1997 NBA playoffs

Postseason tournament August 2023 NBA playoffs 1997NBAPlayoffs.png 1997 1996–97 April 24–June 13, 1997 16 Chicago Bulls 5 Utah Jazz Houston Rockets Miami Heat Scoring leader(s) Michael Jordan (Bulls) 31.1 PPG MVP Michael Jordan (Bulls) 1996 1998 The 1997 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1996–97 season. The tournament concluded with the defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls defeating the Western Conference champion Utah Jazz 4 games to 2. This was the Bulls' second straight title, and fifth overall (They completed the 3-peat by beating Utah again in 1998). Michael Jordan was named NBA Finals MVP for the fifth time. Overview The Minnesota Timberwolves made their playoff debut after failing to win more than 30 games in their first 7 seasons. It was also the first of 7 straight years in which they made the playoffs only to lose in the first round. They were the last of the 1988/89 expansion four to make their playoff debut. The Phoenix Suns made the playoffs despite starting the season with 13 straight losses. Their 0–13 start is an NBA record for the most losses to start a season by a team that went on to make the postseason.2023-04-15 What to know entering the NBA playoffs, which start Saturday https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-notes-925f45fa0883ec9b82e97aa92b968bd6 2024-03-29 AP News en All four 1988/89 expansion teams (Minnesota, Miami, Orlando and Charlotte) made the playoffs for the first time. This would happen again in 2001. Both eighth seeds in the 1997 Playoffs, the Washington Bullets and the Los Angeles Clippers, broke playoff droughts (Bullets eight years, Clippers only just three) with this season's playoff appearances. (The Bullets' last playoff appearance was in 1988; the Clippers in 1993). Unfortunately for both teams, it would be a long time before they made the playoffs again; the renamed Wizards made their return in 2005; the Clippers in 2006). The Bullets qualified by defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in a regular season finale that saw both teams fighting for the #8 seed.Bullets Beat Cavs, Earn Playoff Berth https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WYAzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2esDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5384,5460039 15 June 2011 Eugene Register-Guard 21 April 1997 This season was the first, and to date only, season since the ABA–NBA merger that none of the four former ABA teams (the San Antonio Spurs, the Denver Nuggets, the Indiana Pacers, and the New Jersey Nets) qualified for the playoffs. It was also one of only four times that the Spurs failed to make the playoffs since their admission to the NBA. The Spurs would not miss the playoffs again until 2020. The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena hosted its final NBA playoff game in Game 3 of the Clippers–Jazz series. When the Clippers returned to the playoffs in 2006, they had moved to the Staples Center (Now Crypto.com Arena), their home since the 1999–2000 season. The Sports Arena remained active until its closure and demolition in 2016; the site is now Banc of California Stadium, home to MLS' Los Angeles FC. Game 3 of the Bulls–Bullets series was the last playoff game ever played at the USAir Arena. They moved into a new arena in December of the next season. It was also the final game for the Washington Bullets. They changed their team name to the Wizards on May 15, making it the last time the team was officially named the "Bullets". With their first round victory over the Orlando Magic, the Miami Heat won a playoff series for the first time in franchise history. Game 4 of the Bulls–Hawks series was the last game ever played at the Omni Coliseum. The Hawks' home playoff games for 1998 and 1999 were played at the Georgia Dome while the Omni was demolished to make way for what is now State Farm Arena, which would open in September 1999. The Miami Heat became the sixth team in NBA History to come back from a 3–1 series deficit with their conference semifinals win over the New York Knicks. Ironically, their run to the Eastern Conference Finals marked the farthest they had reached in the playoffs up to that point; they did not return until 2005, and won the NBA Finals in 2006. They would not beat the Knicks again in a playoff series until 2012. This was the first Western Conference title for the Jazz in their 23–year history, with their series win against the Houston Rockets. After losing in the Western Conference Finals to the Jazz, the Rockets would not win a playoff series until 2009 and would not return to the Conference Finals until 2015. Bracket First Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals NBA Finals Eastern Conference Western Conference E1 Chicago* 3 E8 Washington 0 E4 Atlanta 3 E5 Detroit 2 E3 New York 3 E6 Charlotte 0 E2 Miami* 3 E7 Orlando 2 W1 Utah* 3 W8 LA Clippers 0 W4 LA Lakers 3 W5 Portland 1 W3 Houston 3 W6 Minnesota 0 W2 Seattle* 3 W7 Phoenix 2 E1 Chicago* 4 E4 Atlanta 1 E3 New York 3 E2 Miami* 4 W1 Utah* 4 W4 LA Lakers 1 W3 Houston 4 W2 Seattle* 3 E1 Chicago* 4 E2 Miami* 1 W1 Utah* 4 W3 Houston 2 E1 Chicago* 4 W1 Utah* 2* Division winner Bold Series winner Italic Team with home-court advantage Playoff qualifying Western Conference Best record in conference The Utah Jazz clinched the best record in the Western Conference, and had home court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs. Clinched a playoff berth The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the West: Utah Jazz (64–18, clinched Midwest division) Seattle SuperSonics (57–25, clinched Pacific division) Houston Rockets (57–25) Los Angeles Lakers (56–26) Portland Trail Blazers (49–33) Minnesota Timberwolves (40–42) Phoenix Suns (40–42) Los Angeles Clippers (36–46) Eastern Conference Best record in NBA The Chicago Bulls clinched the best record in the NBA, and earned home court advantage throughout the entire playoffs. Clinched a playoff berth The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the East: Chicago Bulls (69–13, clinched Central division) Miami Heat (61–21, clinched Atlantic division) New York Knicks (57–25) Atlanta Hawks (56–26) Detroit Pistons (54–28) Charlotte Hornets (54–28) Orlando Magic (45–37) Washington Bullets (44–38) Memorable moments The 1997 NBA Playoffs featured numerous clutch shots and other moments. April 30: Chicago Bulls vs. Washington Bullets, Game 3 Scottie Pippen made the series-winning dunk with 7.4 seconds left as the Bulls swept the Bullets 96–95 and advanced.Roberts Selena Bulls Prevail, but Bullets Go Out Fighti https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/01/sports/bulls-prevail-but-bullets-go-out-fighting.html 20 July 2010 New York Times 1 May 1997 May 1: Seattle SuperSonics vs. Phoenix Suns, Game 4 With his team trailing 107–104 with 4.3 seconds left, Phoenix guard Rex Chapman took the inbounds pass, launched a 3-point shot while falling out of bounds, and made the shot to tie the game. The Sonics would however win in OT 122–115. May 6: Chicago Bulls vs. Atlanta Hawks, Game 1 Scottie Pippen broke a 97–97 tie by making a 3-point shot with 43.9 seconds left. Neither team would score after that, and the Bulls beat Atlanta 100–97. May 14: New York Knicks vs. Miami Heat, Game 5 A courtside brawl erupted when Heat forward P.J. Brown body-slammed Knicks guard Charlie Ward causing both teams' benches to clear. For the Knicks, Patrick Ewing, John Starks, Allan Houston and Larry Johnson left the bench. All of the players involved were suspended. The Knicks, under-manned by the suspensions, lost the series in 7 games to start the Heat-Knicks rivalry. This was the first time in history where a New York-based major league sports team lost a playoff series after securing a 3–1 series lead; this would later be repeated when the New York Yankees blew a 3–0 series lead against the Boston Red Sox in 2004 and when the New York Rangers blew a 3–1 series lead against the Washington Capitals in 2009. May 25: Utah Jazz vs. Houston Rockets, Game 4 Eddie Johnson made a 3 as time expired to tie the Western Conference Finals at 2. May 29: Utah Jazz vs. Houston Rockets, Game 6 John Stockton scored 25 points and Karl Malone scored 24. John Stockton capped off a spectacular 4th quarter performance by hitting a 3 as time expired to send Utah to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. June 1: Chicago Bulls vs. Utah Jazz, Game 1 With the game tied at 82 with 9.2 seconds left, Jazz forward Karl Malone missed two crucial free throws. Chicago regained possession and Michael Jordan hit a jumper as time expired for the Bulls to win 84–82. June 13: Chicago Bulls vs. Utah Jazz, Game 6 With most NBC viewers thinking Jordan would take the last shot with the game tied at 86, he instead passed to Steve Kerr, who made a 17-foot shot with 5 seconds left. On the next play, Scottie Pippen stole Bryon Russell's inbound pass and rolled the ball to Toni Kukoč, who clinched the title with a dunk. Notes For the first time since 1992, a #5 seed did not beat their #4 seeded opponent in the first round. This would be the last postseason until 2004 to feature teams with sub .500 records. Until 2020, this is the most recent postseason where a Western Conference team (Minnesota, Phoenix, and the Los Angeles Clippers) qualified with a losing record. First round Eastern Conference first round (1) Chicago Bulls vs. (8) Washington Bullets #eee April 25 8:00 PM Boxscore Washington Bullets 86 Chicago Bulls 98 20–24 23–23 13–17 30–34 Juwan Howard 21 Rod Strickland 10 Rod Strickland 8 Michael Jordan 29 Scottie Pippen 10 Michael Jordan 8 United Center, Chicago, Illinois 24,122 Ted Bernhardt, Joe Forte, Steve Javie TNT Chicago leads series, 1–0 April 27 5:30 PM Boxscore Washington Bullets 104 Chicago Bulls 109 30–29 35–29 15–28 24–23 Calbert Cheaney 26 Chris Webber 12 Rod Strickland 8 Michael Jordan 55 Scottie Pippen 9 Luc Longley 6 United Center, Chicago, Illinois 24,267 Hugh Evans, Nolan Fine, Don Vaden NBC Chicago leads series, 2–0 Michael Jordan scores 20 of the Bulls' 23 points in the fourth quarter #eee April 30 8:00 PM Boxscore Chicago Bulls 96 Washington Bullets 95 22–23 26–23 22–24 26–25 Michael Jordan 28 Dennis Rodman 10 Michael Jordan 6 Rod Strickland 24 Chris Webber 8 Rod Strickland 9 US Airways Arena, Landover, Maryland 18,756 Dick Bavetta, David Jones, Ken Mauer TNT Chicago wins series, 3–0 Scottie Pippen stuffs in the series winning dunk with 7.0 seconds left +Regular-season seriesChicago won 2–1 in the regular-season series#fff January 14, 1997 1997 01140 CHI Washington Bullets 107 Chicago Bulls 108 United Center, Chicago, Illinois February 21, 1997 1997 02210 WSB Chicago Bulls 103 Washington Bullets 99 USAir Arena, Landover, Maryland #fff April 3, 1997 1997 04030 WSB Chicago Bulls 102 Washington Bullets 110 USAir Arena, Landover, Maryland This was the first playoff meeting between the Bulls and the Bullets/Wizards franchise.https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=CHI&opp_id=WAS&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Chicago Bulls versus Washington Wizards (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com June 3, 2015 (2) Miami Heat vs. (7) Orlando Magic #eee April 24 8:00 PM Boxscore Orlando Magic 64 Miami Heat 99 10–35 20–14 17–24 17–26 Derek Strong 15 Nick Anderson 12 Penny Hardaway 3 Voshon Lenard 24 P. J. Brown 12 Tim Hardaway 11 Miami Arena, Miami, Florida 15,200 Jim Clark, Joe Crawford, Eddie F. Rush TNT Miami leads series, 1–0 April 27 12:30 PM Boxscore Orlando Magic 87 Miami Heat 104 18–20 13–36 27–24 29–24 Penny Hardaway 26 Derek Strong 16 Brian Shaw 4 Tim Hardaway 20 Alonzo Mourning 9 Tim Hardaway 11 Miami Arena, Miami, Florida 15,200 Hue Hollins, Ken Mauer, Jack Nies NBC Miami leads series, 2–0 #eee April 29 7:00 PM Boxscore Miami Heat 75 Orlando Magic 88 29–13 13–29 15–23 18–23 Alonzo Mourning 17 Alonzo Mourning 17 Tim Hardaway 8 Penny Hardaway 42 Penny Hardaway 8 Darrell Armstrong 8 Orlando Arena, Orlando, Florida 17,248 Joe DeRosa, Luis Grillo, Steve Javie TBS Miami leads series, 2–1 May 1 8:00 PM Boxscore Miami Heat 91 Orlando Magic 99 25–27 14–26 25–20 27–26 Alonzo Mourning 23 Mourning, Brown 13 each Tim Hardaway 8 Penny Hardaway 41 Darrell Armstrong 9 Penny Hardaway 4 Orlando Arena, Orlando, Florida 16,555 Ted Bernhardt, Ron Garretson, Ed T. Rush TNT Series tied, 2–2 #eee