On the final possession of Game Four, the Chicago Bulls led the Phoenix Suns by one point with less than 30 seconds remaining. The Suns rallied, and the Bulls’ offense went cold for six minutes. With just under seven minutes left, the Bulls committed three shot-clock violations. Michael Jordan went scoreless, but then came back to score the next eight points for the Bulls. With 14.1 seconds to go in the game, the Bulls got possession after a Dan Majerle airball.
The Bulls started aggressively in the fourth quarter, and even fought to within 20 points early. But they settled for a lot of triples early in the shot clock. And the Suns’ backup unit struggled to stop the Bulls. They made a lot of mistakes and were outscored in the paint. As a result, Chicago was able to take full advantage of its sloppy defense.
After the timeout, the Bulls began to heat up. The Suns still only led by 22 points, but the Bulls started to turn things around. Devin Booker scored 22 points in the second quarter, going 8-of-10 from the field and making three 3-pointers. The Suns extended their lead early in the second quarter to 19 points. Then, Mikal Bridges’ three-point play helped bump the score to 58-37.
The Bulls were in the finals for the third consecutive time, and despite a disappointing Game 5 result, they were not out of the running. The Suns came close to forcing a Game 7, but the Bulls’ John Paxson made a last-second game-winning shot to give the Bulls the series. This was a game that will be remembered by basketball fans for years to come.
In Game Four, the Phoenix Suns outscored the Chicago Bulls in many counting statistics. Chicago shot 44% from the field, and the Suns hit 41.2% of their shots from three-point range. The Suns led 61-48 at halftime. While the Suns had the better overall game, the Bulls showed little defensive fight. In fact, they allowed the Jazz to score 71 points in the first half.
One of the most memorable NBA Finals of all time was the 1993 series between the Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns. Charles Barkley was the league MVP that year, and the Suns thought they had a legitimate shot at knocking out the Bulls. But the Bulls won the first two games in the series. The Suns rallied in Game three, winning the game in a triple-overtime game.
The Bulls have had a rough stretch this season. The team lost to the Kings and the Jazz earlier this week. Now, they sit fifth in the Eastern Conference, two games ahead of the Raptors, who have the top play-in spot. Zach LaVine is battling a knee injury, but the Bulls are optimistic that he will play on Friday.
