2K23 The JORDAN Era - JORDAN and the BULLS in ACTION

[bulls96]

Unbeknownst to most, 7'7" Manute Bol actually landed in Philadelphia for a year to "mentor" the young 7'6" Shawn Bradley. As part of the Jordan era, Jordan runs into these two giants in a 90's classic matchup.

Watch the game here: https://youtu.be/IURT0bU2MNc

These two teams were on opposite sides of the Eastern conference. It was a lopsided game.

Jordan finished with 32 pts 10 rebs 4 assts. Pippen had 13 pts 8 rebs 5 assts. Kukoc had a double-double with 12 pts 10 rebs plus 4 assts.

All-star PG Dana Barros led the Sixers with 17 pts. Manute Bol had 7 pts 10 rebs 5 blks. Bradley had 6 pts 10 rebs 3 blks.

[bulls96]

CHICAGO -- After barely winning Game 1 with a fantastic in-bound alley-oop (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBnHuYUall0&t=2922s), the Bulls look to make a bigger in Game 2 of these 1995 Eastern Conference Finals. One monster player was standing in the way still... Shaq

Watch the game here: https://youtu.be/PPpalrr9lNo

SHaquille O'Neal came out aggressive, getting to his spots and getting on the offensive glass, gonig perfect from the field and scoring the Magic's first 10 points. The Bulls slowly got going though, with Jordan hitting his mark. On the second half of the period, Magic started going to their perimeter guys and eventually lost the lead while Toni Kukoc got hot, scoring 8 pts, including 2 from 3, as the Bulls took the lead at the end of the 1st.

The second quarter was the start of the Scottie Pippen show. Pip was aggressive on the offensive end, driving to the basket and attacking the boards. He scored 11 pts in the first 4 mins of the period, leading the Bulls to a 10 pt lead midway. Jordan took over the offense in the second half, but whle he was hitting some shots, he turned over the ball several times on untimed passes. Meanwhile, Magic started to pound the ball inside to SHaq who responded with another 10 pts in the second, cutting the deficit to 3 at halftime.

Scottie Pippen continued his strong offensive game, neutralizing Sahq's continued dominance inside who would have another 14 pts in the quarter. Pip was brilliant, scoring 15 pts of his own, on a variety of moves giving MJ an early break and the chance to start the 4th fresh. Lead is 8, going in to the 4th.

In the fourth quarter, Michael JOrdan went for the kill. He would have 17 4th quarter pts, as the Bulls led by as much as 14. THe Magic would cut it down to 7 but Jordan would not give them any hope, smelling blood. He put an exclamation point with an emphatic slam over the Magic defense after going one-on-one with Shaq (1:00:00).

Bulls win it 99-88.

Pippen was the Bulls leading scorer for the 2nd game in a row in this series, with 35 pts 8 rebs 5 assts 3 stls 2 blks. Jordan added 33, with 7 rebs and 11 assts, 3 stls.

SHaq finished with 43 pts 17 rebs while Penny added 19 pts 5 rebs 6 assts.

[bulls96]

CHICAGO -- With the Magic facing a 3-1 deficit and elimination, they fight to the end to force Game 5, in what would be the best game of the series so far!

Game link: https://youtu.be/Dk1h_aUNvz8

The Bulls played the first quarter like a well-oiled machine, getting into passing lanes, challenging shots, great execution on the offense and hitting their 3-pointers. They were up by double figures early, forcing an early timeout midway. The Bulls would cool off, and the Magic would slowly make their way back into the game, starting with a monster and-1 dunk by Penny Hardaway over Scottie Pippen. Brian Shaw also came off the bench strong, and they get to within 4. Toni Kukoc helped stop the rally, scoring 5 on a 7-2 run to end the period, as Bulls keep a 33-26 lead after 1.


Both offenses stagnated in the 2nd period. Horace Grant and Penny Hardaway helped get the Magic the lead 40-39 midway. The Bulls shot poorly in the 2nd, shooting just 30%. Jordan and Shaq qould go back and forth for the period, but it was the supporting case that helped Magic take a 3pt lead into halftime 56-53.

