Chicago Bulls - Orlando Magic | 1996 Playoffs | ECF Game 1: Orlando's worst Nightmare
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.พ. 2025
- For the Chicago Bulls, today's performance was worth the wait.
Chicago spent all season looking forward to a playoff rematch against the Orlando Magic, the team that eliminated the Bulls last year in the second round. This year's ECF is Chicago's chance for revenge. And in Game 1, revenge was both sweet and spectacular.
Playing a magnificent game with passion and precision, the Bulls embarrassed Orlando, 121-83, to open the four-of-seven-game series at the United Center. It was a loss that could have disastrous consequences for the Magic, because Horace Grant suffered a hyperextended left elbow in the third quarter when he collided with his teammate Shaquille O'Neal. X-rays taken of Grant's elbow were negative, but he left the arena in pain and he was listed as questionable for Tuesday night's Game 2 in Orlando.
If Grant cannot play, Orlando will have even more difficulty matching up with Chicago's frontline. And even before Grant left today's game, this was a thorough beating from the start, and Orlando was on the receiving end of the spanking. The Bulls outrebounded the Magic by an incredible 62-28 margin.
Chicago opened the game with such emotion, Orlando looked like a boxer who had been stunned early, and the Magic never got off the ropes. Two minutes into the game, Chicago led, 10-0, and Michael Jordan had yet to take a shot.
It was only a sign of things to come. There was no need for Jordan (21 points on 9-for-17 shooting, 7 rebounds, 4 assists) to carry the offense today, because his teammates more than carried their weight. Dennis Rodman (21 rebounds) rebounded as if every missed shot was his personal property and even added a season-high 13 points. Scottie Pippen (18 points, 7-for-20 from the field, 8 rebounds, 4 assists) was more aggressive offensively than at any time during the previous series against the Knicks. And Chicago's ball movement was so crisp and purposeful, the Bulls carved through Orlando's defense like a surgeon's knife.
The Bulls looked like the class of basketball today, like the team that won a record-setting 72 games during the regular season. They also looked like a team on a mission, and after this performance, one had to wonder if Orlando could stop them. Leading by 10 points at halftime, the Bulls built a 23-point lead late in the third quarter and they were never challenged thereafter.
"We were pretty surprised," said Jordan, who will be named the NBA's most valuable player for the fourth time at a news conference Monday. "The game turned lopsided, which we never anticipated. We came out with a lot of intensity and a lot of emotion. It became fun."
Whatever Orlando's defensive game plan was, it did not work. The Magic did not contain Pippen, or Jordan, or anyone else. Meanwhile, Chicago's defense was brilliant, holding the highest-scoring team in the playoffs in check. The Bulls' philosophy was simple. They expected Anfernee Hardaway and Shaquille O'Neal to get their points, but they were determined to contain everyone else. That is exactly what happened. Hardaway (38 points, 15-for-21 shooting) had a superb game in defeat, and O'Neal powered his way to 27 points.
But for much of the game, it looked as if Orlando was playing two against five. Orlando's supporting cast abandoned its two superstars like passengers on a sinking ship. Grant was scoreless. Dennis Scott was scoreless. Nick Anderson had 2 points.
The Bulls guarded O'Neal primarily one on one, with Luc Longley, Bill Wennington, John Salley and Rodman taking turns defending against Orlando's center. That allowed the rest of the Bulls to concentrate on covering Anderson, Grant and Scott on the perimeter. Ron Harper did a solid job on Scott, Jordan shut down Anderson and Grant had no room to take his reliable perimeter jumper.
How will Orlando counteract this strategy?
"That's something we're going to have to figure out between now and Tuesday," said Brian Hill, Orlando's coach. "I don't have the answer to that right now. We were not aggressive offensively. We were not aggressive defensively. The outcome of this series isn't going to change unless we pick up our aggressiveness."
Orlando will get another chance. But this game belonged to the Bulls.
I remember Nick Anderson after 1995 playoffs saying "Michael Jordan is not as good as he was" One year later the Bulls swept them in their way to recover their crown. That's how you make them know you are the greatest ever
Guys like Anderson and Bryan Russell should have learned when its time to just keep quiet
One thing Nick Anderson did to himself was.. he made his own KARMA.
Those words and incidents made Nick career went down. Dunno cursed or not but missed 4 straight free throw then Bulls kicked Orlando ass 4 straight games. Sayonara. From that point Orlando hardly got playoff.
