Game #1 @Utah 6/3/98

Neither team could find their shooting eye early as Chicago shot 37% and Utah 35% in the 1st period. The Jazz built an 8-point lead in the 2nd quarter and held onto the lead when John Stockton scored the last 4 points of the half. Jazz coach Jerry Sloan used 6 different players in defending Michael Jordan in the 2nd half. Utah dominated inside, as they would outscore Chicago 52-34 in the paint for the game. Jordan made only 2 of 7 shots in the 3rd as Utah continued to build a lead. The Jazz led 75-68 with 4:02 left in the game and seemed to be in firm control. Then the Bulls scored 7 straight points to tie the game at 75 with 2:34 left to play. Utah responded with 4 straight points of their own to take a 79-75 lead. Scottie Pippen hit 2 clutch free throws to pull Chicago within a bucket. On the ensuing possession, Jordan missed but Pippen grabbed the loose ball and found Luc Longley for the tying hoop. In the overtime, Stockton would score 7 of Utah’s 9 points, as Utah never trailed in the extra session. Stockton scored the points that put them up for good at 84-82. Jordan then failed to beat the 24-second clock and Utah got the ball back with 1:18 to play. Stockton hit a runner with 9 seconds left and 2 free throws with 3 seconds left to ice the win.

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Game #2 @Utah 6/5/98

Toni Kukoc answered the bell in the 1st half as he scored all 13 of his points in the opening half to keep Chicago in the ball game. Kukoc, Jordan and Pippen scored all 23 of the Bulls’ 1st quarter points. In fact, the trio would take 62 of the Bulls’ 80 field goal attempts for the game. The Bulls stayed in front of the game through their hustle as they scored 33 points of 20 Jazz turnovers and converted 18 offensive rebounds into 19 2nd chance points. The Bulls led 81-74 late in the game when Utah made their move. A Jeff Hornacek 3-pointer capped a 12-4 Jazz run and gave them an 86-85 lead with 1:46 to play. The Bulls then missed 2 shots, but Kukoc picked off Stockton’s pass. Steve Kerr missed an open 3-pointer but grabbed an uncharacteristic offensive board off his own miss and fed Jordan for the go-ahead layup and drew the foul. Jordan’s free throw gave them a 2-point lead. Karl Malone then missed 20-footer and Dennis Rodman grabbed the rebound. Kerr then made 2 free throws and Jordan made 3 of 4 in the final minute as all Utah could muster was a Chris Morris tip in with 0:03.7 left.

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Game #3 @Chicago 6/7/98

Chicago destroyed Utah in record setting fashion as the Bulls held them to a shot-clock record low for a playoff game. Scottie Pippen led the way with 10 points in the 1st half. Karl Malone hit his first 6 shots of the game and scored 12 of Utah’s first 14 points. Unfortunately for the Jazz, Malone’s teammates missed 16 of their first 17 shots. The Bulls closed the 1st period with an 8-0 run and then blew open the game in the 2nd period. Michael Jordan hit all 5 of his field goals in the 2nd quarter for 12 points. Chicago was leading 29-23 in the 2nd quarter; after that, they outscored Utah 20-8 for the rest of the half. At one point during that run, Utah had 5 turnovers in 6 possessions. Chicago finished them off with a 9-0 run in the 3rd quarter that left them in front 70-42. The Jazz ball-handling problems continued as they had 8 turnovers in the 3rd period alone. Clearing the bench didn’t help Utah either, as they shot only 18% from the field in the final period.

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Game #4 @Chicago 6/10/98

Scottie Pippen came out firing as he made a trio of 3-pointers in the 1st period and also had 3 offensive boards in the game’s first 3 minutes. Rodman not only defended Malone well, but he outscored Malone 5-2 in the 4th quarter as well. Malone, who had 11 1st quarter points, scored his only 4th period hoop came with 9 seconds left in the game. The Bulls led by 7 points in the 1st half but Utah pulled to within 58-57 late in the 3rd on a flurry from Howard Eisley. Pippen answered with his fifth 3-pointer of the game to give Chicago a 4-point margin entering the final period. A pair of Luc Longley foul shots re-established Chicago’s 7-point lead early in the 4th period. Shandon Anderson converted a 3-point play and a John Stockton jumper cut the lead to 68-66 with 6:45 left in the game. Utah took the lead for the first time since the 1st quarter when Stockton found Chris Morris for a layup and a 70-69 lead. After Chicago retook the lead, Jeff Hornacek laid one in off the break to tie the game at 72 with 3:12 left. Rodman hit 2 free throws (including one that bounced 5 times before going in) to give the Bulls a 74-72 lead. Michael Jordan hit a hoop and Morris scored 3 for the Jazz to leave the count at 76-75 Chicago. Jordan scored on a spin move, Hornacek missed a jumper and Pippen made 1 of 2 foul shots to make it 79-75 Chicago with 1:21 to play. Hornacek hit from the corner with 1:05 left to cut it to a 2-point Bulls’ lead. Utah, however, would get no closer as Jordan hit another spin move and Rodman made 2 more free throws to give the Bulls a working margin.

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Game #5 @Chicago 6/12/98

Toni Kukoc scored 12 of Chicago’s first 13 points of the game and was the only Bull to have made a basket until Dennis Rodman made one with 58 seconds left in the period. Michael Jordan would not make a hoop until only 12 seconds remained. Karl Malone again led Utah with 8 1st quarter points. The Jazz fell behind after committing 6 turnovers during an 8-possession stretch of the 2nd period. Jordan then scored 10 straight points for the Bulls as they took their biggest lead of the 1st half. In the 3rd, Malone took over as he scored 17 of Utah’s 29 3rd quarter points. He sent both Rodman and Luc Longley to the bench with their 4th personal fouls. Utah led by as many as 7 points before Kukoc hit trey at the close of the 3rd. There were 2 double technicals in the 3rd as Pippen and Stockton tangled once and Rodman and Hornacek the other time. Chicago pulled close at the end after 2 late 3-pointers by Kukoc and Steve Kerr. Antoine Carr came off the bench to score 8 crucial points in the 4th. Malone’s fadeaway jumper gave Utah an 80-76 lead in the final minute. Kukoc cost the Bulls a chance to tie as he made only 2 foul shots after being fouled on a 3-point attempt with 10.4 seconds left. Kukoc did hit a trey with 5.5 seconds left but Jordan couldn’t hit a wild, desperation shot at the buzzer.

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Game #6 @Utah 6/14/98

Chicago opened a 17-8 lead with 9 straight points in the opening quarter. The Jazz would respond with a 17-5 run to finish out the 1st period. The Jazz hit 64% from the floor in that opening quarter. Scottie Pippen missed the 2nd period with a back injury that took him to the dressing room. Michael Jordan scored 15 points in the 2nd, but missed his last 4 shots as Utah maintained the lead. Karl Malone again had a strong start with 20 1st half points at the Delta Center. The Jazz made only 33% of their shots in the 3rd but Chicago was just as bad and could not take advantage. Malone was once again shut down by Rodman in the 2nd half, as he got off only 4 shots and made only 1. Jordan scored 16 points in the final frame to bring Chicago back. Still, Utah led 86-85 and had possession of the ball with 20 seconds left. Jordan then came across and stripped Malone from the blind side in the low post. After dribbling down court, Jordan went 1-on-1 with Bryon Russell and nailed a pull-up jumper from the top of the key with only 5 ticks left on the clock. Utah could not get a good look as time ran out in the game.

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