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by: Chris Maynard
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Today is the 30th anniversary of Game Five between the New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference second-round series of the 1996 NBA Playoffs. I have gone ahead and rewatched this game, listing my observations of what I saw with a fresh set of eyes. Here is some background about the series so far.
Game 4 Recap: The series seemed to be on the verge of heading back to Chicago tied at two games apiece before the Bulls stole the game late on a short baseline jumper from Bill Wennington. New York was down double digits early in the fourth quarter before chipping away at the foul line as the officiating was incredibly tight all night long. Patrick Ewing almost carried the Knicks to victory late, but it was ultimately Chicago's works on the offensive boards that proved the difference. Chicago has been +6, +5, +2, and +19 on the offensive boards during the first four games, leading to 60 more shot attempts than the Knicks!
5 Quick Observations from Game 4
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Today is the 30th anniversary of Game Five between the New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference second-round series of the 1996 NBA Playoffs. I have gone ahead and rewatched this game, listing my observations of what I saw with a fresh set of eyes. Here is some background about the series so far.
Game 4 Recap: The series seemed to be on the verge of heading back to Chicago tied at two games apiece before the Bulls stole the game late on a short baseline jumper from Bill Wennington. New York was down double digits early in the fourth quarter before chipping away at the foul line as the officiating was incredibly tight all night long. Patrick Ewing almost carried the Knicks to victory late, but it was ultimately Chicago's works on the offensive boards that proved the difference. Chicago has been +6, +5, +2, and +19 on the offensive boards during the first four games, leading to 60 more shot attempts than the Knicks!
5 Quick Observations from Game 4
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1. That was weird. In the fourth quarter, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen combined for the same number of points, four, that reserve Bill Wennington gave the Bulls in the last two minutes. Wennington had a dunk and short jumper set up both times by Dennis Rodman of all people to steal Game Four and give Chicago a commanding 3-1 lead. Jordan was 0-for-6 from the field in the fourth and did not score until he hit two free throws with 11 seconds left in the game. Pippen had an alley-oop layup from Jordan with just over a minute left for his only basket in the fourth quarter. Pippen played a rather passive game during which he only took 11 shots.
2. Dennis Rodman proved his worth during the two games in New York. Rodman played 51 and 41 minutes in Games Three and Four, respectively, staying on the court and avoiding technicals (he had just one early in Game Four). Ten of his 19 rebounds in Game Four came on the offensive glass, where Chicago had a 23-4 advantage against the Knicks. Chicago outrebounded New York 46-28 in Game Four.
3. Chicago's bench/role players really stepped up. With Toni Kukoc out for the second straight game with a back injury, the Bulls had to steal minutes all night long. Beside Wennington's late heroics, scoring all 4 points late in the game, Randy Brown contributed 8 points, Steve Kerr 7 points, Jud Buechler 6 points, John Salley 2 points and James Edwards 2 points. Starter Ron Harper had a big game, scoring 18. Chicago got contributions from all who played.
4. Phil Jackson should have played Wennington and Buechler more. Wennington only got 7 minutes and was not inserted in the second half until there was less than two minutes to go. He had been having a very solid series in limited minutes. Despite going 3-for-3 from the field in the second quarter, Buechler did not play in the second half. While Jackson was searching for minutes all night to rest Rodman, Jordan and Pippen, who played so much in Game Three, the Zen Master missed the opportunity to use Wennington and Buechler more.
5. Ewing did not get the support he needed. While Ewing finished with a game-high 29 points compared to Jordan's 27 points, the Knicks' big man did not have enough support. After scoring 13 points early in the game, Derek Harper finished with 15 points. Anthony Mason had only two shots all night while a frustrated John Starks took a lot of bad shots en route to an inefficient 13 points on 4-for-11 from the field. With the exception of Charles Oakley, who had 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting, the rest of the Knicks were not good enough. As a team New York should have been embarrassed by the poor job it did boxing out Chicago on the boards.