Man, that intro still sends chills up my spine. When you heard that during the MJ era you knew some serious stuff was about to go down.
On that day the intro had the feel of the Orlando Magic entering the HEART of the lion's den.
Being there in-person for the starting lineup with MJ running out on the court was the most electric experience I ever lived through. What you would see on TV didn't come remotely close to what it felt like being in the building for that intro. Great times.
Facts you went home early to catch a bulls game and martin😂
95-96 Bulls = Best Defensive TEAM in NBA History. PERIOD.
But I loved 97 line up better
Yea they locking up fr
This series meant so much to me as a kid. I hated what the Magic did to the Bulls in 95'
playing "another one bites the dust" by Queen at the end of the game was brilliant. That was the song the magic used to play in Orlando after every victory!!!!! A 38 point pounding on my 15th birthday in 1996 punctuated by Another One Bites the Dust!!! just radical
Best team of all-time
Yeah! Told you!
We Got Game Channel Needs To Upload 1996 Eastern Conference Finals Magic Vs Bulls
What jaboo said. The Bulls, led by MJ, made a furious run in the second half. The intensity and relentlessness is scary at times, makes you wonder what those Bulls would do with todays teams.
Grant played 10 minutes of the whole series and never played again. He was the key to defeating the bulls the year before. You should post the first half of game 2. I remember giving up on Orlando only to turn it on late into the 2nd quarter to see they had built a 20 point lead in Chicago W/O Grant in the lineup. They ended up losing it late because of pressure D by chicago but they never had a real chance in the series after losing Grant.
I'm a big Jordan/Bulls fan, but Penny back then with Orlando was one of my favourite players. The Salley vs Walton stuff is gold, haha.
I miss these days like crazy... Chicago witnessed a LEGENDARY Team 72-10
Penny Hardaway... what a talent! he could have been one of the greats if not for injuries :-(
My favorite point guard of all time
The same can be said of fellow Memphis alumni Derrick Rose.
Penny
@@mattcampbell334 Penny
Tmacs idol
Does anyone else see the effortless style of Ron Harper's fastbreak layups? Even past his prime in '96, he had some hangtime.
The best team and the best years. I feel lucky when I realise that I lived those things. Peace and love from Greece!
I rememer those shoes Pippen wore during this game. I had me a pair of those back in the day as well as the ones Jordan was wearing.
What is so cool about MJ is that he doesn't show off after he makes a great play. He gives the impression of total control, like all of that is normal to him. No chest or fist pumpin', or screaming like a primate as some of the stars in the game today do. He's all business, and you understand that he's the GOAT only by watching his body language on the basketball court.
Agreed. No one plays hard like this anymore. An look at that crowd!
I don't think Sally can dunk anymore -- Bill Walton. Two seconds later, monster dunk by Sally. "I think he heard you!" You can hear Walton chuckling.
The amazing thing is this Magic team was actually BETTER then last year's squad that went to the world championship..it's just that the Bulls were world-beaters in 1996..
I remember the BULLS swept the Magic...I was so thrilled! They broke our hearts when they beat us in 95'.
From whatever I've read about MJ, he was one of the most clever, funny, and biting trash talkers in the history of sports. MJ did anything he wanted to do, anytime he wanted to do it. Semper Fi.
God, I loved it when the Bulls had this characters; it was so interesting everytime they played.
Thank you for posting this. I remember asking you for this when you posted the 91 detroit series. Chicago in 4. SWEET REVENGE!
I love the song and the Bulls 1996. They were the champions and the best record in that year. I was also born in the same year they had that record.
Love that John Salley dunk at the end!!! Very Nice!
Loved that intro, nothing comes close to it today.
Hardaway was amazing in this game..... but the rest of the Magic were sooooo bad. Rebounds: Chicago 62 to Orlando 28 How is that even possible? Rodman had 21 all by himself. No pride, no effort.
Uh...Chicago had a lot to do with that. #Defense
Including Shaq, the single most overrated player on the history of the game…
@@ryanpaulaskas8314
Shaq wasn't overrated...but he WAS/IS a Diva. Had an issue with allowing his teammates (Penny and Kobe share the spotlight), got lazy after winning his 1st NBA Championship and refused to work on his weaknesses (FT shooting especially).
that Salley dunk at the end was nasty! haha
This is also a perfect example of how 90% of the Bulls' games went that year: 5-10 point lead at halftime, about 6min into the third quarter, they're up by 25. That team could go on runs like I've never seen. Pip and MJ would just lock down on D, start ripping the ball away, and all of a sudden they're in this warp zone that no one could deal with.
thanks a lot for posting this.
