Chicago Bulls Flashback: Michael Jordan, Bulls Eclipse Suns In Game 4 of ’93 Finals
On this date 22 years ago, the Chicago Bulls were preparing to square off against league MVP Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns in Game 4 of the 1993 NBA Finals. And although the Suns finished with the best record in the league at 62-20, securing home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, they dropped the first two games at home to the surging Bulls.
With the series now heading back to the Windy City, the consensus was that the Bulls would claim their third championship on their home court. However, the Suns were determined to prove that their time had come and that they were a team of destiny.
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In Game 3, the two teams battled back and forth through three grueling overtime periods before the outcome of the game was finally decided. And when the dust had settled and the smoke had cleared, the Suns produced a 129-121 victory behind Barkley’s 24 points and 19 rebounds. This marked the first time the Bulls suffered a home loss during their postseason run.
As was the case more times than not, Jordan paced Chicago’s offensive attack with 44 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two steals. And Scottie Pippen chipped in 26 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
While the Bulls still led the series two games to one, the Suns had gained some much-needed confidence heading into Game 4. And with a newfound swagger, the Suns believed they were just as deserving of winning it all as their eastern conference counterparts.
But all the confidence in the world could not prepare the Suns for what they would see in this contest—a very focused and determined Jordan. Following a subpar performance in which he connected on just 19 of his 43 shot attempts, Jordan would once again prove why he was one of the greatest players to ever step on a basketball court.
From the opening tip off, it was clear that Jordan was playing with a different mindset. And rather than settling for mostly jump shots as he had done in Game 3, Jordan made a concerted effort to take the ball to the basket as much as possible while daring any of the Suns defenders to try and stop him. And no matter what strategy the Suns tried, it was unsuccessful.
When they opted to go with Dan Majerle, Jordan merely used his quickness to beat him off the dribble. And when they attempted to defend him with the smaller but quicker Kevin Johnson—a tactic that was somewhat successful in Game 3, Jordan simply took Johnson down on the block and successfully connected on several fade-away jumpers before the help defenders could arrive.
While the contest was close right throughout, Jordan put the game out of reach with a soft floater over Charles Barkley, while drawing a foul in the process. Jordan capped off his impressive performance with a free throw, giving him 55 points (21-37 FG), which tied the second-highest point total in Finals history. Jordan also added grabbed eight rebounds and handed out four assists. But most importantly, the Bulls now led the series 3-1.
Although the Bulls would lose again to the pesky Suns in Game 5, they went on to close out the series in six games.
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