Chicago Bulls - Indiana Pacers | 1998 Playoffs | ECF Game 6: Pacers take it to the limit

Travis Best outdueled Michael Jordan in the final minute with a running bank shot and two free throws as the Indiana Pacers forced a seventh game in the Eastern Conference finals with a 92-89 victory over the Chicago Bulls.
"I felt big pressure on those two free throws but I was very confident," Best said. "It was a big game for us and we took the challenge. We were better focused."
The 5-11 Best, a reserve whose quickness has bothered Chicago throughout the series, snapped an 87-87 tie when he dribbled past Kerr and lofted a tough runner high off the glass with 33 seconds left.
"Best made big plays down the stretch," Bird said. "Our guys stepped up and made big plays. Best was key in this series. His defense was excellent."
"He made two big shots and two big free throws," Jordan said. "You have to give him credit."
Jordan, who missed a pair of shots in the final minute, tried to drive the lane but slipped and lost the ball. Derrick McKey was fouled with four-tenths of a second to go and made the first before intentionally missing the second, killing the clock.
"I actually thought I was tripped," Jordan said. "I thought I had a clear path to the basket. I started to make my move to the basket and then I started falling."
The Pacers rebounded from a 19-point beating in Game Five and remained unbeaten at home (8-0) in the postseason without a major contribution from Miller, who scored just eight points on 3-of-13 shooting. Miller made clutch shots at the end of Games Three and Four to lead Indiana to a pair of wins.
"We were very motivated tonight because we embarrassed ourselves in the previous game," Dale Davis said. "We came ready to fight, claw and give it our all."
"After Game Five I felt they really quit on me," Pacers coach Larry Bird said. "Tonight they played as hard as they possibly could and I expect that on Sunday."
There were 19 ties and 15 lead changes, including six and three in the frantic final four minutes. The Pacers, who squandered a 10-point second-quarter lead, held the Bulls without a basket over the final 2 1/2 minutes. Chicago was called for an illegal defense and Miller's technical foul shot tied it with 1:27 left.
"The illegal defense ... changed the direction of the game," said Jackson, who was fined $10,000 for complaining about the officiating after Game Four. "We had to catch up and then they swallowed the whistles on the last call."
The illegal defense was called against Pippen by Hue Hollins. In Game Five of the 1994 conference semifinals, Hollins called a questionable foul against Pippen in the closing seconds and the Bulls went on to lose the game and the series.
"There were two crucial calls that were uncalled for," Pippen said. "The illegal defense call was a backbreaker. It was one of those games where he finds a way to pick me out of the group somehow."
Pippen scored 19 points, but just one in the fourth quarter as he shot 6-of-18 from the field. Longley contributed 13 points and Dennis Rodman pulled down 12 rebounds, helping Chicago to a 44-29 edge on the glass.
Jordan made 12-of-23 shots and moved within four points of tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leading playoff scorer at 5,762 points. Pippen moved past Julius Erving into 13th on the all-time list with 3,106 points.
The Pacers shot 47 percent (33-of-70) from the field with just seven turnovers. They held the Bulls to 41 percent (31-of-76) and forced 13 turnovers. Smits, pushed off the low blocks in Game Five, made 11-of-12 shots.
Rik Smits scored 25 points and Dale Davis added 19 for Indiana, which reached Game Seven of the conference finals for the third time in NBA franchise history. Trying to become the first ABA team to reach the NBA Finals since the 1976 merger, the Pacers lost to the New York Knicks in 1994 and the Orlando Magic in 1995.
"We've got one game to see who goes to the Finals against the best team," Pacers guard Reggie Miller said. "The chips are stacked against us as they were when we played New York and Orlando. This time they are really stacked against us as we play in Chicago."
Game Seven is Sunday night at Chicago. The two-time defending champion Bulls have not played a Game Seven since losing the 1994 conference semifinals at New York. Jordan was retired at the time and has not played a Game Seven since the conference semifinals in 1992, a win over New York.
"We haven't played a Game Seven in six years," Jordan said. "We have to go out and play hard because there is no tomorrow. Come 6:30 on Sunday it's do or die. Someone's going to be happy and someone's going to be sad. We're going to win Game Seven."

[@dariusherring9730]

What is so unique about this series is not really the fact Indiana took the Bulls to 7 games but they were the ONLY team that didn't allow the Bulls to win a road game. Every playoff series in each of the Bulls' championship runs, the Bulls got at least one road win EXCEPT this series.

[@christianschneider6538]

That Jordan outro though...SAVAGE

[@xenniealchayliss2489]

What The We gonna win game 7 I don't make promises, not even to my wife, but we gonna win game 7 That outro?

