1996 Eastern Conference Finals Game 4

and certainly, as always, the ugly part of shaq's stat sheet is the free throw shooting so far in the playoffs overall, he's made 42 but missed 71, that's a measly 37 percent, but against the Bulls it's gotten worse , only a quarter of them have been right these These are anxious times for Shaquille O'Neal about magic, not only because of what is shaping up to be the humiliation of this series, but also because of the uncertainty that Shaq will return next year because He can exercise an option to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Yesterday he spoke to Ahmad.

Rashad and the magic of suffering in the last seconds, a blowout, our pride is at stake, I mean, we did a lot last year, but this year, I don't think we want to be remembered as a team that got swept, so we just have just so you know, go out and play hard and compete. I wanted you to see Houston's rocket celebrating because ultimately that's what we want to experience as a basketball team, when things start to fall apart, people start pointing fingers. Did that start happening on your team? No, I really don't think it has and I'm a strict player who I will never point the finger at because I'm one of the leaders of this team so if things go wrong it's my fault. , as in the army if the army.

He's wrong, it's not the soldier's fault, it's the general's fault, so if people want to point fingers, they just point them at me and I just have to adapt and come back stronger. I will never give up, even if the people, even if it is a million and one. people point their fingers I will never give up I will continue fighting it seems that we are going to shoot free throws to solve this way one of nine on the line I say impressive even before Shaquille with all his problems on the free throw line I have had this problem for a long time I practice I'm practicing and I hit them in practice and they look pretty and I nail it in practice and sometimes when I'm in a

game

I guess I'm just you know, not concentrating, I mean, but I would never make an excuse to miss the ones. free throws, I just miss them and I just have to keep working, maybe one day when I wake up, get over that phobia of making them miss in practice.

In the

game

s I'm going to be mortal, so it's a mental phobia because I just saw you shoot, you know, 10 11 in a row, but completely different, I mean, when you shot them, you shot them differently, you were much more relaxed. out of the fingers, not like you shoot them in the game, in the game. I just think I would be, just so you know, so excited, so ready to shoot, so ready to get my jump hook, so ready to run down the court, and maybe I just wouldn't do it. You know, take my time and relax, but someday I'll hit him.

I'm not even worried. There's only one thing on my mind: the championship, because I have 10 fingers and no rings when you look at the Chicago Bulls, which is. a great team, I mean a great team, how much better are they than any other team you face this year? They don't worry about who makes all the scores, who gets all the attention, I mean those guys over there, they know their roles when you went through that difficult period with your grandmother a month ago, it seemed like your relationship with coach Brian Hill was Tense, what's wrong? your relationship with Brian now I'm a coaches player anything a coach tells me to do I do it man I'm like picking a point or I'm not going to take a guy saying it's his fault I just go in And I do.

My job and he's a coach and I'm a player I do my job What about your future here in Orlando Will you be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season Do you want to stay here in Orlando Orlando is the first option? but I guess I'll have to test the market and see all my options, but you really want to stay here in Orlando, well I know it's the first option. I'm going to do what's best for me and my family so why are you avoiding me my question is the first option is the first option but do you want to stay here I'd like to be here but I'm going to do what's best for me and my family and I'm just going.

Let's look at all the options, I'm just going to weigh it, but I'll be somewhere sunny, no matter where I go, well, I just got off the phone with the Los Angeles weather office, it's 72 degrees right now. and cloudy, but they say the clouds will have cleared by next season, so the Lakers could still be on your list if you want to go somewhere sunny, maybe Miami will offer you what they promised Alonso, which would probably be a better use. the funds, yes, exactly, I think the Lakers are prepared to go after him and can give him an average of 15 million dollars on a seven-year contract, but I was told that during Orlando's negotiations with Shaq that have been ongoing , they spoke with He is about seven years old and doesn't want to play for seven years, but I think he will stay in Orlando.

I think the last thing this guy wants to do is leave this place a loser. You know, it's interesting if he doesn't want to play seven years. And what is he now 24 years old? Maybe and this is not a criticism just an observation. Maybe the younger generation of athletes don't see a legacy the same way his generation did because here's a guy who has a chance if he's lucky to stick around. being injury free to be one of the greatest players of all time, well you know I'm very strict about longevity and I don't like to give guys praise unless they play at least 10 years in the pros, but you know the economy today.

It makes it realistic that a guy can only play eight or nine years and be financially satisfied and satisfied with what he's done in his career if he's been validated by making some all-star teams, making some fully professional teams, possibly going to the final. and of course, ultimately, winning a championship. I think Shaquille's career will not be validated because of his talent unless he wins a championship. If that happens anytime soon, you might not see it for 10 seasons. How many years for you? 16 16 seasons two leagues between the aba and the nba well, maybe it's just pride, but the magic could be on the court for the last time this season, game four, the

eastern

conference

finals

, soon, mark albert and matt gucas will have the decision to call the nba playoffs. continue on nbc after these messages from your local station in michael jordan, we see one of the greatest players of all time, what we cannot see is his will within his drive to accept all challenges, his vision to be the better and for three consecutive years.

He didn't see any team do better than his Bulls, so the challenge disappeared and Michael left last year. Jordan came back with his sights set on another title, but Orlando's magic stopped them in their tracks the moment I was in control against Orlando. of the ball I lost the ball we lost the game that was not the characteristics of my game and I wish I could redeem myself for what happened last year now Jordan has the opportunity to redeem himself and he and his teammates have responded with a suffocating defense that has ignited the Bulls to three straight wins Michael has seen his teammates rise to the occasion by playing with fire and determination.

That's the Bulls, one win away from a trip to the

finals

, but a giant obstacle still stands in the way, so I want it. the nba on the nbc the

1996

nba

conference

finals on an 88 degree day in orlando we welcome you to game four of the

eastern

conference finals although there is still some hope here in the orlando area the chicago balls are just one game away from another trip to the nba championship series as the orlando magic look to hold on to avoid elimination hello everyone, I'm marv albert along with matt gookas and for michael jordan matt this has been a guy different series after accounting for more than 40 percent of Chicago's scoring In the previous playoff series against the Knicks, Nixie hasn't been the dominant force, although you still get the feeling he's lurking, especially in the fourth quarter .

So far, Michael has received a lot of help from all of his friends, but in particular from Dennis Rodman. the first game he dominated the glass with 21 rebounds and scored 13 points the second game michael and scotty raised the temperature and jordan himself outscored orlando 17 to 16 in that third quarter the game three pippins, the best overall blocks, dennis scott and strips heart away and then the nifty move along the baseline gives you the feeling that michael jordan, scottie pippen and dennis robin just won't let this bulls team lose and orlando is now injured, the club ball Horace Grant remains sidelined due to elbow problem, Nick Anderson is now out with a sprained wrist will not play today Brian Shaw and John Koncak are expected to play, while injuries are certainly a factor in this series Matt comes down to Cold fact that Orlando's two star players, Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway, simply haven't been able to do well, a lot is expected of these two young stars now that they are scoring, but the team needs more.

Shaq has too many turnovers. ball, he doesn't have enough blocks and the six of 24 from the line even makes Shaquille shake his head now that Penny Hardaway came in for 38 points in the game, a blowout, but only three assists per game and too many turnovers. Shaq and Penny must not only play well, but they must also make their teammates better. Okay, more on the Bulls and magic, let's check in with Ahmad Rashad and Jim Gray. Very good, thanks Mark. I was talking to assistant coach Jim Clemons before the game and he said there were a few points he wanted to make to the team and the first of those points was that they wanted to keep their intensity and also execute their offense.

Another thing they were worried about was giving Orlando easy points off a turnover. They don't think that with the lineup they have they can score easily, so they don't want to give them easy points because of a turnover and the third thing was to continue rebounding and play defense. They have been playing the entire series. Something else I talked about overconfidence. of Chicago in the third game I talked to Michael Jordan about it he said well some of my teammates are a little overconfident, they're talking about sweep but he said I have to remind them and it's not about sweep right now, it's about winning a game and moving forward for the Orlando side, let's go down with Jim Gray, okay, thank you very much, invite, well, I talked to several of the Orlando Magic players. and many of them privately admit that o3's comeback against the Bulls will be practically impossible.

I then asked those same players if anyone on the team would actually quit. They all said no. They said no. Today is about respect and pride. If they lose today, this will be the third straight time in three straight years that they will have been swept at some point in the playoffs. I mentioned it to Shaquille O'Neal and he told me to just play it, that's not going to happen, I can't accept that. That kind of shame would be the worst shame of my professional life and I couldn't endure the summer with that kind of brand of shame.

