1991 NBA Finals

NBA Finals summary


caption =
year = 1991
runnerup = Los Angeles Lakers
runnerup_coach = Mike Dunleavy
runnerup_games = 1
champion = Chicago Bulls
champion_coach = Phil Jackson
champion_games = 4
date= June 2 - June 12
MVP = Michael Jordan
(Chicago Bulls)
television = NBC (U.S.)
announcers = Marv Albert and Mike Fratello
HOFers = Magic Johnson (2002)
James Worthy (2003)
Coaches:
Phil Jackson (2007)
radio_network =
radio_announcers =
referees_1 =
referees_2 =
referees_3 =
referees_4 =
referees_5 = Game 5:
ECF result = Bulls defeat Pistons, 4-0
WCF result = Lakers defeat Blazers, 4-2

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 (who is also the narrator in NFL Films). 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 the 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 is 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

*Phil Jackson

tarting five

*Michael Jordan
*Scottie Pippen
*Bill Cartwright
*John Paxson
*Horace Grant

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.

tarting five

*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"

chedule

*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).

eries Scoring Summary

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.

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 conference.

ee also

*1991 NBA Playoffs

External links

* [http://www.nba.com/history/finals/19901991.html NBA History]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c2p5R_NZQU&feature=PlayList&p=B90A3D0B4889D8AA&index=0&playnext=1 NBA 1991 Finals Game 2 on Youtube.com]