Chicago Bulls: 5 most dominant postseason performances in franchise history
3. Bulls begin the 1991 NBA playoffs with a resounding win over New York Knicks.
Jordan was already one of the best individual talents in the association and both Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant were starting to come into their own as well.
Despite the continued development of this talented trio, the Bulls experienced their fair share of postseason disappointments. From 1988-90, they were eliminated by the Detroit Pistons — aka The Bad Boys. In 1991, though, the Bulls finished the season 61-21, which was the best record in the Eastern Conference. In other words, the road to the NBA Finals would have to go through Chicago.
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The Bulls’ first opponent in the march to their first NBA title would be the New York Knicks – a team that finished below the .500 mark with a 39-43 record. In the series opener, the Bulls proved that their first-place finish in the conference playoff race was not a fluke.
They jumped out to a sizable 65-36 advantage after the first 24 minutes of action and never let up. By the time the dust had settled, the Bulls emerged victorious with a 126-85 win to take a 1-0 lead. The next two contests would be a bit more competitive, but that did not prevent Chicago from dismissing the team from the Big Apple in three games.