1997 Western Conference Finals vs Bulls

Lore & Background

The Jazz emerged as a force in the Western Conference as far back as the mid-1980s, powered by its All-Star duo of point guard John Stockton and power forward Karl Malone. They advanced to the Western Conference finals three times between 1992 and 1996 (1992, 1994 and 1996), but lost on each occasion. However, a different story was written for the 1996–97 season. Powered by league MVP Karl Malone, along with the talented John Stockton, the Jazz finally asserted themselves atop the Western Conference, finishing with a franchise-record 64 wins. Also notable on the season was Utah's complete rebrand, as they replaced their classic 'J-Note' logo and Mardi Gras colors with a bold, gradient 'Purple Mountain' motif. In the playoffs, Utah swept the Los Angeles Clippers in the opening round and eliminated the Los Angeles Lakers in five games in the second round. Utah then eliminated the Houston Rockets to advance to their first NBA Finals in franchise history, thanks to John Stockton's buzzer-beating, three-point shot in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals. Another storyline heading into the Finals was Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan coaching against his former team as a player. Sloan made the All-Star game twice with the Bulls and was a key player on Dick Motta’s defensive-minded teams throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

Reader's Guide

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 (United Center). Game 1: Despite injuring his foot in the Eastern Conference finals against Miami, Scottie Pippen helped the Bulls to an 84–82 victory over Utah on Sunday. He scored 27 points while Jordan scored 31. Michael Jordan made 1 of 2 free throws with 35.8 seconds left to tie it at 82. Then, Karl Malone was fouled by Rodman with 9.2 seconds left and missed both free throws. Jordan got the rebound and called a time-out, then hit a 20-footer at the buzzer to give Chicago a 1–0 series lead. Game 2: The Bulls simply dominated Game 2. After a hard-fought first quarter, the Bulls took control of the game with a 12–0 second-quarter run. Utah's 31 points in the first half was only one point above an NBA low. Karl Malone made only 6 of 20 field goals. Dennis Rodman nailed a late 3-pointer to put the Bulls up 97–85. Game 3: Utah's fans welcomed their proud Western Conference champs with force. The Chicago Bulls started off the first three quarters with mediocre play, despite Scottie Pippen tying a then-Finals record with seven 3-pointers. Utah was led by Karl Malone, who scored 37 points and had 10 rebounds. Chicago attempted a 4th-quarter comeback, cutting a 24-point deficit down to 7, but Utah ultimately won its first game of the series. Game 4: A tight game with many lead changes throughout. Late in the game, Michael Jordan made a fast break dunk to give the Bulls a 71–66 lead, but John Stockton buried a momentum-shifting three-pointer. The Jazz pulled to within one when Stockton stole the ball from Jordan and made two free throws. On the next possession, Stockton grabbed a rebound from a Jordan miss and threw a full-court pass to Karl Malone for a layup with 44.5 seconds left that put Utah in front for good, 74–73. After some Bulls misses, Karl Malone made two free throws with 17 seconds left to put the Jazz up by three. On the next possession, Michael Jordan's potential game-tying three-pointer rattled out; Stockton grabbed the rebound and threw another full-court pass to Bryon Russell, who dunked with five seconds left to seal it. The 78–73 score was one of the lowest scores in NBA Finals history.

Did You Know?

• The Bulls and Jazz won a combined 133 regular season games, the second most in Finals history behind the previous year's 136.
• Until 2016, the 1997 NBA Finals was the last to feature teams that won a total of at least 130 regular season games.
• Michael Jordan joined Cliff Hagan in Game 6 in 1957, Jerry West in Game 3 in 1962, Larry Wright in Game 1 in 1979, and Dennis Johnson in Game 4 in 1985 as the only NBA Finals buzzer-beaters.
• Dennis Rodman was fined a then record $50,000 for a vulgar remark denigrating Mormons and CKE Restaurants dropped his television commercials permanently.