The 3rd quarter was still slow and back forth betwen the two teams. Dennis Scott had his best quarter of the series and helped the Magic take a slim 1-pt lead into the 4th.

The Bulls got up by 5 early in the 4th but Shaq and Grant quickly took control inside and drew the game close. The rest of the quarter was pretty defensive, with neither team scoring getting on a run. Shaq would find some late success in the paint, and with a floater from Penny, the Magic would go up by 4 with 2 mins to go. But the defending Champs would respond with Pippen and JOrdan scoring big baskets while playing outstanding defense to tie the game with 23 secs left. Magic had one last chance, but Jordan played outstanding defense on Penny Hardaway forcing him to a tough long 3-pointer that he misses.

We go to overtime.

In OT, Chicago was turning the ball over early, while missing some wide open 3's, and Magic took advantage grabbing a 5pt lead early. The Bulls regrouped, and JOrdan would answer the call, scoring 4 stright points, including a spinning layup on the fastbreak after a Pippen steal. THey are within 1, but they would turn the ball over once again on their next possession leading to a H.Grant dunk to give the Magic a 3pt lead with a little over a minute to go. On the next play, Jordan would drive clogged up baseline but kicks it out to an open Steve Kerr for a 3. He missed his first 2 open 3's in OT, BUT MAKES THIS ONE, to tie the game at 100 with 1:10 to go. Both teams would fail to score and it remained 100-100 with 13.9 secs to go.

JORDAN time once again. For the Magic, it's win or go home.

As expected, ball would find its way into Jordan's hands with 5secs to go. The double quickly came, but he would spin away from the double team and shoots a tough fadeaway while falling out on the baseline and MAKES IT!

Another fantastic GAMEWINNER for the GOAT with 0.9 secs left! 102-100.

Or so everyone thought...

On the Magic inbounds play, Dennis Scott, who's missed all his 3-pointers in OT, got a great screen from Shaq, got enough room at the sideline for a 3-pt heave, AND IT GOES IN!!


Dennis Scott saves the Magic season on a miracle shot in OT, 103-102. We go to Game 6 in Orlando!

Jordan finished with 45 pts, 4 rebs 14 assts 5 stls. He was shocked after Scott's shot went in. Pippen added 29 and 9.

Orlando had the more balanced attack. Shaq led the way with 29 pts 21 rebs. Penny and Grant had 16 apiece. Grant also pulled down 15 rebs. Scott was also in double figures with 14, including the gamewinning shot in overtime.

[bulls96]

CHICAGO -- It's a rematch of the 1994 NBA Finals but this includes one big time player that wasnt there last year... Clyde "The Glyde" Drexler. Drexler got traded to the Rockets and immediately gave them a boost in the backcourt that Houston never had before. Now they feel more ready to take on Michael JOrdan and the Bulls in this NBA Finals rematch.

Game link: https://youtu.be/cgl5FYaMG58

Clyde Drexler immediately made his presence felt with a strong start to Game 1. He scored in a variety of ways versus the Bulls - dunks, 3-pointer, floater, alley-oop, sending a signal to the Bulls that this is not the same team they beat in the Finals last year. Houston led by as much as 8, but MJ finished the quarter strong, scoring 13 all in all to get the Bulls within 4, 29-25 after one.

The 2nd quarter was a closer contest as both teams established themselves defensively. Hakeem continued his dominance inside, as Pippen tried to anchor the Bulls while MJ sat on the bench. MJ would return to the floor, and scored 8 in an 10-2 run to end the quarter to give the Bulls a 6 pt lead at the half, 49-43.

Jordan came out firing scoring 5 pts including a powerful dunk over Kenny Smith and the Bulls would go up by as much as 9, 55-46 with just 3 mins in. Hakeem though would respond, scoring 7 straight points, leading a 10-0 run that would help the ROckets regain the lead. It would remain close, until Hakeem sat down to rest and the Bulls took advantage. Their perimeter guys drained a couple of 3s and they helped retake the lead to close the 3rd, 72-68.