Okay, thanks Jim, so here comes the fourth game of the Eastern Conference finals series, The Magic and the Balls. from the florida arena as we get ready to show you the opening draw the last team to be swept from the playoffs in three consecutive seasons chicago sucks in the late 40's the stags led by max ceslovski and andy phillips and orlando doesn't want to be in that , the same line in the nba record books with the chicago stags a look at the chicago bulls starting lineup michael jordan and ron hoffer in the backcourt and up front luke longley with scottie pippen and dennis rodman pippen leaving A sensational 27-point game on Saturday afternoon, Phil Jackson, who said that when he met Brian Hill before the third game in the middle of the quarter, he shook his hand and asked him what could go wrong with his team.

Well he found out during the game when nick anderson suffered the risk problem and since we checked the magic bottle you will know a couple of changes, well Penny Hardaway is there but anthony bowie will be the starter at four. Nick Anderson Boy made just four starts during the regular season. Shaquille O'Neal, the starting center, Dennis Scott, is still trying to fight his way out of the shooting crisis and will be john made up with some idea that joe wolfe would get the call but uh koncak will be the starter despite the knee problem there there's brian hill the magic head coach yesterday on the show pete bessie reported that brian hill could be in trouble there could be interest in daily bits, while john gabriel, the magic general manager, told our jim gray earlier that hill is not in trouble, he said hill will return next season as orlando's coach, well i would tend to believe john gabriel. because first of all, this time of year you're not even thinking or talking about it, but during a playoff series there's always talk about those type of coaching changes, especially the way this series has gone, danny crawford working with new holland and dick. pavetta and uh in the initial advice uh the decision that the ball apparently someone jumpedquickly by the Chicago Bulls was Michael Jordan trying to get the lead, so it's Orlando with the first possession as he works hard against Pippin.

It just started in Ottawa's fourth game and O'Neal is missing, well, Brian Hill and his coaching staff made a couple of new wrinkles and a couple of new plays in practice yesterday and this is one of them that gets a pick and roll in the middle of the court, something that has been very difficult for them because the Bulls have been forcing their pick and roll from that silence to the baseline, but this one made Kenny move hard towards the middle and a good pass to catch the foul committed by Longley and Shaq. makes the crowd follow the one of nine on saturday by applying his first two light pressures shown as dennisscott falls behind against scottie pippen jordan is being played here at the start by bowie places the pick only with the shot well the bull It's taking a lot of time as the magical defense puts pressure on them to not get a good look at any type of offense.

The key for Chicago is keeping Luke Lawley and Dennis Rodman out of early foul trouble. That's what happened to them in game two. and that's how orlando got an 18 point lead over o'neil again led by hardaway it's a magic four lead nothing scottie pippen thought he saw the opening dennis scott was able to keep it the orlando magic tried to bounce back from an embarrassing performance here on saturday he was held to just 67 points, the second lowest in nba playoff history since the advent of the uh 24 second shot clock, he's been shooting from downtown and kept alive by rodman well, right away you can see the fervor and passion in the magic defense to start this ball game with something different michael jordan putting the bulls on the crowd scoreboard looking for a flagrant foul but it's a personal foul michael jordan just got that little pass by dennis robin and a good look at shaquille guarding rodman too slow to come out and challenge jordan's shot and that was called a foul with no shot jordan was able to deflect it into the defensive zone oh jordan was picked out of Scott Hardaway's steal oh , the magic that opened up very alertly, we didn't see this at all on Saturday and one has to wonder why Barb, it's just a matter of preparing and playing at a playoff type intensity and that's what we're seeing here at the beginning of this ball game for orlando chicago that looks a lot like magic especially in games one and three away from the ball, orlando was asked not to start in game one and they were eliminated, they couldn't finish game two. when the bulls came back from an 18 point deficit and put up a horrendous performance in game three on saturday against the double team the foul is called orlando who tries to catch jordan and comcast picks up two quick ones. chicago has had a lot of success getting out and running off turnovers after steals and dennis rodman sensing that pass to scottie pippen comes in and picks his pocket and finds hart away from alfieman one on one with scott yeah, he usually keeps him alive and then scott hart strips him off all the way and it's orlando eight chicago two and phil jackson sitting stoically on the bench barely watching the action a little upset with his team probably warning them for two days that something like this could happen if his club wasn't ready but michael jordan is showing he's ready michael heads for his first two field goal attempts jordan is coming off a very quiet game here on saturday and also at the end of the game he sprained his ankle but he says he's fine and he's not show signs of ankle problem o'neill comes in and rod was able to hit the rebound good defensive work oh that's scott almost with another steal offer jordan changed his mind with the show the ball moves hard and the bulls will maintain possession and they really will Chicago still has control off the board, that's been the story of this series too when you have Dennis Robin on the court, that will be the case most of the time.

Lovely goes to the hook shot and the rebound taken by Hardaway Scott for three Dennis Scott, who has been struggling, has not been able to make not only the shot from the center from the two-point shot, he was two in his previous 13 in the series . Orlando up 11-4 offered trying to do well. This is what the Orlando Magic does. wanted by dennis scott since the beginning of the series and something he's done all season finding that three point line in catch and fire transition and that time he had scottie pippen on top of him with his hand in his face and it didn't matter because, right? now the magic is playing with so much emotion you'll remember they opened up strong on saturday but couldn't keep it leading the magic here 11-4 here's scott upside down and orlando up 13-4 and as you say phil jackson just carries it well one way to get going is to play tough, aggressive defense, which is what dennis scott has been doing and that's why his body is so alive on the offensive end, that's the fifth turnover committed by the bulls and three state travel violations, stop passing the three o'neal backing up and hitting shaquille and phil jackson knows there will be a timeout as soon as we hit the 659 mark and under on that dead ball, ron hopper with his first field goal orlando magic waiting to take this series to a fifth game which would take place in Chicago on Wednesday night.

Oh, that's Shaquille O'Neal, who just had some words for Dennis Rodman as they headed to the court. They have been attacking each other throughout the series. Shaquille's retirement. he referred to rodman as a gimmick and rodman has been saying well she's cured oh first break for magic scott for three longley gets to it he's been saying well o'neill will be a great player one day good move by michael jordan he it's three out of three it's six points and it's magic 17 the eight balls and at the other end dennis rodman barks at official danny crawford saying he was thrown to the ground the bulls are still getting their chances to run like magic and then some of that excitement starting to wear down it's a little slow coming back to the defensive room they're up 17-8 shooting from downtown two of 13 from three point range before that just one of seven from downtown in game number three we asked Dennis what do you think about shooting problems It's just one of those things that I guess we as shooters go through when the ball just doesn't want to go in the basket and then when I finally get some good looks sometimes I guess in this series they have gone far. in the middle and sometimes I found myself rushing or getting too anxious, oh I finally got a good look and I'm not shooting my normal shot and you know that's something you go through well, the only way out of it is to keep shooting, but I'm trying to protect myself from making bad shots or starting to hurt myself and hurt the team and we're already down by more than three.

I don't want to go out and start taking crazy shots making everything look worse. of what went well throughout the season, dennis scott benefited from the whole double team of shaquille o'neal and penny hardaway, he usually opened up for those three point shots, another alert play has not happened in this series on the Magic side, they've been swarming defensively here early, they lead 17-8, anthony bowie blocked jordan, got a contact right there and it's orlando 19 chicago 8. uh, even the picks are better for orlando shaquille o 'neal has set up a couple of very good ones in pick and roll and before we saw john conking almost level michael jordan near midcourt illegal defense call for the first time let's see ahmad rashad mark doing that last time phil jackson very calmly reminding her team that they expected this kind of intensity, the crowd behind her and everything, but they said that with their experience they should be able to win the storm, they had a lot of ballgame left, they just had to start working on it, okay, thanks for the help of a jumper. to solve it with an offer of three and five points and it is the magic for eight just under five minutes.

