1991 NBA Finals

Chicago Bulls

The 1990–91 season marked the Bulls' 25th in franchise history. The team was coming off a grueling seven-game loss to the Detroit Pistons in the 1990 Eastern Conference Finals, and in the six years since Michael Jordan joined the Bulls, they were showing signs of improvement.

They managed to put it all together that season, winning a then-franchise record 61 games. Jordan won the scoring title for a fifth consecutive season, but the team was no longer a one-man show of years past. Instead, Jordan distributed the ball with regularity, thanks in large part to the triangle offense instituted by head coach Phil Jackson and assistant Tex Winter. This gave the Bulls additional offensive weapons to choose from, ranging from wingman Scottie Pippen and post players Horace Grant and Bill Cartwright to shooters such as John Paxson and B. J. Armstrong. Jordan's improved all-around play earned him his second MVP award.

In the playoffs, the Bulls lost only once in the first three rounds. They swept the New York Knicks in the first round, then eliminated the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round. Their much-awaited rematch with the Detroit Pistons in the conference finals showcased the maturity and poise that the Bulls displayed all season, as they swept the injury-riddled Pistons team. In a last show of defiance, most of the Pistons 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, though Joe Dumars, Vinnie Johnson, and John Salley did remain to shake the Bulls' hands.^[2]

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers were coming off a stunning second round loss to the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs. Even though the Lakers won 63 games that season, and Magic Johnson won league MVP and surpassed Oscar Robertson for the all-time career assist record, it was clear that the team was growing weary of Pat Riley's intense approach.

The Lakers replaced Riley with Mike Dunleavy, Sr., formerly an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks. Dunleavy then abandoned the trademark Showtime offense in favor of a more deliberate style of play, but despite the change in playbook, the Lakers still enjoyed an impressive season, winning 58 games.

In the playoffs, the Lakers swept the Houston Rockets in the first round, then eliminated Run TMC and the Golden State Warriors in the second round. Next up for the Lakers were the Portland Trail Blazers, who were coming off a trip to the NBA finals the previous year. The Lakers stunned the Blazers in Portland to open the series, and they went on to win the conference finals in six games.

Road to the Finals

Regular season series

Both teams split the two meetings, each won by the home team:

Chicago Bulls

1991 Chicago Bulls Finals roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. DOB From PG 7001100000000000000♠10 Armstrong, B.J. 7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1967–09–09 Iowa C 7001240000000000000♠24 Cartwright, Bill 7000215899999999999♠7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1957–07–30 San Francisco PF 7001540000000000000♠54 Grant, Horace 7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1965–07–04 Clemson SG 7001140000000000000♠14 Hodges, Craig 7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1960–06–27 Long Beach State SG 7000200000000000000♠2 Hopson, Dennis 7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1965–04–22 Ohio State SG 7001230000000000000♠23 Jordan, Michael 7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1963–02–17 North Carolina PF 7001210000000000000♠21 King, Stacey 7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1967–01–29 Oklahoma PF 7001530000000000000♠53 Levingston, Cliff 7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1961–01–04 Wichita State PG 7000500000000000000♠5 Paxson, John 7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1959–06–13 Notre Dame C 7001320000000000000♠32 Perdue, Will 7000213360000000000♠7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1965–08–29 Vanderbilt SF 7001330000000000000♠33 Pippen, Scottie 7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1965–09–25 Central Arkansas PF 7001420000000000000♠42 Williams, Scott 7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1968–03–21 North Carolina	Head coach Phil Jackson (North Dakota) Assistant coach(es) Johnny Bach (Fordham) Jim Cleamons (Ohio State) Tex Winter (Southern California) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Los Angeles Lakers

1991 Los Angeles Lakers Finals roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. DOB From PF 7001410000000000000♠41 Campbell, Elden 7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1968–07–23 Clemson C 7001120000000000000♠12 Divac, Vlade 7000215899999999999♠7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 243 lb (110 kg) 1968–02–03 Serbia PG 7001100000000000000♠10 Drew, Larry 7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1958–04–02 Missouri PF 7001450000000000000♠45 Green, A. C. 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1963–10–04 Oregon State PG 7001320000000000000♠32 Johnson, Magic 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1959–08–14 Michigan State PF 7001140000000000000♠14 Perkins, Sam 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1961–06–14 North Carolina SG 7000400000000000000♠4 Scott, Byron 7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1961–03–28 Arizona State SG 7001340000000000000♠34 Smith, Tony 7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1968–06–14 Marquette SG 7001200000000000000♠20 Teagle, Terry 7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1960–04–10 Baylor PF 7001300000000000000♠30 Thomas, Irving 7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1966–01–02 Florida State C 7001430000000000000♠43 Thompson, Mychal 7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 226 lb (103 kg) 1955–01–30 Minnesota SF 7001420000000000000♠42 Worthy, James 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1961–02–27 North Carolina	Head coach Mike Dunleavy, Sr. (South Carolina) Assistant coach(es) Bill Bertka (Kent State) Jim Eyen (UC Santa Barbara) Randy Pfund (Wheaton) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Game 1

