The 2016 NBA Finals will mark the 70th championship series in league history. Countless memorable moments have taken place on the NBA’s grandest stage and after much discussion, we present some of the top moments in Finals history.
The Game: 1992 Finals, Game 1
The Series Situation: Chicago Bulls and Portland Trail Blazers tied, 0-0
The Play: Michael Jordan keys a 57-23 that starts late in the second quarter, putting on one of the most dazzling individual performances in Finals history. He buried the Portland Trail Blazers with a barrage of 3-pointers, a then-record six in the first half, as the Chicago Bulls pulled away.
The Significance: Michael Jordan was, at best, a mediocre 3-point shooter, making just 32.7 percent of his shots from there and, in the 1991-92 season, made just 27 percvent of them. Yet that June, he stitched together perhaps the most memorable 3-point shooting sequence of all time. His rat-a-tat-tat firing of six 3-pointers against the Trail Blazers in the 1992 NBA Finals led to “The Shrug,” one of the best reactions in NBA history.
Jordan came out firing in Game 1, Chicago Stadium was buzzing by his fourth 3-pointer and nearly exploded after his fifth. Then came the sixth. Guarded by Cliff Robinson, Jordan let it fly. When the ball swished, his first reaction wasn’t a shrug, but instead a taunting shake of the head — no, no, no — in Robinson’s direction. The Shrug. As in: “What in the hell did I just do?” or “What can I say?” The Shrug happened when Jordan glanced courtside at Magic Johnson, then an NBC commentator, and it became iconic.
His six three-pointers were a Finals record for a half, same for his 35 points (Jordan finished with 39). Jordan’s top foil in the series, Clyde Drexler, had 16 points. The Bulls won in six games and Drexler outscored Jordan in only one game (which the Blazers lost).
— Shaun Powell
Veteran NBA writer Shaun Powell has worked for newspapers and other publications for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here or follow him on Twitter.
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