Romani Ron Harper's shots have been very poor in this series, but his defense has been exceptional in trying to turn balls and he was pushed with long leg, so Luke commits his second pot most of this series Shaq Se he stayed in the middle against luke longley and has a lot of success turning towards the baseline against wennington he thought he might as well try it with someone else and now phil jackson is going to come with the blue coach and go small to try to reverse the momentum of this ball game will sit after receiving his second foul replacing orlando donald royal checking in and john conjack hears it from the crowd it has been a gallon effort by john koncak who was a question mark for games three and game four today due to the knee issue Kukov called the hole now that is the team's number four lack over the Bulls Orlando with three, well, Penny Hardaway, who has averaged just three assists per game in the three games played.

So far he already has three poppers off the board when he peeked, but a foul reach and Paul at Royal Orlando defensively very aggressive showing the passion and heart that seems to be missing in the third game and when you start a game it gets messed up with that. type of aggression and if you can maintain it for long periods you will get the benefit of most referee calls, but if you start slowly, without moving your feet, without chasing people, without crashing and then trying to do it later in the game , you won't get the benefit of the defense fan call from the crowd jordan working on bowie's shot clock at five tipping for three now scottie pippen who was having difficulty from three point range has certainly been able to find the touch at three of four from the center on Saturday 1914, Atlanta tried to prepare all the passes, but Shaquille recovered and it was the magic 21 and the Bulls 14.

Shaquille O'Neal with 10 points in this first quarter, well, Penny Hardaway felt the pressure they were under. a release of pressure that just went through, everyone was going to attack that edge and finally the plate out of the hut, well, nothing hesitant about the attack on either end of the court for Orlando so far this afternoon, Penny coming into the middle of the lane could have been a foul on Rodman when he moved his feet, stepped forward and forced the hit with Shaq able to take that loose ball and finish it to Michael Jordan, who struggled at the foul line in an unusual way the Saturday six of 11 on the line both. clubs have problems chicago 18 for 31 orlando 10 for 24.

What if the two teams combined and missed all five technical fouls that were attempted? There was a full moon the other day 20 21-16 Orlando with three and a half left to go it was a lack of communication in the first quarter. between the buoy and the hardaway penny felt that they were grabbing him, he does something wise, he does not discuss with the official something that was a problem for him in the holes on Saturday with six turnovers due to magic, his second robin enters with the movement of the fingers and Dennis listens from the crowd I didn't know where I was on the court I never located the rebound of the rim hit to the side by O'neal and out of bounds Brooks Thompson preparing to review halving loaded replacing Anthony Boy Brian hill working with a short bench although he has brian shaw available despite the neck problem with which he was out on saturday, this has been the difference in this first quarter and it has been the other way around in the first three games of this series, but orlando is definitely the most aggressive team on the floor right now from orlando's point of view, although dennis rodman has certainly learned it offensively, they don't mind seeing rockman take those type of shots kiel placed the pick scott eluding pippin the magic with the shot clock running time out taken by chicago you are watching the nba on nbc welcome back to orlando i'm jim gray now leonard armed is with me he's shaquille o'neal's agent we watched the interview with shaquille during the pregame show where he said this is his first choice to stay in orlando leonard also talked about brian hill first let's ask him about shaquille o'neal, will he stay here in orlando or go to los angeles?

Well, first of all, I just want Peter Bessie to know that the reason I didn't return this call this week is because I knew he was going to try to stir up all this controversy. Well, now that he's done it, Shaq will be fine, Shaq and I have a pact that during the playoffs we don't have. There's no substantive discussion about where he'll be next year, as he said Orlando is definitely his first choice, but you know, after the season is over, we have to evaluate all of his options. Now that Chuck Daley's name has been mentioned, is he more attractive to Shaquille?

O'neal having Chuck Daly here as a coach would be more attractive for him to stay here. Well, it's hard to say that Chuck Daley is one of the greatest coaches of all time, but Brian Hill is doing a great job this quarter. What's up with Brian? Hill and his relationship with Shaquille um you know, Shaquille said and I think I'm doing well too Brian is a coach, she kills theplayer and that's how things are until something changes, that's how things are, but you wouldn't be opposed to having another coach. specifically chuck daley no i'm not saying that i'm just saying that after the season is over a coach as well as all other factors will be one of the considerations.

Thank you very much, try to enjoy the game now that you have been. grilled marv, okay, thanks, uh jim, it's not that brian hill is worried about leonard armas, look at rich devos, the president of the orlando magic, it's not that he was worried about a vote of confidence from leonard, our motto, but that wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement that Brian is doing a good job in the first quarter and by the way, that man Rich is one of Brian Hill's biggest fans and supporters and I'm sure he'll have a lot to say with what What happens to this organization.

To get to the offseason, there were two and a half left in the first quarter and the magic up 22-16 cut off the lane that Scott was holding for Dennis Scott and now Orlando exceeded the limit, so coach Tony has been calm during the course . from the playoffs on the line he coached during the regular season just killed the magic tony kuch returning from the lower back injury that kept him out of the knicks series he missed the last three games of that series playing 20 minutes here on Saturday he only hit one of five from the field chicago has been able to reduce that 11 point deficit is now a four point orlando leagueThompson got thanks to Kerr, who just came in already with four assists, he only had three in 46 minutes in the third game.

We haven't seen him post much in this series, something he does a lot against every other team, but he's been a little higher. a little reluctant to do it now, so Scott is guarding Michael Jordan and Jordan's shots from the center are four for four, he has 11. It's the 24 magic cables 11. Well, there is no doubt that Orlando comes out hitting the Bulls his best shot, what he has. you have to worry that the bulls are taking it and right in this ball game, checking the clock as it goes back now looking for a foul, he has 13 points and has brought the goals within a very difficult matchup on the court for Orlando at this time , Dennis. scott can run with scottie pitman practically the same height michael george is too fast for him 15-5 run by chicago well magic and penny hardaway in particular although if they can get to the basket no one can block a shot pippin it takes distance and commits the foul and went flying while michael jordan feels it and seems like he wants the ball in every offensive situation isolated against dennis scott here just putting the ball on the ground a little pump fake unbalancing him to knock him down the shot and then penny hardaway working one on one against scottie pippen he beats him with a good spin move and no one gets under the basket and pippin wants to rebound just making sure to generate some type of contact when he gets to the basket and his free throw issues continue and here he is randy brown providing a respite for michael jordan randy brown, the solid defensive player in his fifth season out of the state of new mexico, so we were talking at the beginning that, although michael has not been dominant offensively in this series the ball will return to orlando you always get the feeling that he's stalking more than stalking in this first quarter 13 points on five of five three-point shooting orlando now leads by 15 seconds with eight on the shot clock remaining in the tough first quarter to extend the lead to three six point lead here there are two coats for three with two and two ten seconds left in the first quarter when hardaway and piffin got involved and a frustrating foul by pippin here as cuco set up for pippin on that drive and dealt and pippin upset that he got beat on that spin move and looked bad defensively on that earlier Hardaway play, then took Hardaway's left move in the lane and hit the 3-pointer that hit Hardaway.

Nailed and then Pitbull really wanted to go himself to the basket on his way and chase him. It has been an excellent first quarter for Penny Hardaway. She made five of eight field goals. Michael Jordan returned for the final two seconds of the quarter. Great score. The burst of magic in seven of the twelve quarters prior to this game held 20 points and under Kukos he lowers it and you are hearing it from this crowd Michael Jordan with a perfect first quarter 13 points in all the great effort of Shaquille O'Neal and Penny hardaway after what is magic 31 the bulls 23 are you watching the nba on nbc nbc the

1996

nba playoffs penny hardaway the key to magic's success in this first quarter during the regular season he averaged seven assists just under three turnovers per game and you can see in this series in the first three that it has not been the usual output, but today four assists in the first quarter have not lost the result;

In fact, his number is deceiving because he had opened with 38 points. in the game of 38 points in the number one game in chicago today five of eight 13 points two or three from the line in fact orlando with 31 points is the most they have scored in a quarter of the series well, the responsibility of a great player is to make your teammates better and he has all that ability, he can do it himself, he can involve others, but with the Magic's starting lineup, the normal one, Nick Anderson is there, you have five very good players. talented players who like to touch and have the basketball and like to make their shots and you have more role players in your lineup, now Hardaway can do some different things, he can take more responsibility as far as scoring himself and still get the ball to the key people, well, you know, phil jackson likes this matchup, he has tony cucos protected by anthony bowie and the fake cucos fouled bowie, that's his second good, the magic with only 67 points in the third game, bushel, almost has problems. stolen by Royal 31 in the first quarter after 67 throughout Saturday's game in Chicago, not anticipating all this defensive pressure from Orlando, they are making some lazy passes and continuing to shoot magnificently six-for-six from the field.

