1. Chicago Bulls and Jordan sweep Pistons in 1991 Eastern Conference finals
At this point, it was no secret that the Bulls hadn’t had much success against Detroit coming into the fourth postseason matchup between the two ball clubs. After all, the Pistons had won 12 of the 18 playoff contests played between these two teams and were looking to continue their dominance against the boys from the Windy City.
While this was the third time these foes were locking horns in the conference finals, it would be the first time in which Chicago owned the home-court advantage. This was pivotal because the Bulls did not lose at home to the Pistons in their seven-game series the year before.
The Bulls took the first two games in Chicago, but they knew there was still work to be done. After edging the Pistons by a 113-107 margin in Game 3, Chicago followed that up with an easy 115-94 win in Game 4 on the way to their first-ever NBA Finals appearance.
Jordan finished the game with 29 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. Pippen — who was a non-factor in series finale the year before — tallied 23 points, 10 assists, six rebounds, and three steals.
The Bad Boys era came to an abrupt end at the hands of Bulls. But true to their ways, the Pistons walked off the court with 7.9 seconds left to play, refusing to shake hands with the team they had previously dominated in postseason competition.
Chicago went on to defeat the Los Angles Lakers in five games to win the first of their six titles. Did Jordan and the Bulls have their fair share of struggles against those Pistons? Yes.
Did those struggles have a lot to do with the physical, dirty play they implored to keep Jordan in check? Absolutely.
However, as heated as those encounters were, and as classless as it may have been of them not to congratulate their opponent in defeat, without those heated playoff battles against the Pistons, the Bulls don’t go on to become six-time champions.