May 4 12:30 PM Boxscore Orlando Magic 83 Miami Heat 91 20–22 14–19 19–28 30–22 Penny Hardaway 33 Derek Strong 12 Penny Hardaway 6 Alonzo Mourning 22 P. J. Brown 14 Tim Hardaway 11 Miami Arena, Miami, Florida 15,200 Dick Bavetta, Joe Forte, Bill Oakes NBC Miami wins series, 3–2 +Regular-season seriesTied 2–2 in the regular-season series#fff December 26, 1996 1996 12260 MIA Orlando Magic 76 Miami Heat 96 Miami Arena, Miami January 19, 1997 1997 01190 MIA Orlando Magic 99 Miami Heat 87 Miami Arena, Miami #fff February 26, 1997 1997 02260 ORL Miami Heat 86 Orlando Magic 98 Orlando Arena, Orlando, Florida April 19, 1997 1997 04190 ORL Miami Heat 102 Orlando Magic 88 Orlando Arena, Orlando, Florida This was the first playoff meeting between the Heat and the Magic as well as the first postseason meeting between two Florida-based professional sports teams.https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=MIA&opp_id=ORL&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Miami Heat versus Orlando Magic (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com June 3, 2015 (3) New York Knicks vs. (6) Charlotte Hornets #eee April 24 7:00 PM Boxscore Charlotte Hornets 99 New York Knicks 109 23–30 23–29 29–16 24–34 Vlade Divac 27 Anthony Mason 13 Anthony Mason 5 Allan Houston 25 Patrick Ewing 9 Chris Childs 8 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 19,763 Hugh Evans, Nolan Fine, Don Vaden TBS New York leads series, 1–0 April 26 1:00 PM Boxscore Charlotte Hornets 93 New York Knicks 100 24–24 23–24 34–31 12–21 Glen Rice 39 Mason, Divac 12 each four players 2 each Patrick Ewing 30 Charles Oakley 10 Chris Childs 9 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 19,763 Jim Clark, Joe Crawford, Eddie F. Rush NBC New York leads series, 2–0 #eee April 28 8:00 PM Boxscore New York Knicks 104 Charlotte Hornets 95 38–31 20–18 21–24 25–22 Larry Johnson 22 Patrick Ewing 11 Johnson, Childs 5 each Glen Rice 22 Anthony Mason 11 Glen Rice 9 Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina 24,042 Dan Crawford, Joe Forte, David Jones TNT New York wins series, 3–0 +Regular-season seriesCharlotte won 3–1 in the regular-season series#fff November 3, 1996 1996 11030 NYK Charlotte Hornets 86 New York Knicks 113 Madison Square Garden, New York City November 20, 1996 1996 11200 CHH New York Knicks 86 Charlotte Hornets 93 Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina #fff January 24, 1997 1997 01240 CHH New York Knicks 104 Charlotte Hornets 113 Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina February 2, 1997 1997 02020 NYK Charlotte Hornets 99 New York Knicks 93 Madison Square Garden, New York City This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Knicks winning the first meeting. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=CHA&opp_id=NYK&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Charlotte Hornets versus New York Knicks (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com June 3, 2015New York leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series#fff 1993 Charlotte Hornets 1 New York Knicks 4 1993 Eastern Conference Semifinals (4) Atlanta Hawks vs. (5) Detroit Pistons #eee April 25 7:00 PM Boxscore Detroit Pistons 75 Atlanta Hawks 89 18–20 25–19 15–22 17–28 Grant Hill 20 Grant Hill 14 Grant Hill 7 Dikembe Mutombo 26 Dikembe Mutombo 15 Christian Laettner 4 Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia 15,795 Luis Grillo, Hue Hollins, Jack Nies TBS Atlanta leads series, 1–0 April 27 8:00 PM Boxscore Detroit Pistons 93 Atlanta Hawks 80 26–20 19–20 19–25 29–15 Grant Hill 25 Otis Thorpe 8 Grant Hill 3 Steve Smith 22 Mookie Blaylock 9 Mookie Blaylock 7 Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia 16,378 Joe DeRosa, Steve Javie, Ron Olesiak TNT Series tied, 1–1 #eee April 29 8:00 PM Boxscore Atlanta Hawks 91 Detroit Pistons 99 20–24 20–32 26–16 25–27 Christian Laettner 25 Dikembe Mutombo 21 Mookie Blaylock 10 Lindsey Hunter 26 Terry Mills 7 Grant Hill 8 The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan 20,059 Mike Callahan, Bill Oakes, Bennett Salvatore TNT Detroit leads series, 2–1 May 2 8:00 PM Boxscore Atlanta Hawks 94 Detroit Pistons 82 22–23 24–15 27–19 21–25 Steve Smith 28 Mutombo, Laettner 12 each Mookie Blaylock 9 Grant Hill 28 Terry Mills 10 three players 3 each The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan 21,454 Dick Bavetta, Jim Clark, Bob Delaney TNT Series tied, 2–2 #eee May 4 Boxscore Detroit Pistons 79 Atlanta Hawks 84 25–22 17–20 20–12 17–30 Grant Hill 21 Lindsey Hunter 9 Grant Hill 6 Christian Laettner 23 Mutombo, Blaylock 9 each Blaylock, Corbin 5 each Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia 16,378 Dan Crawford, Ed T. Rush, Don Vaden NBC Atlanta wins series, 3–2 +Regular-season seriesDetroit won 3–1 in the regular-season series#fff November 2, 1996 1996 11020 ATL Detroit Pistons 90 Atlanta Hawks 78 The Omni, Atlanta December 4, 1996 1996 12040 DET Atlanta Hawks 90 Detroit Pistons 100 The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan #fff March 2, 1997 1997 03020 DET Atlanta Hawks 75 Detroit Pistons 82 The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan April 4, 1997 1997 04040 ATL Detroit Pistons 89 Atlanta Hawks 103 The Omni, Atlanta This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning three series apiece. