Michael Jordan’s ‘Last Dance’ with the Chicago Bulls needs no introduction.
Having already won back-to-back NBA Championships, MJ and his high-profile squad were chasing a second three-peat as the 1998 playoffs rolled around.
The Bulls dynasty embarked on their Last Dance the 1997-98 seasongettyBut the legendary Bulls dynasty was on its last legs, and was soon to be dismantled by the departures of Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and head coach Phil Jackson.
While Chicago swept the New Jersey Nets in the first round of the postseason, and comfortably navigated the Charlotte Hornets in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, they went on to find themselves on the brink against the Indiana Pacers.
The Bulls took a 2-0 series lead in the East finals, but the Pacers bounced back in Games 3 and 4.
Indiana star Reggie Miller tied the series when he made the game-winning 3-pointer over MJ with 0.7 seconds to go, sparking wild celebrations.
Miller famously played against both Jordan and Kobe Bryant during his NBA career, and later revealed who was better.
The fifth game that followed his iconic winner was a blowout for the Bulls.
But the Pacers — led by coach Larry Bird — bounced back in Game 6 with a 92-89 win to force a decider.
There was a feeling, too, that the series could go either way, as the Bulls had been dragged into only their second elimination game in six title runs.
Chicago’s squad was being pushed to the edge against a rival that had been knocking on the door for the better part of a decade, and it really could have been Indiana’s time.
But Jordan had other ideas.
The Bulls were pushed to the edge by the Pacers in the 1998 East finalsGetty Jordan offered a six-word guarantee ahead of a Game 7 eliminatorGettyAfter six hotly-contested battles, he made it clear to journalists that the possibility of the Bulls winning Game 7 was high.
“Is that a promise?” one reporter asked Jordan.
“I never make promises. I don’t even make promises to my wife,” he hit back, before offering a five-word guarantee.
“But we will win Game 7.”
Jordan, of course, kept his word.
With the stakes higher than ever, more than 23,000 fans packed into the United Center on the Near West Side of Chicago to witness the decider.
Chicago came out on top in Game 7 after MJ’s fearless message to reportersGettyThe Pacers came out swinging, and led by double digits in the first half, out-hustling and out-shooting the defending champs.
Jordan and Pippen struggled early, before rallying to help the Bulls into a lead that lasted most of the second and third quarters.
But Indiana eventually took back control 72-69, with just under nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
It was touch and go from there, but future Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr hit a massive 3-pointer to tie the game, and the Pacers finally faded.
The Bulls retook the lead with 4:45 left and held on to win 88-83.
Having come back from the brink, a roar erupted from the United Center as the Chicago faithful waved off their stars, and even one forgotten three-time champion, to the NBA Finals.
“It was a hard-fought victory,” Jordan said, having been pushed to the edge in Game 7.
“It was a great effort. It was truly a championship-type team, in terms of just trying to find ways to win and then making it happen.
Jordan and the Bulls went on to win the three-peat in 1998Getty“At no time in the course of the 48 minutes did I ever think negative.
“Sure, maybe we got off to a slow start. But at no point did I think negative about what we can accomplish as a team.”
The Bulls beat the Utah Jazz 4–2 in the 1998 NBA Finals to secure their second three-peat.
But it was the Pacers that provided MJ’s toughest playoff challenge in the East finals, one that nearly derailed a dynasty’s last dance.
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