You have 15 Michaels, excuse me. Michael saw the double team coming and quickly spun toward the baseline for what has now become his patented fadeaway jumper, the magical 31 shoot 25. Scott was about to charge him, but an illegal defensive ball in Chicago that is the first decision against the Bulls, Michael Jordan caught Donald Royal's movement to bend out of the corner of his eye, he knew he could take that quick and hard step and explode in the air and shoot over the smallest buoy. Otherwise, it's more than the last nine points for the magic of orlando was found what it's called when the royals took the push that is their first, I said the smallest buoy actually anthony bowie and michael jordan are about the same height , about 6'5, but when Michael rises into the air, he suddenly becomes taller. much taller than anthony in the first half against dennis rodman, who in this series has done an excellent job not only physically on the court, but you get the idea that he got into the head of that foul and penalized tony, but because there is very little. double team shaq these defenders have to play him up, normally you would do him shaded towards the middle because that's where the double team shaq comes in now three for three from the line and I think that's why shaquille is getting that little opening on the baseline and really making a good quick and hard move with excellent footwork to the baseline throughout this series through the first three games, Shaq has gone six for 24 at the foul and has followed one of nine on Saturday with a four of four so far 33 25 orlando we are Early in the second quarter, Marv Albert with Matt Dufus, Ahmad Rashad and Jim Gray from the sand, doubled Jordan and Michael and a crowd was blocked.

A smart move by Michael Jordan. You can see in his body language that he feels the magic of getting. the benefit of a lot of calls, he was just going to put on a white shirt and see if he could get a call he didn't like that last call against him almost a recovery call, in fact a nice recovery fall coach Touch Live Coach, that's his first field goal 33-27 Orlando is coming, he's done an excellent job in the game and the game coming off the bench he doesn't have a lot of minutes, but he's certainly made the most of it when he's been on the court, Steve Kerr. he actually outplayed shaquille o'neal and fumbled the ball almost threw his body hard to the ground magic three point advantage here is a three point shooting specialist in a second year out of oklahoma state extends to an orlando of six point lead for three and he continues to do or die for jazz against the sonics tuesday night eastern night on nbc life is fun you never know what to expect but you do it with the toyota corolla it comes equipped with a system of 20 sensors to help ensure things are okay. exactly as you would expect at every step life is full of surprises your car shouldn't be one of them the newly redesigned toyota corolla is where 28 years of innovation have taken us for the first time in the long and storied history of the kentucky derby the preakness and the belmont states there is something absolutely 100 pure if you try to use american express you won't get in because the only card accepted at the door is visa it's everywhere you want to be what's up sandy hi lisa hi jennifer what's up upstairs linda hi guys hey hey you know something different about the girls this semester, yeah, now that you mention it, they all use that Pepsi stuff now they drink a lot of Pepsi, they collect a lot of points, they get a lot of cool stuff, you notice? anything different about the basketball team pepsi stuff the nba on nbc is brought to you by the pepsi cola company now the more pepsi you drink the more cool stuff you get from toyota and their full line of quality toyota cars and trucks that i love lo What you do for me and for Nike, which encourages you to participate in the lives of American youth.

During the course of this series there has been a lot of verbal criticism between Dennis Robin and Shaquille O'Neal. Robin has certainly done an effective job fending off Shakira. I asked Shaq about the matchup. I think Dennis knows that he can't play with me one on one. I mean, the rules are one arm and the arm has to be halfway. I mean, he puts both hands on his back and his knee on his crotch. he still can't hug me so I mean but this isn't a Robin Shack thing and I'm going to go and play my game and I only talk when they talk to me let me go out and play nice no one can.

I really put up with Shaq, but Dennis Rodman is averaging 16 rebounds per game so far in the series and an unexpected 12 points per game so far excluded from the field magic 36 and the ball 30 with three minutes elapsed in the second quarter beautiful hole five ken o'neil now has 14 points and it's orlando in the eighth luke longley has returned longley with pippen and robin in front jordan and kerr on the board longley playing with the two fouls well, he surprised rodman, trapped alone, he had nowhere to go go and then looked quit now shaq has had a lot of success with the turn to the baseline now it seems like defenders are taking away that little shoulder fake to feel alone and fight on the baseline side and shaq has really developed that small jump hook towards the baseline.

Lane very good, the oil kept him alive, but Rottman on the recovery again is Scott defending Jordan, he goes around him and then took a big hit that Shaquille O'Neal Michael gets into when he feels his team is struggling and in trouble , he's not going to just rely on the jump shot all the time, he's just going to put his head down, try to make some contact and get to the foul line and get other people who found Trump. He has 17 points now three years ago against the New York Knicks on Memorial Day. michael jordan with a performance of 54 points has 17 and we arrived at the beginning of the second quarter thompson made a mistake with the rebound thinking that the bulls had a counterattack opportunity and forgot to protect the basketball harper did not like thompson's hands on his center jordan tender with the offensive board shot his first field goal and it's a 40-34 orlando league.

I don't know if you can feel the look or see michael jordan's face as penny hardaway challenges him with his defense. Michael loves that kind of stuff, but Penny has done a good job so far, Joe Wolf is getting ready to sign up for the first time. A timeout has been called with 6 44 left in the first half, it's magic with a six point lead on the steal by Shank for two of his 16 points and on the other end it's Jordan by Longleaf for his first field goal we will be back in orlando by 6 6 44 by the end of this first half a reminder tomorrow the active nba playoffs will move to prime time at 9 p.m.

Eastern Shore Camp and the Sonics face Carmel in the Jazz's fifth game of the Western Conference finals. Excellent game yesterday. Seattle was able to hold on to win and are up three games to one. Sonics and Jazz tomorrow at nine o'clock. Easton right here. On NBC you saw the impressivestat line of Michael Jordan, who has been perfect, Penny Hardaway, holding his own with six of nine, 15 points and Hugh Hollins with the call away from the ball. Well, Michael doesn't need that many points throughout this game by game. one was a blowout, he just stood there and occasionally contributed when he had to, had to turn it on in that third quarter of the second game, Michael with his first mistake, a good call coming out of that last timeout, a post up for Penny Hardaway.

Sometimes Magic falls into that trap of thinking they have the mismatch and they have it with Shaquille O'Neal, but that makes other people stand around a different look at Penny every once in a while, might get another Michael again every time he gets the chance he wants. to drop that head and drive to the basket this time he avoided contact unable to finish that shot but Dennis Rodman who has been quiet on the boards finally got in there, illegal defense, second call against the Bulls and, uh, Hardaway he couldn't hit, so the curse of the technical foul he hit on saturday continues here this afternoon michael jordan making his first seven shots before losing the all-time nba playoff record for best shooting percentage in a I only play Scott Whitman 11 of 11.

He hit it for the Celtics against the Lakers back in May of 85. I also did it on Memorial Day and the miss went away, not at all, that's what can get you in trouble. Silly foul there because Dennis is going to be very involved with Shaq, where he will have to commit some foul trying to pressure Joe Wolf on the unnecessary perimeter in this first half 44-46 the magic of eight hoffer out of penetration and a loose ball foul called when off the ball involved in pick and rolls or just on the weak side just goes in there and gets some second shot opportunities and on the other end of the court, instead of challenging that shot, Shaquille O'Neal got tangled up with Dennis Robin and asked for the elbow to the throat, for which Shaquille committed two fouls.

Robin during a regular season only offered 52 free throws sitting and Georgia Orlando Magic trying to stay alive with their best of seven leading by seven points, they have led until the end, they have led by as many as 11. Their putting. thepressure on thompson with the steal and called time and the call should be noted who has not been a favorite official in recent years of the chicago world much better pressure on fellow chicago bulls steve kerr everywhere brooks thompson hardaway being fought by pippin inside and a great dive by steve kerr to get the timeout conventional halftime report we'll talk about the western conference finals in which seattle now leads utah three games to one after yesterday's dramatic win, the fifth game is tomorrow night here on NBC.

We'll talk live with sonic guard hersey hawkins and get julius irving and peter bessie's analysis of the first half of the bulls magic orlando will win far from elimination but leading right now by seven as we send it back to the old arena marv albert matt cooper samad rashad and jim gray and stuff thanks bob well a call that was disputed by penny of hardaway a moment ago steve kerr was able to dive and get to the timeout penny is letting the official know that steve kerr shouldn't have He was able to call this timeout because both players had possession or were tied up and had four hands on the basketball, however, Kerr got the call and was yelling it, I think while he was diving to the floor calling for that timeout.