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=ATL&opp_id=DET&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Detroit Pistons (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com June 3, 2015Tied 3–3 in all-time playoff series#fff 1956 Fort Wayne Pistons 3 St. Louis Hawks 2 1956 Western Division Finals #fff 1958 Detroit Pistons 1 St. Louis Hawks 4 1958 Western Division Finals #fff 1963 Detroit Pistons 1 St. Louis Hawks 3 1963 Western Division Semifinals #fff 1986 Atlanta Hawks 3 Detroit Pistons 1 1986 Eastern Conference First Round #fff 1987 Atlanta Hawks 1 Detroit Pistons 4 1987 Eastern Conference Semifinals #fff 1991 Atlanta Hawks 2 Detroit Pistons 3 1991 Eastern Conference First Round Western Conference first round (1) Utah Jazz vs. (8) Los Angeles Clippers #eee April 24 10:30 PM Boxscore Los Angeles Clippers 86 Utah Jazz 106 24–31 24–23 20–26 18–26 Loy Vaught 20 Loy Vaught 11 three players 3 each Karl Malone 27 Karl Malone 10 John Stockton 17 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 19,911 Dan Crawford, Ron Garretson, Ed Middleton TNT Utah leads series, 1–0 April 26 8:00 PM Boxscore Los Angeles Clippers 99 Utah Jazz 105 22–27 23–34 32–23 22–21 Lorenzen Wright 17 Loy Vaught 9 Darrick Martin 6 Karl Malone 39 Karl Malone 11 Stockton, Hornacek 4 each Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 19,911 Terry Durham, Bill Oakes, Bennett Salvatore TNT Utah leads series, 2–0 #eee April 28 10:30 PM Boxscore Utah Jazz 104 Los Angeles Clippers 92 32–24 26–18 22–21 24–29 Karl Malone 26 Karl Malone 13 John Stockton 13 Loy Vaught 20 Vaught, Wright 9 each Darrick Martin 5 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California 11,747 Bob Delaney, Tommy Nunez Sr., Ed T. Rush TNT Utah wins series, 3–0 +Regular-season seriesUtah won 3–1 in the regular-season series#fff November 2, 1996 1996 11020 LAC Utah Jazz 95 Los Angeles Clippers 90 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles November 29, 1996 1996 11290 UTA Los Angeles Clippers 94 Utah Jazz 111 Delta Center, Salt Lake City #fff December 30, 1996 1996 12300 LAC Utah Jazz 101 Los Angeles Clippers 115 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles March 22, 1997 1997 03220 UTA Los Angeles Clippers 94 Utah Jazz 107 Delta Center, Salt Lake City This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Jazz winning the first meeting. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=LAC&opp_id=UTA&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Clippers versus Utah Jazz (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com June 3, 2015Utah leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series#fff 1992 Los Angeles Clippers 2 Utah Jazz 3 1992 Western Conference First Round (2) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (7) Phoenix Suns #eee April 25 9:30 PM Boxscore Phoenix Suns 106 Seattle SuperSonics 101 20–23 31–24 26–32 29–22 Rex Chapman 42 Kevin Johnson 7 Jason Kidd 10 Gary Payton 23 Shawn Kemp 15 Gary Payton 9 KeyArena, Seattle, Washington 17,072 Bob Delaney, Ed T. Rush, Tom Washington TBS Phoenix leads series, 1–0 April 27 10:30 PM Boxscore Phoenix Suns 78 Seattle SuperSonics 122 18–35 19–21 26–29 15–37 Rex Chapman 18 Wesley Person 10 Jason Kidd 8 Payton, Kemp 23 each Shawn Kemp 15 Gary Payton 6 KeyArena, Seattle, Washington 17,072 Dick Bavetta, Joe Borgia, Bernie Fryer TNT Series tied, 1–1 #eee April 29 10:30 PM Boxscore Seattle SuperSonics 103 Phoenix Suns 110 40–30 22–27 19–25 22–28 Gary Payton 34 Shawn Kemp 11 Gary Payton 6 Wesley Person 29 Wesley Person 10 Jason Kidd 10 America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona 19,023 Joe Crawford, Eddie F. Rush, Greg Willard TNT Phoenix leads series, 2–1 May 1 10:30 PM Boxscore Seattle SuperSonics 122 Phoenix Suns 115 36–26 25–23 17–27 29–31 15–8 Gary Payton 28 Shawn Kemp 20 Gary Payton 14 Johnson, Kidd 23 each Danny Manning 10 Jason Kidd 14 America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona 19,023 Dan Crawford, Joe Forte, Tommy Nunez Sr. TNT Series tied, 2–2 #eee May 3 3:30 PM Boxscore Phoenix Suns 92 Seattle SuperSonics 116 23–33 18–30 32–18 19–35 Wesley Person 26 Person, Kidd 8 each Jason Kidd 7 Detlef Schrempf 24 Shawn Kemp 11 Gary Payton 10 KeyArena, Seattle, Washington 17,072 Hugh Evans, Hue Hollins, Jack Nies NBC Seattle wins series, 3–2 +Regular-season seriesTied 2–2 in the regular-season series#fff November 7, 1996 1996 11070 PHO Seattle SuperSonics 103 Phoenix Suns 98 America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona November 29, 1996 1996 11290 SEA Phoenix Suns 92 Seattle SuperSonics 105 KeyArena, Seattle #fff March 26, 1997 1997 03260 SEA Phoenix Suns 109 Seattle SuperSonics 107 KeyArena, Seattle March 30, 1997 1997 03300 PHO Seattle SuperSonics 106 Phoenix Suns 107 America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Suns winning two of the first three meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=OKC&opp_id=PHO&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Oklahoma City Thunder versus Phoenix Suns (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com June 3, 2015 Phoenix leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series#fff 1976 Phoenix Suns 4 Seattle SuperSonics 2 1976 Western Conference Semifinals #fff 1979 Phoenix Suns 3 Seattle SuperSonics 4 1979 Western Conference Finals #fff 1993 Phoenix Suns 4 Seattle SuperSonics 3 1993 Western Conference Finals (3) Houston Rockets vs. (6) Minnesota Timberwolves #eee April 24 9:30 PM Boxscore Minnesota Timberwolves 95 Houston Rockets 112 25–31 23–30 17–27 30–24 Stephon Marbury 28 Kevin Garnett 9 three players 4 each Mario Elie 21 Kevin Willis 13 Clyde Drexler 8 The Summit, Houston, Texas 16,285 Bill Oakes, Ron Olesiak, Bennett Salvatore TBS Houston leads series, 1–0 April 26 3:30 PM Boxscore Minnesota Timberwolves 84 Houston Rockets 96 20–24 23–17 22–25 19–30 Stephon Marbury 22 Dean Garrett 14 Stephon Marbury 6 Charles Barkley 20 Charles Barkley 15 Clyde Drexler 7 The Summit, Houston, Texas 16,285 Dan Crawford, Ron Garretson, Derrick Stafford NBC Houston leads series, 2–0 #eee April 29 9:30 PM Boxscore Houston Rockets 125 Minnesota Timberwolves 120 32–29 27–30 32–32 34–29 Matt Maloney 26 Hakeem Olajuwon 11 Clyde Drexler 9 Tom Gugliotta 27 Dean Garrett 15 Stephon Marbury 13 Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota 19,006 Terry Durham, Hue Hollins, Jack Nies TBS Houston wins series, 3–0 +Regular-season seriesHouston won 4–0 in the regular-season series#fff November 19, 1996 1996 11190 HOU Minnesota Timberwolves 93 Houston Rockets 122 The Summit, Houston, Texas December 10, 1996 1996 12100 MIN Houston Rockets 96 Minnesota Timberwolves 94 Target Center, Minneapolis #fff January 7, 1997 1997 01070 MIN Houston Rockets 104 Minnesota Timberwolves 95 Target Center, Minneapolis March 25, 1997 1997 03250 HOU Minnesota Timberwolves 103 Houston Rockets 112 The Summit, Houston, Texas This was the first playoff meeting between the Rockets and the Timberwolves.https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=HOU&opp_id=MIN&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Houston