The Rockets had more urgency at the start of the 4th, and they were finally connecting on their 3s. THe Bulls would find themselves in very early penalty, which would really hurt them in this game. Drexler also would come alive in the 4th, after a quiet 2nd and 3rd period. He added to his highlights, including a flying alley-oop dunk over Pippen that would give the Rockets a 7 pt lead. THe ROckets would conitnue to push the pace and grow the lead to 10 with 4mins to go. MJ and Pippen would fight back but their penalty situation didnt help, and the lead was still 7 with 1:17 mins to go.

The Bulls had one last run. DOwn 7 with 1 minute to go. It started with Kukoc who would drain a 3, followed by a basket by Jordan. Drexler would miss in their following possessions, and they were holding on a 2 pt lead with 38 secs remaining. Houston would play great defense on the Bulls in this play, led to a tough fadeaway at the shoulder by Jordan. He misses it BUT LONGLEY GRABS THE OFFENSIVE REBOUND AND PUTS IT BACK IN.. and the Game is tied with 16 secs left.

The Rockets would go back to Drexler for their last play. They did not have Drexler last year when they lost, and they are about to show why they made the move to get him this year.

Clyde would answer the call. He had Jordan at the top of the key. He would go to the basket, sliding by Jordan at then end to score on a layup with 0.7 secs left. THat would be the winning basket as the Rockets take Game 1 and steal homecourt.

ROckets strike first in Game 1. 110-108.


Olajuwon continued to be an unstaoppable force inside, led the ROckets with 46 pts 17 rebs 8 stls 6 blks. Staggering all around play. Drexler finished with 21 pts

Jordan had 43 pts 4 rebs 6 assts 4 stls.Pippen added 21 pts 9 rebs 5 assts. No other Bulls was in double digits as Kukoc struggled from the field, just 3/15 with 9 pts.

[bulls96]

CHICAGO -- Facing elimination, the Houston Rockets led by as much as 25 pts in Game 5, but JORDAN DOES IT ALL to try to CLOSEOUT the Rockets in Chicago, leads BULLS back in the game and battle into OVERTIME.

Will his 50-PT TRIPLE-DOUBLE be enough?

GAME LINK: https://youtu.be/owXHitnQU0w

The Bulls struggled early, as the Rockets go up by as much as 10 in the quarter. As the Houston bench came in, thats when the Bulls made a run, ignited by Toni Kukoc who would score 7 of the 14-4 run that helped the Bulls tie the game. Late baskets by Chucky Brown off the bench helped Houston maintain a 4 pt lead heading into the 2nd. 24-20

The Rockets offense started to explode in the 2nd, as they go on an 11-2 run to go up by double figures, prompting an early timeout. This did not help much as the ROckets continued to roll, going on the fastbreak, increasing the pace. They go up by as much as 23 heading into the half, 54-31.

Facing elimination, the visitors are blowing out the home team. Hakeem eas leading the way, already with a double-double 13 pts 15 rebs.

Hakeem's aggressiveness continued early in the 3rd as they led by as much as 25. Game 5 seemed to be well on their way to being theirs. Michael Jordan, however, put on him cape and led a furious rally as the Bulls try to close this one out here at home. Jordan would score and assisted on all 18 Bulls points in an 18-8 run to end the 3rd quarter to narrow the lead down to 10 heading into the 4th.

The Bulls would not go away. Hakeem did his best to hold off the Bulls rally, and was able to keep them at bay, and helped the Rockets stya up by 10 with 5 and a half minutes remaining in the game. But Jordan was hell-bent on closing this one out in Chicago. 7 straight pts later, lead was still 7 with 2 and a half remaining. Momentum though was shifting and home crowd helped propel the Bulls further and they were able to tie the game with 21.4 secs left.

What happened here and in OVERTIME will reveal why the Rockets went out to get Drexler in 1995.

Matched up one-on-one with Scottie Pippen at the top, Drexler would drive and make a spectacular acrobatic layup AND-ONE! Not only did he bring the Rockets up by 3. He also drew Scottie's 6th and final foul.

THere was still 4.3 secs left. Bulls had another clutch performer in the roster from Croatia... TONI KUKOC. He delivers, hitting a 3-pointer at the corner as time expired to send the game into OVERTIME.