Kerr being defended. firmly by thompson scotty pippen has been quiet just one of five from the field jordan with the pass and bounced by o'neill jack with 18. michael jordan that's a defensive zone violation looks like thompson who had some shaky moments handling the ball in the game three laps right there he was surprised when penny threw the ball to him in that situation penny hardaway the main handle of the ball at this time brooks thompson occasionally plays point guard but with hardaway taking it out of the backcourt his responsibility is to get it to the court front four and a half is really struggling on both ends of the floor, it's no wonder Bill Weddington hasn't gotten a call.

Phil Jackson just came down and caught it. Yes, Bill Weddington heads to the scorer's table and a push is called. He's in the balls. and phil really struggles with strength in the strengths department trying to keep shaq from moving to the middle or the spin baseline, but what bill can do on the other end is spread the floor a little bit, run some pick and pops and is effective with that 16 foot jumper, well Penny Hardaway forced him to the baseline there, but Donald Royal did the smart thing by not standing around looking for a cutting lane and it was the benefit of two easy.

Imagine extending the court that Bill Rennington provides, but he. he couldn't make that open jump shot, that's why brooks thompson is on the court, particularly with the shorthanded magic. In fact, we're told that Brian Shaw, who was supposed to play after missing with a neck injury in Game 3, will be out. Able to play on the bench but unable to perform with goals with offensive rebound apparently muscle spasms They got worse and a late whistle was heard as Michael was forced to the sideline and the entire magical crowd reacted, obviously a little pushed there by Penny Hardaway. when george went down but it was a late whistle and that's why the crowd is reacting shaquille is reacting and then penny hardaway for the most part hasn't been complaining to the refs like he did in the second game but he started you there himself and the veteran anthony. bowie coming to make pennies here, say hello, leave the refs, just keep playing your game, we need you here, play, don't bark at the refs, orlando with that foul going over the limit, tony kukos back on the court filling in to steve kerr, who didn't.

Score o'neill trying to save it and retire, I guess a very sincere package from dennis rodman, well shaq actually took his eye off the ball here and missed it, it completely bounced off his chest and he tried to save it and throw it so hard As the. could beat dennis robin, im sure if i had the chance again i would throw him even higher if i could get orlando by 10. just under three left in the first half, kristen came in on a nice scottie pippen fake, it's just his second field goal, ryan hill has o'Neill in front now out of Wolf and Royal with broth with force towards the guards Hardaway guarded by Pippin with a change of pace dribbles and forces him able to save it thought Wellington looking very hesitant passing a open shot and forcing a foul So you pull in Donald Royal who can get you to the basket extremely effectively with that first step and when he does get playing time, he spends a lot of time at the foul line, he has a style of cutting game.

Here's Donald Royal's driving move in his seventh NBA. season out of notre dame originally a third round pick out of cleveland spent some time in the cba played in israel back to the nba with san antonio this is the fourth year with the matchup well last year donald had been a starter for much of the year and then he hurt his ankle at the end of the playoffs and lost that starting job to dennis scott and lost confidence in himself, the coaching staff lost confidence, brian shaw is not available now he says he's done for the game, but donald roy may not be a threat to the perimeter, but he is certainly a threat to Fallon because he can drive the ball very hard to the hole with 50 40 magic.

In the first half, only a small smile and no complaints from Phil Jackson , everyone knew what happened. the play like rob like uh jordan trying to escape that double team minute in the first half oh watch out let's see how the referees handle this dennis rodman in a conversation with several members of the orlando magic this was brewing right now dennis has been As of now, he's hanging around and had a little verbal altercation with Brian Hill and they continue to bite each other while there's been some heavy hitting there. The spectacle of Shaquille O'Neal and Brian Hill walking towards Dennis Rodman Richie Adubato protecting Brian.

Excellent. That's going to be right now, but when you're Dennis Rodman's teammate or a Chicago fan, this is what you always worry about, with Dennis Rodman, the fireworks start and you just don't know what's going to go off. Double technique called on Rodman. and o'neill o'neal, who got fouled, the lions make the first call, he's five for five at the line, oh, shaq hit him one, two, three times hard and dennis rodman just tries grab shaq and maybe instigate a little with the grappling. And he did what he wanted to do, he got Shaq to react with a push that was so hard to decipher.

Shaquille O'Neal's inconsistent free throw, a fumble, is called a foul on Joe Wolfe, passing for the rebound, his second, both teams finished. the foul, so bulls to the line that's what you're going to say so hard to understand, Dennis, right, it's a euphemism that your team right now is a little lethargic, they somehow weathered the storm, uh, during much of the first. fourth when the magic came out and he played with a lot of emotion now I think he feels like his team is going backwards he's trying to do something to get them excited and of course get himself excited he's going to go to the bench for a break right now this has woken up the team of Orlando in this first half, particularly from the beginning, an Orlando team playing without Nick Anderson, who suffered the wrist injury late in the third game, Brian Thrawn dressed and, on the bench, he was thought to.

He could play after sitting out Saturday with muscle spasms in his neck. Now he started the game, but today he hasn't played much outside of the steel. Here comes Pushler, of course, Horace Grant is out by the elbow and things are getting very difficult. under the board the last offensive sequence for the orlando magic bowie catching the ball deep in the left corner looking for that elevated play to shaquille o'neal john sally did a great defensive job of just taking down shaquille enough and then the weak side defense judd bushel got the steal and then sally made a little easy layup but it just slipped out of his hand no wolf very popular player here in orlando hearing the cry of the wolf from another crowd in his ninth season out of north carolina for a the year he was a teammate of michael jordan with the tar heels during the regular season he started eight games in the power four position contact is back and shaquille o'neal hears it from the crowd seven of nine from the field 19 points for shaq It had to be The last two games, a difficult situation for Joe Wolfe.

I'm sure I'll be driving to the arena hoping to start both games because John Conker's availability with that type of knee is unknown and Joe Wolf isn't starting either. I think it seems like it's affecting him. Mentally right now he has a very inquisitive expression on his face, but he has been coming off the bench all year for the Orlando Magic and making a good contribution. Matt gauging the questioning expression on Joe Wolf's face, he looks like that all the time. time uh even more very very thoughtful shot clock at five bushler for three yes bushler two of two from the center and it's the magic for eight points with 40 seconds left in the middle fart checking the clock as it resets they are standing here in orlando up to five jordan facing the double team finding pippin and tiffany now committed by donald royal with nine tenths of a second left in the half joe wolfe has that nice 16 to 18 foot jump shot and has shot it well all year not known as a three point shooter but he had to rush with just one second on the shot clock with scottie pippen right in his face now pippin to the line he's old to coo at the line and pippin and royal having some words scotty felt like Donald Royal put a little more into it, as Donald Rose actually took off his shoes trying to hold on and make sure Pippin didn't drop that ball.

Good defensive job by Bowie, I mean his double team went perfectly. He is not right because they had a free throw opportunity, but going out to double team Jordan made him hand the ball over Thompson enters through comcat and now indicates a timeout number 22 requested by Orlando there are nine tenths of a second left in this first half the chicago bulls with a 3-0 lead in this best-of-seven eastern conference final a look back at chicago's first game in a blowout in chicago dennis rodman 13 points 21 rebounds and penny hardaway with the game's 38 points as the bulls just finished smash the magic off the boards game number two chicago came from behind shaquille o'neal had the big first half 26 of his 36 in the first half but powered by michael jordan with 17 of his 35 in the third the bulls came back from a 18 point deficit and then here on Saturday in game number three chicago withOrlando Scottie Pippen's 86-60 destruction broke out with 27 points on 11 of 14 from the field so 67 points for the magic on Saturday here in the first half they've already scored 56 It's 56-47.

Hardaway can do it and that's the end of the first half. Shaquille O'Neal with 19. Penny Hardaway with 15. That man, Michael Ford, with 20 points on seven of nine from the field, Bob Costas and. the part-time prudential report that comes after these words high prudential live well make a plan be your own rock part-time in orlando magic show some courage and lead the bulls by nine 56-47 not to put a stop to it, but remember who led by 15 at halftime of the second game also the back of bob costa julia taking out peter vessey here of course interesting numbers from this first half the most important orlando leading 56-47 jordan had 20 points he made his first seven shots from the field shaq has 19 points on 7 of 9 and was 5 of 6 from the free throw line let's see what julius and peter have to say about it let's start with you mr bessie well i don't think it's a surprise that you're seeing a team that has 160 games during the regular season playing for pride here what I wonder is where was the aggression in the first three games where was the pressure on the defense as you see it today they are running away they are running away from the mistakes they are running away from the mistakes turnovers They have 15 points off 10 Chicago turnovers.