Rockets versus Minnesota Timberwolves (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com June 3, 2015 (4) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Portland Trail Blazers #eee April 25 10:30 PM Boxscore Portland Trail Blazers 77 Los Angeles Lakers 95 24–22 16—21 22–25 15–27 Wallace, Sabonis 18 each Chris Dudley 11 Isaiah Rider 5 Shaquille O'Neal 46 Shaquille O'Neal 11 Nick Van Exel 8 Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California 17,505 Dick Bavetta, Bernie Fryer, Greg Willard TNT LA Lakers lead series, 1–0 April 27 3:00 PM Boxscore Portland Trail Blazers 93 Los Angeles Lakers 107 26–33 25–16 18–29 24–29 Rasheed Wallace 20 Clifford Robinson 10 Kenny Anderson 7 Shaquille O'Neal 30 Eddie Jones 7 Nick Van Exel 9 Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California 17,505 Bob Delaney, Ed T. Rush, Tom Washington NBC LA Lakers lead series, 2–0 #eee April 30 10:30 PM Boxscore Los Angeles Lakers 90 Portland Trail Blazers 98 17–32 19–27 22–25 32–14 Shaquille O'Neal 29 Shaquille O'Neal 12 O'Neal, Van Exel 4 each Kenny Anderson 30 Chris Dudley 7 Kenny Anderson 5 Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon 21,538 Hugh Evans, Ed Middleton, Derrick Stafford TNT LA Lakers lead series, 2–1 May 2 10:30 PM Boxscore Los Angeles Lakers 95 Portland Trail Blazers 91 21–19 23–30 24–25 27–17 O'Neal, Campbell 27 each four players 8 each Van Exel, Jones 5 each Arvydas Sabonis 23 Arvydas Sabonis 10 Kenny Anderson 5 Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon 21,538 Joe DeRosa, Steve Javie, Bennett Salvatore TNT LA Lakers win series, 3–1 +Regular-season seriesPortland won 3–1 in the regular-season series#fff December 13, 1996 1996 12130 LAL Portland Trail Blazers 119 Los Angeles Lakers 120 Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California January 6, 1997 1997 01060 POR Los Angeles Lakers 84 Portland Trail Blazers 88 Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon #fff January 16, 1997 1997 01160 LAL Portland Trail Blazers 102 Los Angeles Lakers 98 Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California April 20, 1997 1997 04200 POR Los Angeles Lakers 96 Portland Trail Blazers 100 Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning four of the first six meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=LAL&opp_id=POR&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus Portland Trail Blazers (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com June 3, 2015Los Angeles leads 4–2 in all-time playoff series#fff 1977 Los Angeles Lakers 0 Portland Trail Blazers 4 1977 Western Conference Finals #fff 1983 Los Angeles Lakers 4 Portland Trail Blazers 1 1983 Western Conference Semifinals #fff 1985 Los Angeles Lakers 4 Portland Trail Blazers 1 1985 Western Conference Semifinals #fff 1989 Los Angeles Lakers 3 Portland Trail Blazers 0 1989 Western Conference First Round #fff 1991 Los Angeles Lakers 4 Portland Trail Blazers 2 1991 Western Conference Finals #fff 1992 Los Angeles Lakers 1 Portland Trail Blazers 3 1992 Western Conference First Round Conference semifinals Eastern Conference semifinals (1) Chicago Bulls vs. (4) Atlanta Hawks #eee May 6 8:00 PM Boxscore Atlanta Hawks 97 Chicago Bulls 100 26–19 24–20 20–38 27–23 Mookie Blaylock 31 Mookie Blaylock 12 Christian Laettner 6 Michael Jordan 34 Michael Jordan 11 Michael Jordan 6 United Center, Chicago, Illinois 24,397 Joe Crawford, Ron Garretson, Tommy Nunez Sr. TNT Chicago leads series, 1–0 Scottie Pippen hits the game winning 3 with 43.9 seconds remaining May 8 8:00 PM Boxscore Atlanta Hawks 103 Chicago Bulls 95 27–28 26–23 23–19 27–25 Steve Smith 27 Dikembe Mutombo 15 Mookie Blaylock 9 Michael Jordan 27 Michael Jordan 16 Scottie Pippen 9 United Center, Chicago, Illinois 24,544 Nolan Fine, Steve Javie, Eddie F. Rush TNT Series tied, 1–1 #eee May 10 1:00 PM Boxscore Chicago Bulls 100 Atlanta Hawks 80 20–24 26–28 25–16 29–12 Michael Jordan 21 Jason Caffey 11 Kukoč, Pippen 5 each Dikembe Mutombo 16 Dikembe Mutombo 13 Mookie Blaylock 6 Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia 16,378 Bob Delaney, Hugh Evans, Derrick Stafford NBC Chicago leads series, 2–1 May 11 5:30 PM Boxscore Chicago Bulls 89 Atlanta Hawks 80 33–19 22–23 20–11 14–27 Michael Jordan 27 Jordan, Pippen 8 each three players 4 Christian Laettner 21 Christian Laettner 12 Mookie Blaylock 4 Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia 16,378 Joe DeRosa, Hue Hollins, Bennett Salvatore NBC Chicago leads series, 3–1 Game 4 was Robert Parish's final NBA game. #eee May 13 9:30 PM Boxscore Atlanta Hawks 92 Chicago Bulls 107 27–33 17–27 24–19 24–28 Christian Laettner 23 Dikembe Mutombo 12 Mookie Blaylock 8 Michael Jordan 24 Dele, Longley 10 each Jordan, Pippen 7 each United Center, Chicago, Illinois 24,544 Joe Forte, Ken Mauer, Ed T. Rush TNT Chicago wins series, 4–1 +Regular-season seriesChicago won 3–1 in the regular-season series#fff November 16, 1996 1996 11160 CHI Atlanta Hawks 69 Chicago Bulls 97 United Center, Chicago, Illinois December 26, 1996 1996 12260 ATL Chicago Bulls 103 Atlanta Hawks 108 The Omni, Atlanta #fff February 14, 1997 1997 02140 ATL Chicago Bulls 89 Atlanta Hawks 88 The Omni, Atlanta March 15, 1997 1997 03150 CHI Atlanta Hawks 79 Chicago Bulls 99 United Center, Chicago, Illinois This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Hawks winning two of the first three meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=ATL&opp_id=CHI&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Chicago Bulls (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com June 3, 2015Atlanta/St. Louis leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series#fff 1967 St. Louis Hawks 3 Chicago Bulls 0 1967 Western Division Semifinals #fff 1970 Atlanta Hawks 4 Chicago Bulls 1 1970 Western Division Semifinals #fff 1993 Atlanta Hawks 0 Chicago Bulls 3 1993 Eastern Conference First Round (2) Miami Heat vs. (3) New York Knicks #eee May 7 7:00 PM Boxscore New York Knicks 88 Miami Heat 79 23–23 14–16 29–16 22–24 Allan Houston 27 Patrick Ewing 16 Johnson, Ward 5 each Tim Hardaway 21 P. J. Brown 12 Tim Hardaway 6 Miami Arena, Miami, Florida 14,870 Hugh Evans, Bennett