Knicks vs Sixers

Lore & Background

The rivalry peaked in intensity from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, when both teams became huge playoff contenders. This was due to a variety of factors: the great frequency in which the teams competed against each other in high-stakes contests and playoff series; well-known players such as Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Patrick Ewing, and John Starks; the reputations of the team's respective cities; and personnel changes and conflicts between the teams. The two teams met in the playoffs during six of the eight years from 1989 to 1996, with the Bulls winning five of those series.

In Their Own Story

The air in Madison Square Garden was thick with smoke and tension as the clock ticked down to zero. A Sixer player drove hard into the paint, met by a wall of Knicks defenders, the sound of sneakers squeaking echoing like thunder against the hardwood. The crowd roared, a deafening mix of chants and jeers, as Dr. J soared for an impossible layup that seemed to defy gravity itself.

Reader's Guide

Between 1966 and 1980, the Bulls and Knicks were inter-conference rivals, as the Bulls played in the Western Division/Conference. In the 1980 offseason, the Bulls moved to the Eastern Conference. Their first playoff meeting was in the first round of the 1981 NBA playoffs, a best-of-three series, which Chicago swept 2–0. The rivalry intensified in 1989, when the Bulls upset the 2nd-seeded Knicks 4–2. In 1991, Chicago swept New York 3–0. The 1992 Eastern Conference Semifinals went to a decisive Game 7, won by the Bulls 110–81. In the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals, the Bulls came back from 2–0 down to win the series 4–2, highlighted by Michael Jordan's 54 points in Game 4 and Charles Smith being stopped four straight times in Game 5. In 1994, with Jordan absent, the Knicks beat the Bulls in seven games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the only time the Knicks beat the Bulls in the playoffs during this era. In 1996, the Bulls defeated the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in five games.

Did You Know?

• Michael Jordan scored 55 points in a Chicago win at Madison Square Garden on March 29, 1995.
• The Bulls and Knicks met in the playoffs during six of the eight years from 1989 to 1996.
• In Game 5 of the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals, Knicks forward Charles Smith was stopped four straight times by blocks and strips in the final seconds.
• Scottie Pippen and Jrue Holiday are the only players to have won an NBA championship and Olympic gold medal in the same year twice.