What I remember from this day of Game Five: This was a Tuesday, the day of my eighth-grade class's big trip to Springfield, Illinois. I remember we had to show up to school at like 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. to board the bus. The day was quite long but fun, as we visited Abraham Lincoln's home and the State Capitol. By the time we got home, it was like 10:30 p.m. My Mom let me skip school the next day. I caught up on sleep, only to be interrupted in the afternoon by a phone call from my Uncle John, who had some good news. My cousin Kaitlyn had just been born, with the baby and my Aunt Donna healthy and doing fine. Amazingly, Kaitlyn is turning 30 today, which we will be celebrating one of these upcoming weekends.
2. Dennis Rodman proved his worth during the two games in New York. Rodman played 51 and 41 minutes in Games Three and Four, respectively, staying on the court and avoiding technicals (he had just one early in Game Four). Ten of his 19 rebounds in Game Four came on the offensive glass, where Chicago had a 23-4 advantage against the Knicks. Chicago outrebounded New York 46-28 in Game Four.
3. Chicago's bench/role players really stepped up. With Toni Kukoc out for the second straight game with a back injury, the Bulls had to steal minutes all night long. Beside Wennington's late heroics, scoring all 4 points late in the game, Randy Brown contributed 8 points, Steve Kerr 7 points, Jud Buechler 6 points, John Salley 2 points and James Edwards 2 points. Starter Ron Harper had a big game, scoring 18. Chicago got contributions from all who played.
4. Phil Jackson should have played Wennington and Buechler more. Wennington only got 7 minutes and was not inserted in the second half until there was less than two minutes to go. He had been having a very solid series in limited minutes. Despite going 3-for-3 from the field in the second quarter, Buechler did not play in the second half. While Jackson was searching for minutes all night to rest Rodman, Jordan and Pippen, who played so much in Game Three, the Zen Master missed the opportunity to use Wennington and Buechler more.
5. Ewing did not get the support he needed. While Ewing finished with a game-high 29 points compared to Jordan's 27 points, the Knicks' big man did not have enough support. After scoring 13 points early in the game, Derek Harper finished with 15 points. Anthony Mason had only two shots all night while a frustrated John Starks took a lot of bad shots en route to an inefficient 13 points on 4-for-11 from the field. With the exception of Charles Oakley, who had 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting, the rest of the Knicks were not good enough. As a team New York should have been embarrassed by the poor job it did boxing out Chicago on the boards.
What I remember from this day of Game Five: This was a Tuesday, the day of my eighth-grade class's big trip to Springfield, Illinois. I remember we had to show up to school at like 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. to board the bus. The day was quite long but fun, as we visited Abraham Lincoln's home and the State Capitol. By the time we got home, it was like 10:30 p.m. My Mom let me skip school the next day. I caught up on sleep, only to be interrupted in the afternoon by a phone call from my Uncle John, who had some good news. My cousin Kaitlyn had just been born, with the baby and my Aunt Donna healthy and doing fine. Amazingly, Kaitlyn is turning 30 today, which we will be celebrating one of these upcoming weekends.
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What I remember from Game Five: We were on the road back from our trip. With no televisions on the charter bus, one of my buddies named Dan got the game on his Walkman radio. He turned it up, and we listened the best we could while driving home. I remember Dan informing us that the Bulls had won and ended the series, which made me extremely happy. Jordan would famously wave goodbye to Spike Lee as the Bulls closed out the series.
Here is Game Five between the Knicks and Bulls.
Make the jump to see the starting lineups and read my observations as I watch this game for the first time in years.
Starting Lineups: New York Knicks vs. Chicago Bulls
TNT Commentators: Verne Lundquist on commentary, Danny Ainge on color
- Point Guard: John Starks vs. Ron Harper
- Shooting Guard: Derek Harper vs. Michael Jordan
- Small Forward: Anthony Mason vs. Scottie Pippen
- Power Forward: Charles Oakley vs. Dennis Rodman
- Center: Patrick Ewing vs. Luc Longley
- Head Coach: Jeff Van Gundy vs. Phil Jackson
TNT Commentators: Verne Lundquist on commentary, Danny Ainge on color
First Quarter, Under-9 Timeout Observations
New York leads 8-5 with 8:47 remaining as Chicago takes a timeout. New York has had four of its five starters score, with John Starks, Anthony Mason, Charles Oakley and Patrick Ewing all hitting jumpers. Chicago's five points have come off three offensive rebounds so far. Rodman had a putback of one miss and Jordan hit a fadeaway following another offensive board. Jordan is 1/3 from the field, Chicago is 2/5. New York is 4/6 to start the game.