The most surprising thing to me is that Orlando has 14 or 15 points from their bench and you have two of their bench guys starting, so maybe their bench wasn't as bad as we thought. Doctor, well, when you shoot 61 from the field, you should be ahead, but the effort is higher today. Guys are supposed to call plays. They are establishing them with authority. They got the swarm defense to work. Orlando is playing the type of game they needed. they played today but they had another half to play Good Lucky Penny with 15 points by the way in the first half and six assists.

He had just nine assists in the first three games combined before this one, the French Open Tennis Championships started today in Paris, no. big surprises on the men's side top seed pete sampras won in straight sets taking third in a tie break third seed andre agassi had more difficulties in reigning at roland garros losing a tie break in the second set before winning the last two sets four and four and jim currier, the number seven seed also came under a bit of pressure and needed a tiebreaker in the third set before winning in four on the women's side.

The number one seed, monica selas, had little resistance. sellus and steffi groff are in the number one spot on graff tomorrow our coverage resumes in saturday's note the early start time at 10 a.m. ET Ahead of our halftime coverage of the U.S. Women's Open golf tournament in Orlando, Magic leads the Bulls by nine as they try to stay alive back in the arena after these messages from your local station this was Prudential's halftime report brought to you by prudential live well make a plan be your own rock next monday at 8 7 central you're having a bad day here someone dies nbc features the heroes who risked their lives and families who fear for them from acclaimed director ron howard robert de niro william baldwin rebecca de mornay scott glenn let me go next monday at 8 7 central ennbc approached me and said I'm a personal trainer and I'm a sewer but I wasn't and he sexually assaulted several women look how they defended themselves and art garfunkel singing again watch internal edition tonight at 7 on channel 8. yes If man were destined to fly, he would have been born with a 32-valve, 280 horsepower Lincoln Mark 8.

His other alternative is to rent a Lincoln Mark Gate for only 499 a month. Every child is a miracle, but sometimes even miracles need a little help. That's what all kids do. The hospital is here not only to provide the best care for complicated cases, but also to teach the doctors and nurses of tomorrow and research the cures of tomorrow through teaching and researching treatments. All children are building miracles and you can help and join us in supporting the Children's Hospital Telethon on June 1 and 2. Be part of the framework that builds miracles for a brighter tomorrow at American Journal.

They all belonged to the same Girl Scout troop when they were girls. Now they have serious illnesses. What is the tragic duration? Plus, check out the hottest new sport to get excited about football on fire next aj tonight. at 7:30 on channel 8. wfla-tv your 1996 olympic station they come from all over the United States training their whole lives for a chance at greatness they are our Olympic athletes and this summer they are the home team the games americas olympians on nbc Welcome back to Orlando Marv Albert Matt Gucca Somap Rashad and Jim Gray Orlando with the lead at the half and it was obvious from the start that this was a different Orlando team than the one we saw on Saturday in the third game.

The excitement was there but so was the three point shooting, the foul shots and most importantly they took care of the basketball, they only had six turnovers and if they can continue to do that in the second half they will be severely tested, they have an excellent chance to win this game, let's take a look at the mid-light halftime stats the shot for chicago 44 16 of 36. look orlando 20 of 34 59 from the field michael jordan made his first seven shots finished seven of nine in his 23 minutes for 20 points shaquille o'neal led orlando with 19 and both teams did it at the foul line in contrast to the third game chicago 10 of 14 orlando 12 of 15 and how about five of six from the line, like this which is the magic 56 and the bulls 47 As we move into the second half here I feel like the traffic is miles away with the commanding view and adaptable size of uconn, unlike others I have virtually unlimited capacity. uconn can make you feel invincible.

GMC's uconn puts you comfortably in control, he didn't. payment, now they never do, the giggles are even more insignificant, tons of them who might care, I have always loved summer games, running, jumping, everything is fine, even the shot put is great too, I still somehow can't help but feel. There is something I am missing and that is why I believe that football should be an official event of the summer games, let's get together and put this together, that is my dream and this is my planet. Basketball wasn't always easy for 12-year-old Scotty Pippen. He wasn't even recruited out of high school and his college career began as an equipment manager.

Now this million to one is one of the best players in the NBA. His dream will take him back to the Olympics on NBC Orlando with a lead of nine as we approach the start. from the second half remember orlando led by 15 at halftime in the second game in chicago jordan the only bull in double figures with 20 19-4 o'neal and 15 by duro before the second half begins, let's go to a moderate shot , OK? Thanks, Mark Phil Jackson told his team that the problem was that they weren't executing his offense and also too many turnovers. If they had 10 in the first half and could keep it to five, they would be fine.

Also the problem with Penny Hardaway. let him get too deep on screens, they want to try to keep him further away from the basket and not give him any easy baskets, and in the words of Randy Brown, who told me, Phil Jackson basically told them to get going. Let's go with Jim Gray. Well thank you very much. Ahmad. I spoke with Brian Hill. I was very satisfied with the first half. He said it was the best half he felt they had played in this entire series, like the way they protected the ball. and he liked the pace of the game, he said, "We're going to keep running and we're going to continue protecting the ball." Jim Hardaway led the way with six assists in the first half. 12 assists for Orlando and that is a positive statistic. brian hill reviews first half recap here's michael jordan's final touch by hoffer first possession for the chicago bulls but i think michael jordan knows as well as the rest of the chicago wolves that he can't be the only one to score to get other players involved and usually scotty pippen is the guy that has to pick it up first by scoring himself and then making some plays for others anthony bowie starting with the injured nick anderson here's bowie's excellent outlet pass from dennis rodman to send ron harper toward the basket, but when he looked up he saw john's 45th contact standing there in the saturday afternoon game early in the game. ron harper had a similar type of game on the other end of the court and john hit him hard and picked up a flagrant foul offers a 70 free throw shooter during the regular season, that's his sixth point and it's the magic 56 and the balls 48.

Let's see how hard the bulls collect the magic behind after this free throw situation, it's difficult to do so. after this one, but that's usually what they like to do in the third quarter, put that pressure on to create some turnovers and turn them into easy baskets with Scott and Concack on the front line, Bowie and a heart in the backcourt, and Bowie lost it to Hoffer. The two-on-one tip with Jordan got away with grabbing and holding Anthony Hardaway after he made that pass, uh pass, grabbed Hardaway so he couldn't try to foul or block Jordan's shot got away with it , the magic. the lead was cut to six a minute and a half later in the third o'neal the turnaround that led to the 21st stop for shaq is orlando down eight the orlando magic looks to stay alive looking for a fifth game in chicago on wednesday night and we I'll be there if there's a game five on Wednesday illegal defense against Orlando his second violation oh good ball pressure by ron harper as anthony bowie didn't protect the ball and then that little left hand grab by pippin to hold away and now Shaquille O'Neal himself has him going to the middle, he has the rotating movement and Luke Longley has three personal fouls but the way he is playing on the offensive side I don't know how important a player he is going to be for Chicago from his turn 10 turnovers has five of them michael jordan breaks the chain of missed technical fouls that's a streak that ends at six combined by both clubs magic 58 and the bulls 51. the chicago bulls on the other hand look for a four game sweep and then with the halftime period waiting for the winner between seattle and utah jordan michael getting the 25th roll for jordan and a five point orlando league well they will both take the basket but they can't be happy with the way they are running their offense too much standing around They look a little heavy to start this third quarter here's Scott going to class and Scott is seven and it's Orlando at seven Harper took the step and was hit hard away from the slow magic on the way back to calm down well, the ball just swings around the perimeter finally gets into michael jordan's hands with the shot clock running out, having to just take a jump shot over uh anthony bowie and then dennis scott leaning in as he gets caught outside of that three point line a and again by the Chicago defense, forcing him to put the ball into the crowd defense as Scottie Pippen set it up and ran the three halves past three buoys, knocking it out of Rhonda's hands. and the bulls the bulls say they want to make that shot and it's an open one by ron harper as they swing the ball while phil jackson calls that play because when you expect your teammates to make a shot and that's why dennis robin is such a good rebounder offensive, he measures it so well that he knows where the shot is going to land and gets a good position capable of reaching it.