[@AHMAD-2324]

I love how calm MJ was even though he knew he had just cost them the Game. All be it wasn't he fault he slipped shit happens... But his calmness and swag in the press conference was legendary.

[@validhaitian]

He was actually tripped

[@Wis_Dom]

People so use to that Lebron diva drama, they forgot that real legends stay calm under pressure and live with the results.

[@johnboehmer6683]

​@@validhaitian He 1000% was not tripped.

[@raymondruiz7981]

True. Sonic’s and Utah too

[@TheDignam]

I miss the 90's NBA.

[@jermaineridley573]

I missed these days basketball was the shit. I was 14 years old Jordan was a legend 6 titles BeastMode

[@yetaca]

The true legend in this series was Rik Smits

[@reyjeff4297]

yetaca so many shots made

[@ercarras]

One of the best playoff series I've ever seen. Also, one of the few teams to take Chicago to the limit.

[@johnboehmer6683]

The only team...

[@TwoThreeForever]

6:31-6:37 ''these are the moments Jordan lives for. into the lane, turn around fadeaway...that's WHY he lives for them!'' ^ legendary commentating from Bob Costas

[@leonblack751]

You damn Right

[@scottbignell]

This was the best Pacers team ever assembled IMO. Even better than the 2001 team that went to the Finals. Taking the Jordan-Pippen-Rodman Bulls to 7 games was a higher acolade than losing to the Lakers in the Finals in 2001.

[@Jimmy_Hopkins15]

scottbignell The pacers went to finals in 2000 actually

[@4sername]

OP, youre an idiot

[@APOCALYPSE_X-MEN]

CatchCanista He's an "idiot" because he got the date wrong by only one year?

[@reyjeff4297]

I totally agree

[@scarykurapika100yago2]

I think 2005 Pacers wouldve been better if not for suspensions in the horrible malice at the palace..

[@showstoppa01]

94 95 and 98 PAcers were in Game 7 one game away from reaching the finals each yr and failed. 99 lost to knicks in game 6. but finally made it in 2000. Pacers could of been a dynasty

[@johnboehmer6683]

Just a TON of talent on those teams, with both Brown and Bird for great coaching. Just one of many loaded sports teams who never found a way to quite put it all together.

[@wavyamar]

This one of the greatest series in the history of the NBA let alone MJs career. I love to call it the Stiches series. MJ was scary good

[@illsim]

them playoff 13s clean af

[@kOrOne79]

Thanks man, I was scratching my head over how I could finish this vid. I think MJ's statement at the end adds a somewhat positive outlook regarding Game 7.

[@kOrOne79]

Thanks. I chose this series mainly because of Game 7, one of my favourite Bulls games.

[@reyjeff4297]

kOrOne79 just an amazing game. I think it was even better than either Utah series.

[@CarlyUTube]

Watching Bulls and Pacers 2011 in the playoffs right now and this is better.

[@thopkin12000]

I love the guarantee at the end. No one else can deliver like he could.

[@thesavvysneakerhead]

I remember watching this as a kid and my jaw dropping in shock when Jordan fell to the floor at the end...you never expected him to fail down the stretch.

[@TheSands83]

Yeah that shit hurt me inside.. it was like seeing a god b humbled..,same thing when they lost to Orlando n jordan air balled his last shot I literally was sick to my stomach 😂

[@johnboehmer6683]

He actually failed several times down the stretch throughout this series.

[@thechristos]

I strongly agree. Defensive intensity is no where near what it used to be. That along with the lack of any real rivalries because teams change so much along with all the whistle blowing has really taken alot of emotion out of the game which is what i loved about it so much.

[@danielmatos2533]

4:34 and 6:07 Rodman and MJ were some intense dudes, neither one gave even a slight 2nd thought about chasing that ball

[@diamenz]

man, that slip by mj was beautiful - that's how good he was.

[@reyjeff4297]

diamenz hell yeah, it seems like everything he did looked cool

[@hectorlopez1069]

He sure looked so bad with the ball.

[@johnboehmer6683]

Can someone with any amount of impartiality put together a highlights video next time? Just checked out the three Pacer victories, but if we go by just the plays shown in these videos, Chicago collectively won something like 100 - 40.

[@chrisuncleahmad]

Amazing to think the '98 Pacers didn't lose a home game this playoff, yet still fell short (Cavs/Knicks got 1 win on their homecourts, and obviously this was a homer series)

[@rlbfhs07]

I was a bulls fan back then but i been a mavz fan fan since 2002

[@kOrOne79]

It's like Pippen said in the Championship vid, the Bulls gave Game 4 & 6 away. Although I think you have to give the Pacers credit. Apart from Game 5, they played a great series.