Michael Jordan started dominating with 15 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists in the first quarter alone. In the second quarter, the Lakers continued to stay competitive despite Magic Johnson not attempting one field goal in the second quarter. Despite this, Magic Johnson would hit back-to-back 3 pointers in the third quarter to give the Lakers their largest lead, and also Magic Johnson's 29th career playoff triple-double. Jordan made a comeback in the fourth quarter with 13 points, but it was Scottie Pippen's two free throws that would give the Bulls a 91-89 lead. Each team ran the shot clock down but neither could hit a shot until Sam Perkins hit a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left to give the Lakers a 92-91 lead. Michael Jordan's 17-foot jumper then rattled out, and Byron Scott hit one of two free throws. The Bulls were out of time outs so all they could manage was a 50-foot heave by Pippen that went off the back of the rim.

This was also the last time any game of the NBA Finals aired in the afternoon (Eastern Time Zone), with every game of the NBA Finals since this game in 1991 airing in prime time, including ALL weekend games. It also to date is still the last time ANY of the "Big Four" professional sports in the US (Baseball, Football and Hockey the others) had a game in the Finals of their respective sports start when it was still afternoon in the Eastern (New York) Time Zone in the US. Every such event in those sports since this game has started after 6:00 PM Eastern Time.

Game 2

The biggest decision of the game was putting Scottie Pippen on Magic Johnson, while Michael Jordan guarded Vlade Divac. This proved to be effective as Scottie Pippen stopped Magic from "going off" keeping him to only 14 points and 10 assists. For the Bulls, the hero was Horace Grant who led the Bulls with 14 first half points, while Jordan only had 2 points for the first 20 minutes; however, for Jordan, this shooting drought would only prove to be temporary and Jordan would hit his next 13 shots in compensation. The Lakers were in the game even when Chicago was leading 58-51 until Byron Scott fouled Pippen, and the Bulls would make 17 of their next 20 field goals in the third quarter despite Jordan spending time on the bench with foul trouble. By the time Jordan returned, their lead was 16 and then Jordan led the Bulls to an 11-0 run to a Bulls victory. The signature moment of the series came when Jordan accelerated towards the basket, raised the ball in his right hand for a dunk, then, to avoid a potential Sam Perkins block, switched the ball to his left and banked in a layup that caused a booming standing ovation at Chicago Stadium.

Game 3

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.

Game 4

A ticket for Game 4 of the 1991 NBA Finals at the Great Western Forum.

The Lakers had a 28-27 lead in the first quarter; only the second time in the 1991 playoffs that a team led the Bulls at the end of the first quarter. This did not matter as Chicago went on a 19-9 run to start the second period and gain a 46-37 lead. While Michael Jordan scored 11 points in the second quarter, the Lakers only made 12 of their 41 shots in the second and third quarters. The Lakers faced a huge blow as Worthy and Scott left the game (and eventually the series) with ankle and shoulder injuries, respectively. With the lack of Worthy and Scott, and bad shooting (especially from Sam Perkins), the Bulls were able to take a 16-point lead in the third quarter. The Lakers refused to go down and shrank the deficit to 7 points in the fourth quarter, but it was the closest they would get, as Pippen and Jordan led the Bulls on a 19-8 run to put them one game away from their first NBA Championship.

Game 5

The Lakers were facing elimination, and the absences of James Worthy and Byron Scott were not any help to the Lakers. This would not stop Magic Johnson as Johnson had 20 assists in the game. Elden Campbell outscored Michael Jordan with 13 points in the first half. The Lakers still fought and even led 93-90 in the fourth quarter, but the Bulls went on a 9-0 run, and Paxson's 10 points in the final half of the fourth quarter helped secure the Chicago Bulls', and Michael Jordan's, first NBA title. It was the only one of the Bulls' six Finals appearances to end in four games to one. This was also the last NBA Finals game to be played in The Forum (by the time the Lakers returned to the NBA Finals, they had moved to the new Staples Center).