In OVERTIME, it was Michael Jordan vs Hakeem+Drexler. MJ really tried to will his team to a win thru overtime, but the ROckets superstars did not back down. They scored all of HOuston's 14 pts versus 5 from MJ (with 2 assts). THe biggest basket came from DREXLER once again. MJ just put up the Bulls by 2 with 42.8 secs with a fadeaway jumper. On the next pay, Drexler got Jordan one-on-one again, and he drives and scores on a MONSTER SLAM OVER JORDAN and DRAWS THE FOUL (JOrdan's 6th foul) to go up by 1.
Kukoc still scored on the next play, but Hakeem had the last say. He followed on a missed jumper from Drexler with 3.2 secs left to deliver the final blow and win GAME 5 for Houston.

We go to Game 6!


Jordan almost pulled the improbable comeback and finished with a 50-pt triple-double. 52 pts 13 rebs 12 assts 1 stl 1 blk. Pippen added 20 pts 6 rebs. Kukoc had a double-double with 17 pts 10 assts.

Hakeem was again unstoppable with a 41-pt 26-reb performance. He also had 6 assts 4 stls 2 blks. Drexler was the biggest though in 4th quarter and overtime, finished with 22 pts 4 rebs.

[bulls96]

HOUSTON -- In all but one Championship run, Jordan has been able to close out his opponents in 6 games. But this is the CHampion Rockets, and the Bulls play the 6th game at Houston. Can Hakeem & Company push the Bulls to a Game 7?

Game link: https://youtu.be/Jae35oxLc78

The first quarter saw Hakeem establishing inside, scoring 12 to help the ROckets go up by as much as 6 midway. As soon as he sat for his usual rest though, the Bulls pounced led by MJ who would score 17 first quarter pts to help narrow the gap to 2, 27-25 heading in to the 2nd.

THe second quarter saw Olajuwon and Drexler overwhelm Pippen and the Bulls as they go up double digits with 5 mins remaining. Even JOrdan coming back into the game did not stem the tide. Lead is 10 at the half, 63-53.

THe Rockets momentum continued into the start of the 3rd as the lead wet up to 14. Bulls needed to regroup and find someone else to reignite their offense. Someone else not named JOrdan had to answer the call. It was Toni Kukoc and Steve Kerr who gave the needed spark off the bench, with Kukoc facilitating the offense and Kerr hitting 2 big 3's including one that gave the Bulls a 2 pt lead. Jordan would finish the blow as he goes on a late scoring spree, 12 in the 3rd all in all, as the Bulls ended the 3rd on a 28-10 run to take a 4-pt lead into the 4th quarter.

One more quarter for the Bulls and the Championship can be theirs. THe Rockets did not go away though. WIth Olajuwon and Hakeem, they ROckets alwasy had the chance. It was a defensive quarter, as neither team could gain any kind of momentum. Hakeem would score 12 and helped make it a 1 pt game with 2 mins to go.

The last 2 minutes were intense, with baskets by the clutchest players on both sides. Hakeem and Drexler on the ROckets, and Jordan and Kukoc on the Bulls. It was just a matter of who wanted it the most.

Jordan finishes with 45 pts 9 rebs. Pippen had 37 pts 8 rebs while Kukoc added 16.

Hakeem finished with 37 pts 18 rebs 3 stls 3 blks. Horry added 18, while Drexler had an off night with 17 pts on 7/19 shooting.

[bulls96]

CHARLOTTE -- 1996 JordanEra Matchup between CHarlotte Hornets and the CHicago Bulls.

Game link: https://youtu.be/g1AdIKgy0go

Scottie Pippen was the lead man for CHicago in this game. 30 pts 7 rebs 8 assts . Jordan finished with 29 pts 14 assts, 9 in the first half. Steve Kerr had his most productive game of the season with 20 pts off the bench while Kukoc added 19.

Glen Rice led the way for CHarlotte with 18 pts. Larry Johnson had a double-double with 14 pts 13 rebs vs ROdman.

[Yallasama]

Appreciate this and actually watched your game 7 of 1994 and sorry but the CPU AI is straight up garbage. Olajuwon cannot get past anyone, they hardly passed him the ball, hoisting up crazy shots, rotations didn't make sense.