First Quarter, Under-3 Timeout Observations
New York leads 14-11 with 2:44 remaining. The Bulls are off to another poor shooting start and are turning the ball over left and right. Ron Harper had two layups off nice assists from Jordan and Rodman, who just had a put back make off his own miss. Besides that, Chicago's offense is miserable, shooting just 27% from the field. Jordan is 1/6 from the field and missed a technical free throw after Ewing was called for a charge. New York is shooting 50% but only up three. Derek Harper got a lucky bounce to drop on a jumper and Mason scored again. He has 4 points after scoring just 1 point in Game Four. Chicago picked up two charge fouls on the Knicks, which led to Ewing getting a technical. New York has 4 points off Chicago turnovers, including a Willie Anderson dunk. It feels like the Knicks should be up more. Chicago's Game Four hero Bill Wennington is the first Bull off the bench.
End of First Quarter Observations
The game is tied at 18 at the end of the first quarter. The Knicks continue to shoot themselves in the foot. New York was up 18-13 but had two horrible turnovers. Pippen missed a three, New York got the rebound, but threw the ball away. Jordan responded with a fadeaway and then forced a travel on Mason. Jud Buechler hit a three right at the end of the quarter to tie the game up. That was an ugly quarter. New York has 7 turnovers, Chicago has 5. New York was shooting 53%, the Bulls 30% late in the first quarter, but the game is tied. That is not a good sign for New York. Pippen continues to struggle with his shot, missing three three-point field goal attempts. Rodman has been excellent, with 6 rebounds and at least 3 assists. New York has 0 offensive rebounds while Chicago has 6, leading to seven more shot attempts (25 to 18).
Second Quarter, Under-9 Timeout Observations
New York leads 24-22 with 8:32 remaining. Jordan is starting to heat up, now 5/11 from the field after a 1/5 start. Jordan had a nice fadeaway to start the quarter and then a jumper off a Randy Brown offensive rebound. New York finally got an offensive rebound off a missed three by Hubert Davis, who responded by hitting a two on the second-chance opportunity. Ewing had a nice baseline layup on Luc Longley, and Willie Anderson hit a corner jumper. All in all, it has been a ragged first half so far for both teams.
Second Quarter, Under-7 Timeout Observations
New York leads 30-24 with 6:16 remaining. Chicago's offense has been brutal from the get go. The Bulls only have two free throws from Steve Kerr during this stretch while New York gets a nice spinning layup from Hubert Davis and jumper in the lane from Willie Anderson. This has been a real snoozer. New York had a chance to go up nine but Charlie Ward rushed a bad three. Chicago leads 20-16 on the glass.
Second Quarter, Under-3 Timeout Observations
New York leads 34-32 with 2:51 remaining. Chicago is starting to find some offensive rhythm. Steve Kerr hit a nice jumper out of the Triangle, Jordan hit a ridiculous fadeaway to the baseline, and Rodman scored on a layup off a great post feed from Ron Harper. Rodman has 6 rebounds and 7 points on 3/7 from the field, but just picked up his third foul. Longley also has 3 fouls. Anthony Mason had two buckets during this stretch and now has 10 points on 5/7 from the field. New York has a 10-9 advantage with bench points, with Willie Anderson having 6 points off the pine. Anderson should have more as he has missed some wide-open corner jumpers.
Second Quarter, Under-1 Timeout Observations
Chicago leads 39-36 with 57.0 seconds remaining as New York takes a 20-second timeout. After sleepwalking through the first half, the Bulls have come alive. After missing his first five shots, Pippen hit a nice banker off a pump fake and then canned a three. Chicago's Ron Harper just got a defensive rebound and fed a baseball pass to Jordan for a dunk, leading to the timeout. Like the first quarter, Chicago is finishing the second quarter with a flurry. New York has to be very disappointed as the Bulls have not played well. Unfortunately, New York has kind of just went along with the flow of this game, not having enough urgency.