[@hectorlopez1069]

Give them credit for going the distance of taking the bulls to 7 games. They almost won it too.

[@Intramorph]

You're right. We DID see what happened to Scottie when Jordan left. He averaged 22.0 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 5.6 APG, 2.9 STL (LED THE LEAGUE!), & 1.9 3-pnt. He shot 49% from the field, including a career-best 32% from the three-point line. He was named to the All-NBA First Team, won the All Star MVP and finished third in the regular season MVP voting. Most impressively, the Bulls finished the season with 55 wins, only two less than the year before!! Scottie is a hall of famer, with or without MJ!

[@neosmndrew]

Jordan tripped. no one is perfect. he still won the series.

[@alaskanmarine1]

I appreciate you posting the whole series, very cool.

[@superBernard49]

Agreed. Smits wasn't a great rebounder, but he had the shooting touch and post moves that most centers today lack.

[@Survivor87]

I cannot help but think how loud Market Square Arena could be. I miss it.

[@jordanlover23]

furyofdawolfx, I've never seen Kobe do the "two-stage" shot fake the way Jordan did. I wish I could find a clip of it. They had a perfect example of it on ESPN's retrospective when MJ retired in '98, in the segment about not being able to stop Jordan's jumper.

[@kennygriff24]

Sip Rodgers just killin' it!

[@popeyeisgood]

plus he was just so smart at that time with all the experience he got from the years. he did that move like dancing without much unnecessary movement. and yea he did it so many times but i havent seen one stopping him for making the basket. he also did it a lot when he came back as a wizard.

[@jordanlover23]

By the way, that post move by MJ at 2:55 is siiiiiick. He made the best use of the "high shot fake" that I've ever seen. He even had a two-stage shot fake where he faked it at chest level, hesitated if the guy didn't bite, and then continued up with the shot and faked it above his head, usually getting the defender to bite on the second part of the fake.

[@jayscribe7547]

Epic game!

[@Xavier1215]

Larry Bird's expression=priceless

[@brianbigb]

When you get back from your 8th birthday party & saw this footage on NBC. Worst birthday ending ever. Lol this game aired or May 29, 1998

[@leonidforgang3849]

That Pacers squad was legit. I think they were better than the 2000 and 2004 Pacers imo.

[@TheMrKobeBryant2012]

I was 20 lol

[@thopkin12000]

"We're gonna win game 7. I don't make promises, not even to my wife. Bit we will win game 7."---Fuckin heroic.

[@hectorlopez1069]

Don't forget, you lost game 7 in 1990, against the Pistons.

[@Someone-hi1nt]

@@hectorlopez1069 what does that have to do with anything lmao, just wondering

[@kOrOne79]

MJ tripped, but it wasn't a foul. McKey didn't try to foul him, Jordan was just making his move when his foot caught McKeys foot, that's all.

[@mickeyjohnson5247]

True

[@Evenmixer]

Not sure. First, Indiana went to nba finals in 2000, not 2001. This 1998 bulls team was out of gas. Pippen had a lot of injury this year, rodman got injuries and suspension problems and this bulls team were old. The lakers team in 2000 was one of the greatest of the nba because they got the MVP O'neal, great Kobe Bryant, Glen Rice and others good role players

[@worldlfree]

Evenmixer n Phil Jackson

[@iluvrei]

mj at 35 here..amazing!!! but i bow down to the pacers here..they could have given me a heart attack back then!! hahaha... game 7 drove me to tears..hahaha

[@dukeheat]

This just proves that even the best can make mistakesand stumble like Michael did. I miss those days though. I miss watching Michael and Reggie lighting it up out there.

[@phoulplae]

you have a lot of good vids man. good video AND audio editing on all of 'em. thx for keeping these old NBA playoffs alive mang!!!

[@popeyeisgood]

agree with you jordanlover23,jordan did it more than anyone else is because his fadeaway is so deadly and defenders just couldnt help jumping to reach that. it is rare for other player becuase first they have to be too threatening to the defense in the jumpshot.

[@nochey78]

sbsolutely...in fact,if i remember correctly quite a few people had the jazz beating the bulls in the finals that year...never underestimate the heart of a champion....

[@leonidforgang3849]

That Pacers team was the toughest challenge for MJ and the Bulls over their 6 championship run. Really helped the Bulls in the next series against the Jazz. Damn shame Krause broke up the dynasty.

[@spitshinetommy3721]

The Bulls were older than dust in 1998. They weren't going to win any more titles after this one.

