Larry Bird’s Team Last to Push Michael Jordan to Game 7!

The debate over who is the greatest of all time (G.O.A.T) between Michael Jordan and LeBron James often involves the Game 7 scenario.

Michael Jordan never encountered a Game 7 in the NBA Finals, whereas LeBron James played crucial Game 7s, bringing victories to the Miami Heat against the San Antonio Spurs and to the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Golden State Warriors.

However, Jordan did face Game 7 situations in other playoff series. Notably, one such instance was during the 1998 Eastern Conference finals when his Chicago Bulls squared off against the Indiana Pacers.

In this critical match, the Bulls were nearly ousted by a strong Pacers team featuring players like Reggie Miller, Mark Jackson, Jalen Rose, and Chris Mullin, under the coaching of NBA legend Larry Bird.

Antonio Davis, the starting forward for the Pacers, recalled how Miller motivated the team, making them believe they could conclude the Jordan-led Bulls’ reign.

“He tip-toed that line like, ‘we going to win this game,’” Davis shared with Back In The Day Hoops On SI. “You could see him before the game, shaking his head and saying, ‘we gonna win this game.’ From him to Mark Jackson to Derrick McKey, everyone in our locker room had this belief that to win, you’d have to really outplay us. We weren’t just going to hand it over… You had to really bring your best game.”

Their confidence was buoyed by Miller’s game-winning three-pointer in the dying seconds of the previous game, a moment so significant that the NBA later ranked it among the top 60 playoff moments ever. This victory heightened their belief in toppling the Bulls, who were the reigning champions for the last two seasons.

Yet, despite a promising start in Game 7, the Pacers faltered and lost 88-83, allowing the Bulls to progress and ultimately secure their third consecutive championship by defeating the Utah Jazz.

“So many times I’ve revisited that game, and as crazy as it sounds, I’ve watched it a couple of times,” Davis remarked. “I believed it was all about who turned up and who made fewer mistakes on that day. Ultimately, they made fewer errors than us. But I knew how tough it was to go to Chicago and win a Game 7. It wasn’t impossible, though. We knew we had a chance to do something special.”

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at [email protected]

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