ON THIS DAY (1997) – Right now, only the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets remain in the NBA playoffs. The rest of the field has been eliminated. But long ago, the Chicago Bulls were still playing at this time, as Michael Jordan led them to the NBA Finals six times in the 1990s, winning all six.
In the franchise’s history, the Bulls have only played one game on June 6, and it was in 1997. Chicago was playing in their fifth NBA Championship in seven years and were up 2-0 on the Utah Jazz. Unfortunately, in Game 3, they ended up falling short, dropping their first contest of the series.
Utah ended up winning Game 3 of the Finals, taking down the Bulls by a score of 104-93. Karl Malone ended up leading the Jazz to victory, dominating the Bulls. He scored 37 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and four steals while shooting 15-of-29 from the field.
As for the Bulls, their two stars played well but not quite well enough.
Scottie Pippen led the team in scoring on the night, dropping 27 points. He also added four rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block. Pippen shot 7-of-13 from the field and 7-of-11 from behind the three-point line.
Meanwhile, Jordan put together a rather inefficient performance. The Bulls superstar ended the game with 26 points, three rebounds, six assists, one steal, and two blocks. He shot 9-of-22 from the floor and 4-of-10 from distance.
All in all, June 6 isn’t the greatest day in Bulls history. One game, one loss, and it was in the Finals.