Salvatore, Don Vaden TNT New York leads series, 1–0 May 9 8:00 PM Boxscore New York Knicks 84 Miami Heat 88 25–20 17–28 27–22 15–18 Allan Houston 19 Patrick Ewing 11 Chris Childs 7 Tim Hardaway 34 Alonzo Mourning 13 Hardaway, Majerle 4 each Miami Arena, Miami, Florida 14,870 Hugh Evans, Ron Garretson, Ed Middleton TNT Series tied, 1–1 #eee May 11 12:30 PM Boxscore Miami Heat 73 New York Knicks 77 24–16 18–18 17–24 14–19 Voshon Lenard 22 P. J. Brown 10 Tim Hardaway 8 Patrick Ewing 25 Ewing, Oakley 11 each Ward, Starks 4 each Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 19,763 Joe Crawford, Bernie Fryer, Eddie F. Rush NBC New York leads series, 2–1 Patrick Ewing blocked a last second three pointer to preserve the victory. May 12 8:00 PM Boxscore Miami Heat 76 New York Knicks 89 22–23 14–28 16–17 24–21 Tim Hardaway 14 P. J. Brown 12 Willie Anderson 4 John Starks 21 Charles Oakley 9 Chris Childs 8 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 19,763 Dan Crawford, Bob Delaney, Jack Nies TNT New York leads series, 3–1 #eee May 14 8:00 PM Boxscore New York Knicks 81 Miami Heat 96 22–21 12–14 25–31 22–30 Patrick Ewing 19 Charles Oakley 9 Chris Childs 7 Voshon Lenard 21 P. J. Brown 12 Tim Hardaway 6 Miami Arena, Miami, Florida 14,782 Dick Bavetta, Nolan Fine, Bill Oakes TNT New York leads series, 3–2 This game featured a fight between P. J. Brown and Charlie Ward, with John Starks, Larry Johnson, Patrick Ewing, and Allan Houston leaving the bench. Brown was suspended for the rest of the series; Ewing, Houston, and Ward were suspended for Game 6; Johnson and Starks were suspended for Game 7. May 16 8:00 PM Boxscore Miami Heat 95 New York Knicks 90 17–27 23–17 24–22 31–24 Alonzo Mourning 28 Alonzo Mourning 9 Tim Hardaway 8 Chris Childs 22 Charles Oakley 12 Chris Childs 9 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 19,763 Jim Clark, Joe Forte, Ed T. Rush TNT Series tied, 3–3 #eee May 18 3:30 PM Boxscore New York Knicks 90 Miami Heat 101 14–25 18–24 22–22 36–30 Patrick Ewing 37 Patrick Ewing 17 Charlie Ward 8 Tim Hardaway 38 Alonzo Mourning 12 Tim Hardaway 7 Miami Arena, Miami, Florida 14,870 Dan Crawford, Joe Crawford, Jack Nies NBC Miami wins series, 4–3 Miami becomes the 6th team in NBA history to come back from a 3–1 series deficit. +Regular-season seriesNew York won 3–1 in the regular-season series#fff December 3, 1996 1996 12030 NYK Miami Heat 99 New York Knicks 75 Madison Square Garden, New York City December 6, 1996 1996 12060 MIA New York Knicks 103 Miami Heat 85 Miami Arena, Miami #fff January 26, 1997 1997 01260 NYK Miami Heat 89 New York Knicks 95 Madison Square Garden, New York City April 12, 1997 1997 04120 MIA New York Knicks 100 Miami Heat 99 Miami Arena, Miami This was the first playoff meeting between the Heat and the Knicks.https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=MIA&opp_id=NYK&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Miami Heat versus New York Knicks (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com June 3, 2015 Western Conference semifinals (1) Utah Jazz vs. (4) Los Angeles Lakers #eee May 4 5:30 PM Boxscore Los Angeles Lakers 77 Utah Jazz 93 25–27 15–25 20–18 17–23 Nick Van Exel 23 Shaquille O'Neal 12 Nick Van Exel 4 Karl Malone 23 Karl Malone 13 Jeff Hornacek 7 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 19,911 Joe Crawford, Bernie Fryer, Eddie F. Rush NBC Utah leads series, 1–0 May 6 10:30 PM Boxscore Los Angeles Lakers 101 Utah Jazz 103 24–27 31–32 30–28 16–16 Shaquille O'Neal 25 Shaquille O'Neal 12 Nick Van Exel 12 Karl Malone 31 Karl Malone 11 Hornacek, Stockton 7 each Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 19,911 Jim Clark, Hue Hollins, Jack Nies TNT Utah leads series, 2–0 #eee May 8 10:30 PM Boxscore Utah Jazz 84 Los Angeles Lakers 104 21–29 15–20 23–23 25–32 Jeff Hornacek 26 Karl Malone 10 John Stockton 8 Kobe Bryant 19 Shaquille O'Neal 10 Nick Van Exel 5 Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California 17,505 Dick Bavetta, Terry Durham, Bill Oakes TNT Utah leads series, 2–1 May 10 3:30 PM Boxscore Utah Jazz 110 Los Angeles Lakers 95 25–22 26–22 28–25 31–26 Karl Malone 42 Bryon Russell 10 John Stockton 11 Shaquille O'Neal 34 Shaquille O'Neal 11 Nick Van Exel 7 Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California 17,505 Joe Forte, Ken Mauer, Ed T. Rush NBC Utah leads series, 3–1 #eee May 12 10:30 PM Boxscore Los Angeles Lakers 93 Utah Jazz 98 25–31 20–22 16–13 28–23 4–9 Nick Van Exel 26 Shaquille O'Neal 13 Shaquille O'Neal 5 Karl Malone 32 Karl Malone 20 John Stockton 10 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 19,911 Hugh Evans, Ron Garretson, Derrick Stafford TNT Utah wins series, 4–1 In Game 5, Kobe Bryant had an infamous rookie moment in which he airballed 4 jump shots from the end of regulation through the end of overtime. +Regular-season seriesUtah won 3–1 in the regular-season series#fff November 20, 1996 1996 11200 LAL Utah Jazz 113 Los Angeles Lakers 97 Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California December 4, 1996 1996 12040 UTA Los Angeles Lakers 75 Utah Jazz 101 Delta Center, Salt Lake City #fff April 9, 1997 1997 04090 UTA Los Angeles Lakers 89 Utah Jazz 101 Delta Center, Salt Lake City April 13, 1997 1997 04130 LAL Utah Jazz 98 Los Angeles Lakers 100 Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first meeting. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=LAL&opp_id=UTA&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus Utah Jazz (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com June 3, 2015Los Angeles leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series#fff 1988 Los Angeles Lakers 4 Utah Jazz 3 1988 Western Conference Semifinals (2) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (3) Houston Rockets #eee May 5 8:00 PM Boxscore Seattle SuperSonics 102 Houston Rockets 112 25–35 30–29 16–32 31–16 Shawn Kemp 24 Shawn Kemp 11 Eric Snow 7 Clyde Drexler 22 Hakeem Olajuwon 11 Mario Elie 8 The Summit, Houston, Texas 16,285 Steve Javie, Ron Olesiak, Bennett Salvatore TNT Houston leads series, 1–0 May 7 9:30 PM Boxscore Seattle SuperSonics 106 Houston Rockets 101 32–30 33–17 17–23 24–31 Shawn Kemp 22 Shawn Kemp 15 Gary Payton 9 Clyde Drexler 25 Hakeem Olajuwon 12 Clyde Drexler 8 The Summit, Houston, Texas 16,285 Joe Forte, Ed Middleton, Ed T. Rush TNT Series tied, 1–1 #eee May 9 10:30 PM Boxscore Houston Rockets 97 Seattle SuperSonics 93 29–21 26–23 17–35 25–14 Hakeem Olajuwon 24 Hakeem Olajuwon 11 Sedale Threatt 5 Payton, Kemp 28 each Shawn Kemp 10 Payton, Kemp 5 each KeyArena, Seattle, Washington 17,072 Jim Clark, Dan Crawford, Jack Nies TNT Houston leads series, 2–1 May 11 3:00 PM Boxscore Houston Rockets 110 Seattle SuperSonics 106 23–25 24–28 27–24 24–21 12–8 Maloney, Barkley 26 each Charles Barkley 15 Hakeem Olajuwon 9 Gary Payton 27 Kemp, Cummings 9 each Gary Payton 11 KeyArena, Seattle, Washington 17,072 Dick Bavetta, Bill Oakes, Don Vaden NBC Houston leads series, 3–1 #eee May 13 7:00 PM Boxscore Seattle SuperSonics 100 Houston Rockets 94 27–19 30–33 22–19 21–23 Hersey Hawkins 23 Shawn Kemp 10 Gary Payton 11 Hakeem Olajuwon 31 Charles Barkley 20 Mario Elie 6 The Summit, Houston, Texas 16,285 Joe Crawford, Bernie Fryer, Tommy Nunez Sr. TNT Houston leads series, 3–2 May 15 9:00 PM Boxscore Houston Rockets 96 Seattle SuperSonics 99 13–30 24–21 24–27 35–21 Hakeem Olajuwon 30 Charles Barkley 12 Clyde Drexler 6 Shawn Kemp 22 Shawn Kemp 11 Gary Payton 13 KeyArena, Seattle, Washington 17,072 Ron Garretson, Hue Hollins, Eddie F. Rush TNT Series tied, 3–3 #eee May 17 3:30 PM Boxscore Seattle SuperSonics 91 Houston Rockets 96 31–30 19–25 17–19 24–22 Gary Payton 27 Shawn Kemp 10 Gary Payton 7 Clyde Drexler 24 Charles Barkley 14 Mario Elie 11 The Summit, Houston, Texas 16,285 Hugh Evans, Steve Javie, Bennett Salvatore NBC Houston wins series, 4–3 Seattle and Houston individually tie their regular season records with 57 wins apiece. Although the Sonics won the Pacific division, the Rockets won the regular season series over the Sonics 3–1, and gained home-court advantage. +Regular-season seriesHouston won 3–1 in the regular-season series#fff December 14, 1996 1996 12140 SEA Houston Rockets 109 Seattle SuperSonics 100 KeyArena, Seattle December 30, 1996 1996 12300 HOU Seattle SuperSonics 91 Houston Rockets 99 The Summit, Houston, Texas #fff February 14, 1997 1997 02140 SEA Houston Rockets 85 Seattle SuperSonics 105 KeyArena, Seattle April 13, 1997 1997 04130 HOU Seattle SuperSonics 73 Houston Rockets 113 The Summit, Houston, Texas This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the SuperSonics winning the first five meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=HOU&opp_id=OKC&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Houston Rockets versus Oklahoma City Thunder (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com June 3, 2015Seattle leads 5–0 in all-time playoff series#fff 1982 Houston Rockets 1 Seattle SuperSonics 2 1982 Western Conference First Round #fff 1987 Houston Rockets 2 Seattle SuperSonics 4 1987 Western Conference Semifinals #fff 1989 Houston Rockets 0 Seattle SuperSonics 3 1989 Western Conference First Round #fff 1993 Houston Rockets 3 Seattle SuperSonics 4 1993 Western Conference Semifinals #fff 1996 Houston Rockets 0 Seattle SuperSonics 4 1996 Western Conference Semifinals Conference finals Eastern Conference finals (1) Chicago Bulls vs. (2) Miami Heat #eee May 20 8:00 PM Boxscore Miami Heat 77 Chicago Bulls 84 25–17 24–21 17–23 11–23 Alonzo Mourning 21 Mourning, Austin 8 each Tim Hardaway 9 Michael Jordan 37 Dennis Rodman 19 Pippen, Harper 4 each United Center, Chicago, Illinois 24,544 Hugh Evans, Eddie F. Rush, Bennett Salvatore TNT Chicago leads series, 1–0 May 22 8:00 PM Boxscore Miami Heat 68 Chicago Bulls 75 12–22 17–17 16–12 23–24 Tim Hardaway 15 Alonzo Mourning 8 Tim Hardaway 5 Jordan, Pippen 23 each Dennis Rodman 10 Ron Harper 6 United Center, Chicago, Illinois 24,544 Bernie Fryer, Steve Javie, Bill Oakes TNT Chicago leads series, 2–0 #eee May 24 3:30 PM Boxscore Chicago Bulls 98 Miami Heat 74 19–15 28–19 25–15 26–25 Michael Jordan 34 Dennis Rodman 9 Toni Kukoč 6 Voshon Lenard 14 Alonzo Mourning 9 John Crotty 5 Miami Arena, Miami, Florida 14,720 Dick Bavetta, Ron Garretson, Jack Nies NBC Chicago leads series, 3–0 May 26 3:30 PM Boxscore Chicago Bulls 80 Miami Heat 87 19–24 12–23 26–14 23–26 Michael Jordan 29 Dennis Rodman 11 Scottie Pippen 5 Tim Hardaway 25 Alonzo Mourning 14 Tim Hardaway 7 Miami Arena, Miami, Florida 14,720 Bob Delaney, Joe Forte, Ed T. Rush NBC Chicago leads series, 3–1 #eee May 28 9:00 PM Boxscore Miami Heat 87 Chicago Bulls 100 19–33 31–31 15–16 22–20 Tim Hardaway 27 Alonzo Mourning 8 Lenard, Hardaway 5 each Michael Jordan 28 Dennis Rodman 13 Toni Kukoč 7 United Center, Chicago, Illinois 24,544 Joe Crawford, Hue Hollins, Don Vaden NBC Chicago wins series, 4–1 +Regular-season seriesTied 2–2 in the regular-season series#fff November 6, 1996 1996 11060 MIA Chicago Bulls 106 Miami Heat 100 Miami Arena, Miami November 13, 1996 1996 11130 CHI Miami Heat 71 Chicago Bulls 103 United Center, Chicago, Illinois #fff December 7, 1996 1996 12070 CHI Miami Heat 83 Chicago Bulls 80 United Center, Chicago, Illinois April 16, 1997 1997 04160 MIA Chicago Bulls 92 Miami Heat 102 Miami Arena, Miami This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bulls winning the first two meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=CHI&opp_id=MIA&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Chicago Bulls versus Miami Heat (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com June 3, 2015Chicago leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series#fff 1992 Chicago Bulls 3 Miami Heat 0 1992 Eastern Conference First Round #fff 1996 Chicago Bulls 3 Miami Heat 0 1996 Eastern Conference First Round Western Conference finals (1) Utah Jazz vs. (3) Houston Rockets #eee May 19 8:00 PM Boxscore Houston Rockets 86 Utah Jazz 101 23–20 17–29 25–30 21–22 Hakeem Olajuwon 30 Hakeem Olajuwon 13 Hakeem Olajuwon 5 Karl Malone 21 Karl Malone 13 John Stockton 13 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 19,911 Dick Bavetta, Bob Delaney, Joe Forte TNT Utah leads series, 1–0 May 21 8:00 PM Boxscore Houston Rockets 92 Utah Jazz 104 23–25 19–23 26–35 24–21 Hakeem Olajuwon 30 Charles Barkley 12 Clyde Drexler 4 John Stockton 26 Karl Malone 15 John Stockton 12 