PHOENIX - One of the biggest surprises of the 1993 NBA season came from the MVP voting. In a moderate upset, Charles Barkley was named the MVP. Looking at his numbers, and at how well Phoenix played that year, it's not completely surprising that he was picked. Not surprising, that is, until you remember that Michael Jordan was still in the league and was at the absolute peak of his abilities in 1993. Since the Bulls were still dominant, it would have seemed logical to give Jordan another MVP award. The consensus seemed to be that while Barkley was a deserving candidate, he only really won because voters were tired of voting for Jordan.
No matter. They were the two best players in the league that year, and they played on the two best teams. That can't be argued. So it wasn't a surprise when the Bulls and the Suns met in the NBA finals that June. The series was, deservedly, hyped as a battle between MVPs, Barkley vs. Jordan.
As newly minted MVP, Barkley played very well in his first Finals. He averaged 27 points and 13 rebounds a game, peaking with 42 points in Game 2 and a triple-double in Game 4. That series was the pinnacle of what was the best season of Barkley's career, and he showed he was deserving of MVP consideration.
But there was a problem. See, Jordan was as hyper-competitive as it got, and he didn't take too kindly to losing out on the MVP trophy. In Game 1, he scored 31 points with 7 rebounds ... and that was his worst game of the series. He annihilated the Suns in games 2-5, scoring 42, 44, 55, and 41 points, in addition to playing very good defense on the Suns' second-leading scorer, Dan Majerle.
Heading into Game 6 on June 20, the Bulls were up 3 games to 2. Playing at home, Barkley put in another great performance, with 21 points and 17 rebounds, keeping the Suns close. Jordan backed off a bit on his scoring, getting 33 points. In the fourth, with the Bulls offense bogging down, Jordan scored 9 points - the only ones Chicago got until the closing seconds. But it was those closing seconds that surprised everybody. With his team trailing 98-96 with 14 seconds left, Jordan took the inbounds pass in the backcourt, dribbled beyond the half-court stripe, and ... passed. The ball swung around to the Bulls' three-point specialist, John Paxson, and he did exactly what he was supposed to do: he drained the championship-clinching three.
If Jordan's decision to pass was surprising, so was what happened next. In the offseason, Jordan announced his retirement from basketball. Of course, he'd come back two years later, but for a while, it seemed as though his lasting legacy would be the 1993 Finals. And what a legacy it would have been.
(The final play begins at 1:15 of this clip)
Showing posts with label Phoenix Suns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Phoenix Suns. Show all posts
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
June 4, 1976: The Suns refuse to set
BOSTON - There was chaos on the court. John Havlicek had just made a floating jumper at the free-throw line to put the Boston Celtics ahead, 111-110, near the end of the second overtime. The clock showed zeros, but the referees - and the Phoenix Suns - knew that it should show 1 second left. The fans didn't realize that, and they were storming the court, celebrating an apparent victory.
While the referees were battling with the fans - literally in one instance - and trying to get the Celtics back onto the court, Paul Westphal was thinking. Down by one, with one second left, inbounding the ball under their own basket - things didn't look good. Plus, the Suns were out of time outs, so they couldn't advance the ball to midcourt. Or could they? The punishment for an illegal time out was a technical foul, which meant one free throw for opponents. But Westphal knew that in that instance, the Suns would still be able to advance the ball. So he took the illegal time out.
The fans cleared out, finally, resigned to ringing the court in anticipation of the actual final horn. With the Celtics brought back from the locker room, Jo-Jo White made the free throw to make it a two-point game. Then the Suns inbounded the ball, and Gar Heard made an improbable turnaround jumper from the free-throw line. A third overtime loomed.
The drama at the end of the second overtime was just part of what made Game 5 of the 1976 NBA finals one of the best NBA games ever played. You had the Suns overcoming what was at one point a 22-point deficit to send the game to overtime. You had the referees miss - or ignore - an illegal timeout call by the Celtics at the end of regulation. You had questionable clock timing on a shot by Havlicek near the end of the first overtime. And you had the Suns scoring four points in the span of five seconds to take the lead in the second overtime, setting the stage for the drama at the end of that period.
Despite the game going to three overtimes, the Suns only held the lead three times all game, all three times by a single point. The Celtics just couldn't put them away, at least not until they jumped to a six-point lead late in the third overtime. Still, the Suns didn't go easily, cutting the lead to 128-126, but they couldn't get the ball back for that one final shot. The Celtics won the game to take the lead, 3 games to 2, and eventually won the title in Game 6 in Phoenix.
This video shows the dramatic end of the second overtime, from Havlicek's shot to Heard's shot. White's free throw was cut out, but the drama of the moment is still evident.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtjfiud6e2M
HONORABLE MENTION
June 4, 1987: MADRID - It had been nearly 10 years, 122 straight races, since Edwin Moses had been beaten in the 400-meter hurdles. During the streak, he broke his own world record two times and won three World Cups, two World Championships, and one Olympic gold medal. But it couldn't last forever. Nine years, nine months, and nine days after he was last beaten, Moses was beaten by fellow American Danny Harris, ending the most impressive streak in track-and-field history.
While the referees were battling with the fans - literally in one instance - and trying to get the Celtics back onto the court, Paul Westphal was thinking. Down by one, with one second left, inbounding the ball under their own basket - things didn't look good. Plus, the Suns were out of time outs, so they couldn't advance the ball to midcourt. Or could they? The punishment for an illegal time out was a technical foul, which meant one free throw for opponents. But Westphal knew that in that instance, the Suns would still be able to advance the ball. So he took the illegal time out.
The fans cleared out, finally, resigned to ringing the court in anticipation of the actual final horn. With the Celtics brought back from the locker room, Jo-Jo White made the free throw to make it a two-point game. Then the Suns inbounded the ball, and Gar Heard made an improbable turnaround jumper from the free-throw line. A third overtime loomed.
The drama at the end of the second overtime was just part of what made Game 5 of the 1976 NBA finals one of the best NBA games ever played. You had the Suns overcoming what was at one point a 22-point deficit to send the game to overtime. You had the referees miss - or ignore - an illegal timeout call by the Celtics at the end of regulation. You had questionable clock timing on a shot by Havlicek near the end of the first overtime. And you had the Suns scoring four points in the span of five seconds to take the lead in the second overtime, setting the stage for the drama at the end of that period.
Despite the game going to three overtimes, the Suns only held the lead three times all game, all three times by a single point. The Celtics just couldn't put them away, at least not until they jumped to a six-point lead late in the third overtime. Still, the Suns didn't go easily, cutting the lead to 128-126, but they couldn't get the ball back for that one final shot. The Celtics won the game to take the lead, 3 games to 2, and eventually won the title in Game 6 in Phoenix.
This video shows the dramatic end of the second overtime, from Havlicek's shot to Heard's shot. White's free throw was cut out, but the drama of the moment is still evident.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtjfiud6e2M
HONORABLE MENTION
June 4, 1987: MADRID - It had been nearly 10 years, 122 straight races, since Edwin Moses had been beaten in the 400-meter hurdles. During the streak, he broke his own world record two times and won three World Cups, two World Championships, and one Olympic gold medal. But it couldn't last forever. Nine years, nine months, and nine days after he was last beaten, Moses was beaten by fellow American Danny Harris, ending the most impressive streak in track-and-field history.
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