Second Quarter, Under-1 Timeout Observations, Part II
Chicago leads 42-36 with 3.7 seconds remaining as the Bulls take a 20-second timeout. New York has really imploded here late. Pippen comes with a double team on Mason, who had Buechler in the post, and Mason turns it over. Chicago is on a 12-2 run in the last 2:55. Jordan drew a foul on Mason while shooting a three as Chicago sought a 2-for-1, and Jordan canned all three free throws. New York has 11 turnovers, Chicago 8.
Halftime Observations
Chicago leads 42-36 at the break. Jordan has 11 points in the second quarter and 17 for the game. The Bulls did not even play well in the first half and are up 6. New York does not look like a desperate team trying to keep its season alive. All in all, that was a pretty ugly half, with the exception of late spurts by the Bulls at the end of both quarters.
Third-Quarter, Under-8 Timeout Observations
Chicago leads 54-43 with 7:02 remaining. The Bulls have come out in the second half looking to end the series. Jordan hit a curling jumper to begin the half and just canned a pull up over Derek Harper, who is having a miserable night. Harper is 1/6 from the field, threw a ball away, had one stolen, had a shot blocked and got a technical during this stretch. His backcourt mate, Starks, hasn't taken a shot since the first quarter, when he went 1/5, after sitting the entire second quarter. Scottie Pippen has found his stroke, hitting a curling jumper in the lane and a three. He has hit his four last shots since the first half. Ron Harper hit a tough banker over the outstretched hands of Patrick Ewing. Fouls are piling up. Chicago has five already. Ewing is the only Knick doing anything as he has five points during this stretch.
Third Quarter, Under-4 Timeout Observations
Chicago leads 61-51 with 3:22 remaining. The Bulls' offense is really clicking this quarter, with the shooting on point. Jordan canned a jumper in the lane and is now 10/19 from the field. Bill Wennington hit a baseline turnaround and Buechler had a nice lefty layup. Anthony Mason is keeping the Knicks alive. He has 14 points on 6/8 from the field. New York has also taken 13 free throws this quarter, compared to just two for the Bulls. The Knicks are lacking the overall fire necessary to win this game. Starks took a bad three, and the Knicks are 0/8 from deep. Ewing dribbled a ball out of bounds off his foot. New York seems to always shoot itself in the foot when opportunities are there to cut the Bulls' lead. New York has 15 turnovers, the Bulls 8.
End of Third Quarter Observations
Chicago leads 68-59 at the end of the third. New York finally got something out of its backcourt, with Derek Harper rattling home a corner jumper and Starks hitting a three, as well as making two free throws. Chicago had two incredible put backs. Wennington had an awesome reverse putback of a missed lefty layup by Buechler while Pippen followed with a nice banker off a missed Wennington three. Chicago has a 15-10 advantage in bench points and a 11-4 advantage in offensive rebounding. New York is three turnovers away from its third straight game with 20 turnovers.
Fourth Quarter, Under-10 Timeout Observations
Chicago leads 72-62 with 9:35 remaining. John Salley just drew a charge on Patrick Ewing, sending us to the break. Rodman had a beautiful layup on a dribble drive from the free throw line. He has 9 points and 9 rebounds, though he picked up a 5th foul and is on the bench. Randy Brown hit a jumper and had a nice rebound as Chicago continues to get strong play from its bench. Charlie Ward hit one three but missed another as New York fails to cut into the Chicago lead.
Fourth Quarter, Under-8 Timeout Observations
Chicago leads 74-67 with 7:35 remaining as Pippen hustles down an offensive rebound and calls a timeout. That was a great play by Pippen, who sneaked in from the baseline between several Knicks to grab an offensive board of a Longley miss. Pippen was wincing as he walked to the bench as his back is bothering him as well. Speaking of injuries, Derek Harper is on the bench with his stinger from Game Four flaring up. Charlie Ward has given New York nice minutes, driving and hitting Oakley for a corner jumper that cut the lead to seven. Oakley also had a nice dish to Ewing for an and-one. Jordan hit a ridiculous jumper off a crossover over Willie Anderson, though MJ is just one-for-his last four. New York is at 19 turnovers for the game, Chicago at 9, with just 1 for the half.