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 19,911 Jim Clark, Jack Nies, Ed T. Rush TNT Utah leads series, 2–0 #eee May 23 8:00 PM Boxscore Utah Jazz 100 Houston Rockets 118 31–18 20–33 21–29 28–38 Karl Malone 21 Greg Ostertag 9 John Stockton 10 Eddie Johnson 31 Charles Barkley 16 three players 6 each The Summit, Houston, Texas 16,285 Joe Crawford, Hue Hollins, Don Vaden TNT Utah leads series, 2–1 May 25 3:30 PM Boxscore Utah Jazz 92 Houston Rockets 95 27–24 26–24 23–27 16–20 Malone, Stockton 22 each Karl Malone 10 John Stockton 8 Hakeem Olajuwon 27 Charles Barkley 16 Matt Maloney 6 The Summit, Houston, Texas 16,285 Dan Crawford, Bernie Fryer, Bill Oakes NBC Series tied, 2–2 Eddie Johnson hits the game-winning 3-pointer to even the series. #eee May 27 9:00 PM Boxscore Houston Rockets 91 Utah Jazz 96 27–24 17–23 20–24 27–25 Hakeem Olajuwon 33 Hakeem Olajuwon 10 Charles Barkley 5 Karl Malone 29 Karl Malone 14 John Stockton 6 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 19,911 Hugh Evans, Ron Garretson, Bennett Salvatore NBC Utah leads series, 3–2 May 29 9:00 PM Boxscore Utah Jazz 103 Houston Rockets 100 23–21 20–28 27–22 33–29 John Stockton 25 Greg Ostertag 14 John Stockton 13 Clyde Drexler 33 Hakeem Olajuwon 11 Sedale Threatt 9 The Summit, Houston, Texas 16,285 Dick Bavetta, Steve Javie, Eddie F. Rush NBC Utah wins series, 4–2 John Stockton hits the series-winning 3-pointer. +Regular-season seriesTied 2–2 in the regular-season series#fff November 4, 1996 1996 11040 UTA Houston Rockets 75 Utah Jazz 72 Delta Center, Salt Lake City November 9, 1996 1996 11090 HOU Utah Jazz 85 Houston Rockets 91 The Summit, Houston, Texas #fff January 25, 1997 1997 01250 HOU Utah Jazz 105 Houston Rockets 100 The Summit, Houston, Texas April 11, 1997 1997 04110 UTA Houston Rockets 83 Utah Jazz 104 Delta Center, Salt Lake City This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Rockets winning two of the first three meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=HOU&opp_id=UTA&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Houston Rockets versus Utah Jazz (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com June 3, 2015Houston leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series#fff 1985 Houston Rockets 2 Utah Jazz 3 1985 Western Conference First Round #fff 1994 Houston Rockets 4 Utah Jazz 1 1994 Western Conference Finals #fff 1995 Houston Rockets 3 Utah Jazz 2 1995 Western Conference First Round NBA Finals: (E1) Chicago Bulls vs. (W1) Utah Jazz 1997 NBA Finals #eee June 1 7:00 PM Boxscore Utah Jazz 82 Chicago Bulls 84 18–17 24–21 22–24 18–22 Karl Malone 23 Karl Malone 15 John Stockton 12 Michael Jordan 31 Dennis Rodman 12 Michael Jordan 8 United Center, Chicago, Illinois 24,544 Dan Crawford, Bill Oakes, Ed T. Rush NBC Chicago leads series, 1–0 Michael Jordan hit the game-winning shot at the buzzer. June 4 9:00 PM Boxscore Utah Jazz 85 Chicago Bulls 97 20–25 11–22 28–31 26–19 Karl Malone 20 Karl Malone 13 John Stockton 7 Michael Jordan 38 Michael Jordan 13 Michael Jordan 9 United Center, Chicago, Illinois 24,544 Hugh Evans, Steve Javie, Bennett Salvatore NBC Chicago leads series, 2–0 #eee June 6 9:00 PM Boxscore Chicago Bulls 93 Utah Jazz 104 22–31 23–30 15–16 33–27 Scottie Pippen 27 Ron Harper 7 Michael Jordan 6 Karl Malone 37 Karl Malone 10 John Stockton 12 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 19,911 Joe Crawford, Hue Hollins, Jack Nies NBC Chicago leads series, 2–1 Scottie Pippen tied a then-Finals record with 7 3-pointers. June 8 7:00 PM Boxscore Chicago Bulls 73 Utah Jazz 78 16–21 24–14 16–21 17–22 Michael Jordan 22 Scottie Pippen 12 Michael Jordan 6 Karl Malone 23 Karl Malone 10 John Stockton 12 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 19,911 Dick Bavetta, Joe Forte, Ed T. Rush NBC Series tied, 2–2 John Stockton threw a full-court pass over Michael Jordan to Karl Malone to give Utah the lead for good. #eee June 11 9:00 PM Boxscore Chicago Bulls 90 Utah Jazz 88 16–29 33–24 18–19 23–16 Michael Jordan 38 Scottie Pippen 10 Pippen, Jordan 5 each Karl Malone 19 Greg Ostertag 15 Karl Malone 6 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 19,911 Dan Crawford, Hugh Evans, Bill Oakes NBC Chicago leads series, 3–2 (The Flu Game), Michael Jordan plays 44 minutes and scores 38 points despite being ill from food poisoning. June 13 9:00 PM Boxscore Utah Jazz 86 Chicago Bulls 90 23–17 21–20 26–27 16–26 Karl Malone 21 Greg Ostertag 8 John Stockton 5 Michael Jordan 39 Jordan, Rodman 11 each Michael Jordan 4 United Center, Chicago, Illinois 24,544 Joe Crawford, Steve Javie, Bennett Salvatore NBC Chicago wins series, 4–2 Steve Kerr hits the series-winner with 5 seconds left, then Scottie Pippen steals Bryon Russell's inbounds pass and rolls the ball to Toni Kukoč, who dunks it right before the buzzer to bring the Finals to a close. +Regular-season seriesTied 1–1 in the regular-season series#fff November 23, 1996 1996 11230 UTA Chicago Bulls 100 Utah Jazz 105 Delta Center, Salt Lake City January 6, 1997 1997 01060 CHI Utah Jazz 89 Chicago Bulls 102 United Center, Chicago, Illinois This was the first NBA Finals meeting between the Bulls and the Jazz.https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=CHI&opp_id=UTA&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Chicago Bulls versus Utah Jazz (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com June 3, 2015 Statistical leaders Category Game high Average Player Team High Player Team Avg. GP Games played Points Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls 55 Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls 31.1 19 Rebounds Dikembe Mutombo Atlanta Hawks 21 Shawn Kemp Seattle SuperSonics 12.3 12 Assists John Stockton Utah Jazz 17 Jason Kidd Phoenix Suns 9.8 5 Steals Hersey Hawkins Seattle SuperSonics 6 Kevin Johnson Phoenix Suns 2.6 5 Blocks Greg Ostertag Utah Jazz 9 Alonzo Mourning Miami Heat 2.7 17 References 30em External links Basketball-Reference.com's 1997 Playoffs section https://web.archive.org/web/20000903000049/http://www.nba.com/playoffs97/ September 3, 2000 Official Website on NBA.com Category:NBA playoffs Playoffs Category:Sports in Portland, Oregon fi:NBA-kausi 1996–1997#Pudotuspelit