Old Chicago stadium was the loudest basketball arena I've ever heard. I remember watching games that the Old Garden and the Old Forum and nothing was as raucous as Chicago Stadium. The building would literally be shaking. I miss the old atmosphere of 80's and 90's basketball. Oracle Arena reminds me the most of Chicago Stadium as of today's settings.
+Gnev Gnok The old Chicago Stadium had an incredible energy behind it. While you can tell these games at the United Center had energy, it still pales compared to the Chicago Stadium, IMO.
Amazing the defender that Rodman was. During his career he succesfully guarded the greatest perimeter player ever (Jordan) and arguably the most dominant interior player ever (Shaq).
can't wait for game 2, wasn't that the game where the bulls were down big but they made a huge comeback in the end?
Thank you, thank you, and thank you again, K. I wish every video on TH-cam followed your lead.
it was certainly a peak in nba history. penny hardway before the knee injuries. people forget how good he was
Great Video! I can't wait to see the rest of the games again. I haven't seen them since 1996 :)
I saw the Bulls play at the United Center back in 1996 (I think). Seeing the lights show in this video really brings me back! I totally forgot about that.
6:11 amazing defense from Jordan on Penny
Ive heard people say that had grant not gotten injured in game 1 Orlando woulda won this series since it was grant who killed them in '95 but......I dint think so
good job getting the bulls intro in there. classic.
This is the only year in the playoffs Michael Jordan didn't have anything really memerable outside of the fact that they got revenge on orlando and Jordan won the championship on father's day. it's not like in 91 the switch of hands, 92, the three pointers, 93 the 55 points in game 4 against the suns, 97 flu game and of course 98 the final shot
90s Bulls greatest ever
1995-1996 Bulls the greatest team of all time... PERIOD! And Jordan the best player of all time!
brings back memories, by far the best intro ever!!
That looked like an NBA All-star team playing Croatia.
This series is NBA version of Tyson vsl Spinks
i remember this game like it was yesterday....
Chicago Bulls in my heart for ever
They're not booing,they say : "LUUUUUUUC"
I got this game on VHS and remember watching it live. Penny was the only Magic player who showed up to play. He scored 37 and even hit shot from half court at the halftime buzzer. You know your getting absolutely thrashed when Steve Kerr off the bench scores 14 points on you in the 4th Quarter alone!
Go Luc!
That intro music hits and I’m 12 again. Every time
Jordan plays so smart within in the offense. His team follows his leadership
Thanks man, and don't worry, the rebound dunk happened in Game 2 and will be included in my edit. The ten minute limit for videos sucks for sure, I'm already scratching my head on what to keep and what to throw out. Instead of a great 13-15 minute edit one has to go with a compromised output. Maybe they change the limit in the future.
Fuck we ll never see such a team again .
@Denairo2224
They went 72-10 in 1996. Unbelievable. When they went to different cities to play, it was like rock stars coming to town. They seemed invincible.
Shaq sold out the Orlando Magic and Penny Hardaway for Leaving.........In my opinion Penny waz way more exciting to watch than Kobe whether he waz passing like Magic Johnson or Dunking on 7-footerz like Ewing, Mutumbo, Longley, etc itz just underrated the talent level of the N.B.A. during that era which iz why the Magic got swept in the Finalz by the Rockets who are still underated.........
i read that Shaq campaigned for penny to get paid. when shaqs contract was coming to an end, penny never campaigned for shaq. the magic didn't want to pay shaq more than penny, because penny would be mad. by the time the magic realized how much they needed shaq. it was too late. by then, shaq already made a verbal agreement to jerry west
totally agree penny and grant hill were better. injuries suck
@@d25615 Better than Kobe? GTFOH.
I miss this incarnation of the Bulls. The current Bulls now are currently not so good in my opinion but i still a Bulls fan. I've Been a Bulls fan since 2006, But i will always Remember Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Luc Longley, Ron Harper and Dennis Rodman and how almost unstoppable the Bulls were in the 1990's.
These were the good days of basketball and now probably with no 11-12 NBA season life sucks now.