Fourth Quarter, Under-7 Timeout Observations
Chicago leads 74-67 with 6:20 remaining as the Knicks take a timeout. Chicago's offense has grinded to a halt a bit with Jordan missing a jumper. He is 1/5 from the field this quarter. Jordan also got called for a moving screen while Randy Brown had a turnover. New York has been unable to cut into the deficit though as Ewing missed a short jumper on the baseline over Longley.
Fourth Quarter, Under-5 Timeout Observations
Chicago leads 83-70 with 4:11 remaining as New York takes a timeout. Well, that seems to be the series. Starks just missed a jumper which Pippen rebounded. Pippen hit Rodman ahead and the Worm found Luc Longley for a two-handed dunk. New York had a chance to cut the game to 74-69 but Willie Anderson missed a layup at the rim, Jordan followed with a scooping layup, Ewing split two free throws, and Ron Harper canned a three. All series long Chicago has done the little things when it mattered most.
Fourth Quarter, Under-4 Timeout Observations
Chicago leads 86-74 with 3:02 remaining as Chicago takes a timeout with Pippen diving for a loose ball. Ewing hit a corner jumper to silence the United Center crowd briefly before Jordan buried a three from the top of the key and waved goodbye to Spike Lee. Derek Harper hit a corner jumper to keep the Knicks alive.
Fourth Quarter, Under-2 Timeout Observations
Chicago leads 92-78 with 1:44 remaining. Dennis Rodman just had a driving layup to put this game away, which has mostly been free throws during this stretch.
Final Score: Chicago Bulls 94, New York Knicks 81.
Rodman gets ejected late for a weak technical foul after a foul on Oakley. The Bulls don't play great offensively but finish off the Knicks in five games. As Scottie Pippen says in the postgame interview, "It was a tough series" and "We haven't played up to our potential." Here is the box score.
Five Stars of the Game
1. Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls. Jordan finishes with 35 points and 5 assists. Jordan didn't have his best shooting night, going 13-for-29 but made some big baskets when it mattered.
2. Scottie Pippen, Chicago Bulls: After missing his first five shots, Pippen hit 5 of his next 7, getting Chicago's offense going late in the second quarter and early in the third quarter. Dealing with a bad back, Pippen finishes with 15 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 5 steals.
3. Dennis Rodman, Chicago Bulls. Rodman caps off a wonderful series with 11 points on 5-for-9 from the field, 12 rebounds and 3 assists. Rodman was looking to score when the opportunities were there, showing that he was a better offensive player than people remembered when he applied himself.
4. Ron Harper, Chicago Bulls. Harper finished another great series, holding John Starks to 10 points on 3-for-10 from the field while scoring 12 points, grabbing 5 boards, dishing out 5 assists and having 2 steals.
5. Anthony Mason, New York Knicks. In his final game with New York, Mason had 16 points on 6-for-8 from the field. He could have used more touches.
2. Scottie Pippen, Chicago Bulls: After missing his first five shots, Pippen hit 5 of his next 7, getting Chicago's offense going late in the second quarter and early in the third quarter. Dealing with a bad back, Pippen finishes with 15 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 5 steals.
3. Dennis Rodman, Chicago Bulls. Rodman caps off a wonderful series with 11 points on 5-for-9 from the field, 12 rebounds and 3 assists. Rodman was looking to score when the opportunities were there, showing that he was a better offensive player than people remembered when he applied himself.
4. Ron Harper, Chicago Bulls. Harper finished another great series, holding John Starks to 10 points on 3-for-10 from the field while scoring 12 points, grabbing 5 boards, dishing out 5 assists and having 2 steals.
5. Anthony Mason, New York Knicks. In his final game with New York, Mason had 16 points on 6-for-8 from the field. He could have used more touches.
Duds of the Game
New York backcourt. Starks (10 points) and Derek Harper (6) points get outscored 47-16 by Jordan and Ron Harper. Like Mason, Derek Harper will not play another game for the Knicks.
Highlights of Game Five
Here are the Game Five highlights.
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