 3-2 lead.Īside from the flu game, there were plenty of story lines that made this a compelling Finals series to watch. This was another glimpse to the inevitability of Michael Jordan.Įverybody who follows the NBA remembers the flu game (or the food-poisoning game if you watched The Last Dance) in game 5 of this series. He averaged an unfair 41.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.7 steals on 50.8% shooting. He torched Chicago’s big men to the tune of 27.3 points, 13 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. In game 6, however, Chicago, with the help of John Paxson’s iconic late three, clinched its third straight title.īarkley put up valiant numbers in defeat.
Phoenix would bounce back in Chicago, winning the two out of the next three games. Barkley himself admitted in a Bill Simmons podcast that he thought Jordan was better player than him at the time. After all, they had the MVP and home-court advantage on their side.Ĭhicago silenced those believers pretty quickly, as they won the first two games in front of a stunned Phoenix crowd. Many believed that the Suns had a decent chance in stopping Chicago from their third straight title.
They settled for a 57-win season and second in the East.
The Bulls, meanwhile, were facing questions about whether fatigue from two straight title runs were catching up to them. The Suns won an NBA-best 62 games-good enough for first in the West,-and Barkley was crowned MVP. The Chicago Bulls were facing a hungry team in the Charles Barkley-led Phoenix Suns. This Finals series was our first glimpse of the inevitability of Michael Jordan. In the end, the Warriors’ efforts were enough to eke out a 96-95 victory to complete the sweep and the title run. The tension led to Warriors Head Coach Al Attles to get ejected following numerous complaints about the Bullets’ physicality. The Bullets came out desperate in game 4, as they were very physical with Barry. He was aided by undersized and unlikely hero Jamaal Wilkes, who contained Elvin Hayes defensively. In game 3, Rick Barry once again came through with 38 big points. Unfortunately for Washington, Golden State stormed back in both games to take a 2-0 series lead. The first two games of the series saw the Bullets jump out to an early lead. Washington was paced by Phil Chenier, who averaged 23 points, 5 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 2.5 steals.
He averaged 29.5 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 3.5 steals in 43 minutes. Rick Barry went absolutely bonkers for the Warriors in this series. So when Golden State swept Washington in four closely-contested games, the unthinkable happened.
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