Rodman buoyed him away, but Anthony Bowie is very active on the boards and has been fighting for every loose ball every day. rebound on both ends and that has been a factor that the Chicago Bulls have to settle for jump shots from their offense and that is what the triangle offense will present to them for a long time, but they still have to make some cuts and drives to the basket . to be effective over distance setting the jordan screen trying to cut it will be chicago's ball with four on the shot clock. It's amazing how the ball ends up in michael jordan or scottie pippen's hands with that shot block coming to an end but they have the ability to create make something happen no complaints from michael there good block from shaq pippen can't find nobody just avoided the five second violation it's a 24 second violation 12th turnover well when you don't set good hard screens underneath, out of bounds, play and come out hard, you're going to get in that situation and you have to wait for it With only four seconds on the track, the bulls are so far sleepwalking in this second half, how we talk about this possibility. yesterday with phillip jackson but orlando is playing a different kind of basketball here this afternoon longley luke longley withthe short hook to cut it to a seven point magic lead here's when magic tried to overload that side of the floor buoy that likes to throw the alley-oo blob doesn't stand a chance here are the hearts, yeah, and count, and shaquille o'neal has been unstoppable with that movement, the head fakes the turn and everything that generates the foul on longley by longley, his fourth shaq only uses Luke Longley as a post, he just leans towards him and that freezes his body and then Jack is really capable of going in any direction and has been very effective in getting to that baseline and James Edwards will be able to see that as only Luke finally got a field goal.

In the last Bulls they harassed possession, but they had problems this afternoon being able to take it away from Rottman on the offensive board and a foul was born. Well, you expect Shaq to miss free throws, no matter how well he's shooting. Dennis Rodman. couldn't block penny hardaway, good job shaq getting back into transition here's pippin's strip to send this fast break, get the ball thrown up the middle and shaq rushes back to stop the lay-in 6 56 to get into the watch insider stuff Saturday mornings on NBC this is where new miller beer begins, where the hops are grown to give new miller beer its flavor because new miller beer is brewed in a totally new way, directly from the heart of the hops, to give it a flavor different from any other beer. great flavor easy drinking we think a lot about this new beer we just call it who we are miller new beer miller reach what's available on national day your share 65,000 65 big whoa who has that kind of cash For me, like the nation, you better start saving.

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Orlando in the first three games of this series shot 43, so they did it, but they did it on both ends, because the defense has also been an intense effort here this afternoon Well, that's usually what's going to happen if you move defensively and aggressively and then do a good job on the boards, even though they've allowed 11 offensive rebounds to Chicago, you didn't get hurt that much on second chance points, Michael Jordan already. with 26 in this game but still receiving very little offensive help from his teammates still no one else in double figures jordan with 27 and receiving no help pippen is a two of eight from the field he has only seven points harper with six longleaf with four who goes with four bushler has six on a couple of triples o'neal this time he does it against james edwards 66. orlando james sitting on that bench for a long time for the last three games saying he's not going to beat me on the baseline of anyway he hit the half foot hit the three which is his second from the center and now he has 30. the magic 66 the ball 60. you see scottie pippen that time guiding penny hardaway to the right side of the court knowing that shaq he loves to sit up on the left side he is trying to force him to kill a klopp a grip foul committed by hugh hollins the outside referee on james edwards james edwards is not there for his defense so he might as well attack there when the track be ready to shoot the ball, he's there to make a couple of spin jumpers, nice little ron harper brush screen, anthony bowie, trying to get over the top, there, michael jordan, getting a good look at a three now three team fouls one piece joe wolfe is back replacing john concat steve kerr has recorded everything it has been michael jordan for the balls he has accounted for 10 of chicago's 13 points in the third quarter and then took the change for three and Rockman with his ninth rebound he shot after that rebound he looked at the crowd he put his fist in the air he knew he fired a bullet right into the hands of a great outlet this is the kind of pressure chicago will put on you in the third quarter just a little smile from Michael looking at you, Holland, say, hey, if you're not going to let me do what I normally do, we're never going to get any steals, and in the history of some great quarterbacks, comes Wes Unsell.

I remember who used to be able to do that in the air. At some point he grabbed it so well. He didn't stay in the air that long, but West will take him and fire that two-handed weapon along the floor. Dennis Robin right there. Hillary Fair. Good at that type of outlet pass as well, so Dennis Rodman saw a lot of that from Bill throughout his career in Detroit. The goals have now overcome the foul taking advantage of the fact that he now has 17 points and it is the magic 68. the bulls 62 as we get closer there are five minutes left in the third rodman in the high post now they close seven jordans operating against each other and counts a foul to bowie and jordan returns to the line michael jordan single-handedly brings the balls with the shot The clock is running out How many times have we said that Michael in the post has felt very comfortable with his ability to get away from Anthony Bowie going up for that jump shot Michael sees that double team coming from the weak side Joe Wolfe three-point play by Jordan here's the ball trap Jordan has 33 points Orlando's lead has been reduced to three yes, five points ahead for the matchup and edwards called for hand control on o'neill where he's five out of seven and it's become a hacker shack Attack well in the bowl part on the penalty kill and James Edwards would rather do that, see if Jack can't do something from the line of free throws.

He has been so effective in the post as the Bulls continue to force the ball to the right. side of the court and for some reason Shaq rarely posts on the right side, it's not really that he can't do it, he prefers the left side, but he is also quite effective with a little jump hook on the right side. Shaquille hit his first five missed the last three bringing donald royal into the ball game he was very effective in the first half with his ability to drive the ball to the basket o'neal now six of nine from the line the magic leading by six four minutes go on the third to keep it alive and it's the magical 73 of the 65 and phil jackson calls time, so of all the luxury high performance sedans in the world there is one that has caught the attention of the United States oldsmobile aurora hi dave hi red back so soon i heard that wendy's spicy chicken sandwich is back but try this it's not bad.

Now try this Wendy's Spicy Chicken All Season Breast Steak with Dave's own blend of pepper and spices for a very spicy sandwich too, but it's not available all the time, is it? I'm telling you, people love it so much it's on the menu full time, the Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich, now you can get it whenever you want. I'll be back and I'll be waiting. The convenience of performance and money management experience is not the time you have. Loyalty investments working for you next weekend Swedish sensation Annika Sorensen defends her title against a stellar field at the US Women's Open next weekend on NBC Anthony Bowie in her seventh NBA season away from Oklahoma has been one of the sparks this afternoon for the Orlando Magic and he did not score in 15 minutes in the first half, but he did score three great field goals for the Magic here in this third quarter using the speed of his foot to get a small seam in a little bit of daylight to pass tony cucos anthony bowie has his hands full the other end with michael jordan, who made 11 of 17 field goals and the difficult thing for anthony is that michael made nine of 10 from the line, no you can put michael jordan on the free throw line in double figures except when his other teammates aren't getting on offensively who's starting in place of the injured nick anderson how hard is it to defend jordan well scottie pippen said who felt like he was in the rhythm at the beginning of the third game hasn't been able to find the rhythm here to this point, but that Bucket takes a six-point lead in Orlando as we approach three minutes left in the third quarter.

Now Bowie is protected by Kerr violations. Now Penny Hardaway in the post, who is generally very effective at making her own play if she has single coverage, but. She saw Tony Cucoch approaching the double team and they gave him the ball too quickly and that allowed two coaches to stay in the lane and they came back and that's why magic couldn't get a good look at a shot that you almost had. wait for that double team to get a little closer to get the defense out of control. Thompson is trying to verify. It seems that Dick has given up on the substitution and the reason for that is in the opinion of the referees and in particular. dick pavetta that brooks thompson had not been in that little box in the middle of the field where you have to be when the whistle blows on the infraction he is there now in his catcher position I think he called magic 73 the ball 67. michael jordan with 13 of his game-high 33 here in the third quarter, Jordan trying to break through, he's called a traveling violation, a little bit of a loss, but I think the reason Pavetta called it is because he felt like Michael Jordan put the ball up with two hands, let's see if he does it as he goes in, no, he put it down with one hand and I don't think he moved his feet, that's the third turnover Jordan avoided, second on a traveling violation, now Thompson played navy for Kerr O'Neal. thompson now this is a ride as he takes that extra step good defensive play by dennis robin michael jordan surprise many times the officials will call the law because it looks a little different it seems like a three trip ride in a game that is worth two months to the Michael epidemic on both sides, since the referees walk or watch the walk very diligently, it is curious that they like to call the walk, but they are still letting the players carry the ball more and more and put their hand under it in his dribbling. 73-69 orlando and michael are 35. there's some pressure here jordan pushed him away but o'neil was able to hold on scott is looking for the three couldn't get it shaq didn't run back on defense maybe a little cautious with his legs at the moment dennis rodman ran hard and even though it was a slow break, hitler found robin all alone down 6-0, ran for the ball just under a minute left in the third way and it bounced by royal hardaway, hit a region with 43 seconds left.