Look at that Bulls defense from 4:38 to 4:45. Just relentless defensive attack. Starting with pressuring the dribble, swiping and poking as they pass, doubling, recovering to the open man, swiping again, closing the passing lane slowing down the pass and finally picking it off for the break away dunk. Man if only the BUlls today would play this kind of defense. Instant contender
For those of you that don't know, the intro to this game is the awesome Lil' Penny NBA on NBC opening. That video is on TH-cam.
Greg Gumbel did a pretty decent job in Marv Albert's place...I wonder what the latter was doing?
hell yeah! i couldnt wait for next season and given jordan a full off season to build back up his skills..it was over....the revenge was on
jordans buzzer beater at like 7:51 was BEAutiful!!
It's like they sensed a challenge and just shut the other team down. They did this throughout their reign, more so in the last three championships. Miami, Utah, Atlanta, Orlando, pretty much everyone.
For the best comparison, check the games 4,5 or 7 from the Indiana series. It's like night and day.
You're welcome.
TH-cam offers this choice for some of the newer videos by themselves, but the older or smaller ones are disregarded for whatever reason.
great vid
Thanks, man. What were the other two Bulls games on NBC called by Gumbel?
the big payback..bulls revenge tour
What is the name of that song at the 4:18 when Penny is dribbling? Magic used to play it at their home too.. Beat sounds familiar..
Horace’s +/- for this game had to be -77
Poor Penny man. Guy had such a promising career, then Shaq bolts, then his knee just kept getting injured. Easily could have been a top 5 PG in this league for a long time.
There is one major thing that made this Bulls team so dangerous...they made you pay for any mistake you made and because of Dennis Rodman's rebounding ability, they had very few empty posessions
dennis rodman, was the reason why this team was able to win 72 games, and he should have been mvp of the finals against the sonics, he won 2 games that series w/his defense, energy, hustle, and physicality
you're right. these were the golden years basketball. odd, they called less fouls and players weren't hurt as much as these guys are. I've never seen so many crybabies. as in football as well.
You dont see basketball like this today if any of this happened on a game today everyone would be screaming with excitement
It was such vindication from 1995.. Jordan coming back but not fully-charged for the playoffs that year.. adding Rodman, Jordan getting back to great form, 72 wins, and a sweep. O'Neal would have to wait a few more years for his time.
Thanks. You mean the 1994-95 season?
Poor Magic. Game 1 was like watching a lion getting eaten up by a pack of hungry crocodiles underwater.
What the heck!?! The Bulls were up only by 9 or 10 pts halfway through the 3rd quarter, and they end up winning by 38!?! My goodness!! That was some turnaround in the latter stages of the game!!
Jordan didn't destroy the game, we just got spoiled. Those were the good ole days. I don't know if anyone else agrees, but I feel the Spurs are one of the few teams that play like they were from this Era.
best introduction ever...
I'd like to see a matchup between the Spurs and the Celtics this year in the finals, that would be great.
i like greg gumbel... too bad he doesnt do bball anymore
Having a superstar is not an excuse for lack of assists. The Bulls had the best player of all time and they still racked up 37 (!!!) assists in this game.
The 1996 Bulls Performed and Executed PERFECTLY!
Nice hangtime shot at 7:49.
damn this reminds me of living at my old house back in the 90's damn some good memories. anyone got a time machine?
Put This Game On NBA TV Hardwood Classics on TV
I feel sorry for anyone who played in the 90's and weren't on the Bulls
hey do u guys think if penny hardaway didnt have that injury do u think he could still be good?
Bulls o Melhor !
The shot at 7:50 was crazy!!! u got 2 be kidding!!!
3:09 DAM PENNY. i didnt realized as a kid this dudes quickness, against bulls D no doubt.
People still don’t realize the bulls would always allow one player to get off, and in the process the other team would go cold or get no rhythm .You can score 40 but if the rest of your team scores 40 you usually lose
not anymore
only the 90s bulls were amazing
"I don't think Salley can dunk anymore", next play: Salley dunks, reporter got owned :D
2:57 epic celebration jump by rodman lol
please,can anyone tell me name of the song on the begining ? ? ? thanks.....
Who were the guys calling the game?
You know its funny that people talk about how none of the Bulls teams never faced a dominant center in the NBA finals. Well if you think about it the biggest hole in that argument is that they were beating a lot of the dominant centers on there way to all those championships. During their runs through the Eastern Conference they knocked of Shaq, Ewing, Seikaly, Mutumbo, Morning, Smits, and Daughtery. Now I know not all these guys were dominant centers but they were good enough.