[@rooseveltdarbey9493]

@@spitshinetommy3721 you sure?

[@castrodeleonfilms]

Jalen rose and Travis best was the difference especially with the injured miller

[@PEPEelZAPATISTA]

"We're gonna win game 7..." Spoken by the true God himself.

[@thopkin12000]

This series wasn't a real series until this game. The Jazz and Bulls fought neck and neck EVERY game. A few missed shots by the bulls in '97, and the Jazz would've won the title. The Bulls just underestimated the Pacers in this series, thus their inability to put them away in 5. Overall, the Jazz game them a harder time, even though they never went to the full 7.

[@thopkin12000]

I was talking about the '97 finals against the jazz. I think the Bulls were much better then the Pacers, but they underestimated them, which is why they went 7. If the Bulls played like the 62-20 team they were, they would have put the Pacers away in 5.

[@TheRatedIX7]

Man, I miss NBA on NBC with Bob Costas callin these games.

[@sunnyboy8644]

@JonThorn dont forget "The Choken One" LeChoke AKA Quitness James. LOL !

[@croz24]

the pacers did win 58 in 1998 and bird did coach that season's east all-star team...

[@sunike07]

"Miller! trying to guard Jordan...but can't" that kinda sounded funny right there when the narrator said that...sounded like the narrator was talkin in a sense where you gotta be makin a fool outta yourself trying to guard the best in the nba...but as i watched this clip...jordan really looks unstoppable!!!

[@jordanlover23]

Wow, I always thought Jordan just lost his balance there (which is rare, but happens to everyone), but seeing the replay at the end you can clearly see that his left foot caught McKey's left foot, causing him to stumble forward. Wow; this is a revelation for me. He definitely had the step and lane on McKey there if he didn't trip, and could have ended the series in 6.

[@Wardfolio]

People forget Michael had bad tendinitis for most of his career, especially later during this time. But he never used it as an excuse.

[@kOrOne79]

Thanks, I wasn't sure how that would play out, but somwhow it works.

[@TwoThreeForever]

wow I wouldn't ever expect Jordan to slip with the ball =\

[@hectorlopez1069]

It was the dumbest thing, Jordan ever did with the ball.

[@thopkin12000]

I read a book about this season, and author said Jordan looked old. Fuck that, he looks amazing here.

[@Bet-O33]

I like Ric Smits game he had a nice shot he's a hall of famer to me.

[@rmur23]

If MJ doesn't get tripped, Toni hits the series winning 3 pointer. Look how open he was.

[@drewdeze]

you are 100% right, but if i am not mistaking, you can correct me on this if u really wanna try, when pippen played for the blazers, how many points did the blazers have the lakers down in the 4th quarter of that game 7, and if im not mistaking once again, the lakers did win that game after being blown the eff out. now you type this with a straight face and tell me that that would have happened with jordan as the 2 guard? jordan wouldnt allow that 2 happen and u know damn well im right

[@ryandavid6101]

This series is more interesting than the Heat playoff games COMBINED.

[@andgar923]

Great ending to the "vid" I liked how you edited the trip in slow motion to make a point.

[@oneoneone5]

Great compilation. And Michael was right. He didn't make promises to his wife. Especially one about being faithful.

[@drewdeze]

i do agree with you, but in all fairness, if scottie pippen didnt play for the bulls do you think he would even be considered for the hall of fame, better yet even be considered one of the top 50 greatest players to ever play the game? im a bulls fan til the day i die but we saw what happened that year jordan left

[@jordanlover23]

Bobo0383, I know, I'm not saying that I would expect the refs to call that, just that it changes my perception of what happened, because Jordan actually WAS tripped. I always just thought he got ahead of himself trying to make a quick drive.

[@kOrOne79]

Yeah, without the replay it's impossible to see this, even on a big screen, because of the camera ankle and overall tempo of the scene. Jordan played a great game until that point. I'm pretty sure the Bulls would've won the game in OT.

[@alcides299]

What gives even more credit to Pippen and Jordan is that they had to go against very very good teams, there were a lot of great players and they were able to subdue them all. Nowadays, besides a few exceptions everyone just sucks. Fuck, even the crowd was better

[@tazbomberman]

the slow motion replay at the end is a great touch , good job Korone79

[@johnboehmer6683]

As long as it wasn't shown again to suggest Jordan was fouled, cuz the super slo-mo only establishes all the more that he wasn't.

[@thopkin12000]

Was this Jordan's toughest series? I think the Jazz in '97 gave them a harder time.

[@mr.e347]

Wonder what Mullin would do if he was healthy like in Warriors years with 25pts a game. Good times.

[@iluvrei]

this game broke my heart but this only adds to mj's legen.the thing about mj is that even in a loss he plays his heart out..and more than anything plays like the usual, his best,..i mean, every superstar should do that even if they sometimes miss or make a mistake..imagine this way back when they lost, mj is blamed all the time. that is how it was, still is..so my point? superstars today should just stop whining,lol the 90's playoffs were great.. intensified and yeah, old school competitive!

[@ThaLiveKing]

Larry Bird was coaching this Pacers team, they took them to the limit, Bird is running the team, I expect no different

[@philipconte5732]

I’ve heard the phrase many times “It’s not a series until someone wins on the road”. But, I don’t know, the home team won every game of this one and it sure felt like one hell of a goddamn series to me.

[@LorenzoCastillo7]

@Intramorph That's all fine and dandy, not considering the roster was different, and other factors played in, BUT you're missing the most important thing-- you're comparing a 55 win team that LOST in the second round to a 57 win team that WON the finals.

[@BigBuoyant]

2:51 to 2:58 After splitting between 2 defenders going under 7ft. 4in. Rik Smits. For Fux Sake! MJ was already past his prime, but still completed the 3-peat as the G.O.A.T.

[@popeyeisgood]

and second they have to have lighting reaction to how the defense react and be able to find the ground to plant their feet into the paint. third, they probably need good legs to do the layup without much momentum. i mean how many 'they' are there? i guess it is only probably jordan has that kind of weapon to do so.

[@teddet87]

i'm surprised jordan didn't cross over to the left for lay up or jump shot on the last play.

[@helenlundeberg]

@JayT98 It's true in the regular season but the 2010 laker - celtics series was OK in that respect, not too many foul calls

[@thopkin12000]

Jordan said that?

[@rmur23]

Yep, Bulls got every call in the 4th quarter, thats why they shot 4 more FTs for the whole game and the last 4 were intentional fouls..... please tell me which call the Bulls got that they shouldnt have? The game 7 video is on the right hand side... I'd love to know.

[@thopkin12000]

Agreed. Put MJ from the '98 season in this past year's Finals in place of Kobe, the Lakers win the series in 6.

[@frostey91]

Michael = Beastly Bull But Travis had the BEST floater

[@dragondawgzz]

what's the book called?

[@bobbo0383]

You're right I sort of misspoke. I'm just saying normally you don't get that call especially on the road.

[@Bountyville424]

the famous elementry school mistake by MJ..lol me an dmy homie still laugh at that till this day

[@r2baar]

MJ didn't do a Paul Westphal there at the end...hehe

[@jordanlover23]

Watch his lead foot on the replay and you can clearly see that it hit McKey's foot and made him stumble. Not saying it should have been called a foul at that stage of the game, but there was definitely contact. He didn't just lose his balance for no reason.

[@thekiller678]

Bob Costas loves MJ lol

[@TurboD16z6]

@Intramorph yea because of Jordan, Pippen learn from the Best. btw Pippen didn't Led the League, it was D. Robinson. also btw, pippen is normal with jordan, and great along. Jordan was great without or without.

[@rafikz77]

What's with the replay at the end? That wasn't a foul

[@alfatrinininja]

rafikz77 just to highlight a moment in the story. Historically clutch player stumbles on a huge play in the playoffs causing them to go to game 7

[@homersimpson9]

Pacers' chants of defense, whether @ Market Square or Conseco, are VERY strange.

[@markgramenz]

good call bud, i hate fans that think kobe is mike

[@davenue3428]

I mean Mckey's foot tripped MJ, thus MJ stumbled. That should be a foul on Mckey. What you said is totally in-comprehensible.

[@eazyduzzit33]

why is travis best playing in europe he was awsome

[@jordanlover23]

He did this a lot of times, and it's something I've never seen anyone else do (as an example off the top of my head, he did it to Jalen Rose during the '96 or '97 season). A two-stage shot fake; hopefully someone knows exactly what I'm talking about. He also did it in the '97 Finals to fake Hornacek and Ostertag out of their shoes near the FT line and glide in for a lefty layup.

[@qgreen100]

watch Kukoc on the Pentertraion, come on Isiah you knew mike was gonna get it

[@yaiqab]

They're lucky that Jordan tripped because he was heading to that basket with a head of steam and Dale Davis was not going to stop whatever he had planned.

[@dimedropper1992]

"miller, trying to guard Jordan...... but can't"

[@acsacs1]

the jazz had more wins than the bulls in 98!?

[@APOCALYPSE_X-MEN]

acsacs1 They had the same number of wins, but the Jazz swept the season series.