In the third quarter foul, it was known that Shaquille O'Neal was left in the dust until he reached the defensive zone, he simply ran down the middle of the court to the front of the rim and no one protected there, since Penny Hardaway could not It helps since he was caught on the perimeter by Tony Cucoch, although you know Shaq is slow to get back on defense mainly because he does so many things around the basket that he won't be as fast as many players and teammates. protect him and that's a big area where O'hara's Grant magic is lacking, he's so good at coming back and protecting the basket in the lane for his center at one point Chicago Bull Horace Grant sitting with a sprained left elbow now he's said he could come back if there is a game five or a small team, the doctors are saying that he knows for the series, three points, Orlando leads, seconds to the third Jordan, getting the big one from the mountain of yes, who did the job. off the bench saturday tied dennis scott's post-op vote and found a fumble in the game with 12 and 5 10 seconds left in the third not on scott, he pushed orlando for a chance to take the lead for the first time today was not a bad play by dennis scott, who is a much better post player making his move in the lane, but excellent defensive work by dennis rodman, who actually made a mistake at the time of his jump, but only he tipped the ball a little to himself as brian hill looking at a couple of his players looking at brooke thompson giving him some hand signals and eye contact to clarify for him what they want to do in these last 12 and a half seconds that i've missed in the first free throw, so it's one of three of the day, michael jordan will be in a hurry and rodman has given chicago a one point lead, we have 10 seconds left in the third three and hardaway calls time with 2 and 4, 10 seconds to go.

Come on, it's a 20 second timeout that he hasbeen amazing throughout the series. Bill Jackson has been receiving bank contributions from him. We saw Judd Bushler hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first half. Randy Brown didn't play many minutes, but he forced a 22. time out there with intense pressure on penny hardaway and then getting help in the double team reminder tomorrow's nba playoff action will move to prime time 9 p.m. east shawn kemp and the sonics take on carmelo jazz game five of the western conference finals is tomorrow here at nine o'clock eastern right here on nbc sonics hold on to the victory of yesterday and now They are up three games to one Chicago has surpassed Orlando in the third quarter 28-18 led by Michael Jordan, who has hit for Chicago's 15 28 points Jordan all has 35 2 and 4 10 seconds left in the third quarter and Joe Wolfe will pitch to scott it's the bulls for one jordan 12 of 18 35 points total we'll be back after these words from your local station yeah looking to quench your thirst squeeze a juicy lime into an ice cream oh duels it's outrageously refreshing hey, I hate when it does that yeah more mechanics top-notch motor oil instead of any other brand in their own cars and trucks, maybe it's time for you to change your Valvoline oil, the number one choice for America's best mechanics right now, get a refund introductory 40 Goodyear manufacturer when you buy four Infinitread radials, Goodyear's highest wear passenger tire, which costs forty dollars with four Goodyear Infinitreads, but hurry, this Goodyear deal ends soon, please kiss me. frog and then the princess kissed the frog and suddenly he turned into Charles Barkley dad, okay you got me, you got me, the frog turned into a handsome prince, I love reading with my kids, we all enjoy reading, build a foundation solid for your future, okay, who wants? to read next dad charles must have been a really big frog jay welcomes ers george clooney and jennifer jason lee nbc development tonight aurora's v8 engine lifted distance equivalent to 31 consecutive indy 500s also broke 47 endurance records speed two that had been configured by mercedes and on the way reached a top speed of 3,500 miles per hour my mistake was the air force aurora our version has never been clocked above mach 3 it's your money oh she has I'm designed for high octane gasoline.

I love it. That is what I need. This Chevron Supreme with Tech Run. I mean, it makes me run like a champ. Everything is good. I mean, it's mind-blowing. There is no bonus. Beat Chevron Supreme with Techra. Chevron just smarter. I mean, I don't mean to brag or anything, but I feel great about your storm team's forecast tonight at 11 on News Channel 8. This telecast is copyrighted by the association. national basketball game may not be broadcast, reproduced or retransmitted without the express written consent of the NBA. For the Orlando Magic, this could be their last quarter of this 95-96 season.

They are losing 75-74 due to the sensational play of Michael Jordan, who has done it again with a huge third quarter, he did it in the second game, in fact. It was Jordan alone overcoming the magic in the second game 17-16 to rally the bulls in that comfortable effort behind he had a very quiet game here on Saturday he didn't score anything in the third quarter Orlando stayed at 18 points scored 28-18 in the third, when Chicago was able to go up 10-1 in the final three minutes and 20 seconds, bucket pressure from Hawker, only six turnovers for the magic in the first half, they turned it over six times in that third quarter and then start the fourth with a bad pass from brooks thompson brooks thompson has been vulnerable handling the ball that is there because Brian Shaw is still bothered by the muscle spasms in his neck and Hardaway deflected it well Brian Hill indeed has two guards out there with brooks thompson but in trouble and this is when you like to put the ball in penny hardaway's hands spread the floor and let him make shooting decisions points and the bulls now lead 77 76 the bulls have three guards lineup with offer cut and heal on the court along with two coats and shot from Rodman, yes, Michael Jordan with 37 points and it's the Bulls with a three-point lead and, like I said before, with the shot clock running out, the ball always seems to end . in his hands with his teammates waiting for Michael to do something great, he made one right there, Scott's fake and a struggling Scott again after making his first two shots, offers Dennis Scott one for his last 10. after to hit his first two, Michael Jordan. with the tallest penny hardaway really not getting up in the air high enough to challenge that double team shot while michael is so comfortable this afternoon with that little fade away jumper and dennis robert was furious with himself for missing what he felt was a doable layup there since he was fouled on that play, robin two five from the line didn't want to hear any advice from Tony they quickly guided him through, he could probably give Sam to Tony on his three, who has been struggling a lot, he shoots 80. and the magical 76 again pressure from Chicago and what is happening.

Hardaway is coming to the middle of the court against that pressure hoping to get a pass there so he can get numbers and attack and Harper held him tight and kept him from going away by realizing that Hardaway had a rhythm, so Ron Harper committed his second foul. smart move on parker's card that would have been some kind of play while penny hardaway licked his lips with dennis rodman running towards him hey thompson last shot for curry past here's jordan and he'll regroup with rodman on the recovery and the foul is called when the concave reached the rebound and was hit from behind by Jordan.

Timeout taken with 9 55 left in the quarter. The Bulls lead by four points. We'll be back do or die for the Jazz against the Sonics on Tuesday. night at nine eastern on nbc plymouth has new ways to buy a car, connect to the internet at home or visit plymouth. Place our interactive computer in your local shopping center where you can create your own personalized plymouth neon voyager or breeze. Take a test drive on the information superhighway where you'll discover Plymouth is fun and affordable and a whole new way to buy a car is to myself burning for old heavenly connections what a wonderful world miller cold filtered genuine draft stay fresh miller where great flavor runs in the family brings you miller moments today we remember a memorial day classic the magic of the pacers last year the fourth game of the conference finals and penny hardaway's triple gave the magic an advantage 93-92 with one or three ten seconds left, but it was enough time for Rick Smith to hit the winning shot when the buzzer sounded for a 94-93 victory.

In recognition of this moment, the Miller Brewing Company will donate a thousand dollars to the third notable scholarship fund. There were several other memorial days, uh. memories that stand out boston over the lakers in a massacre chicago beat detroit by a sweep to remember the pistons leaving the court without congratulating the balls and then michael jordan three years ago with a 54 point outburst against the new york knicks well jordan with 37 here today and the balls came from behind and now they lead by four orlando at one time led by 11. o'neill trying to keep it alive but pimp able to handle it penny hardaway looking confused offensively against good defender ron harper forced to stop make a difficult shot it seemed like he didn't have the confidence to put the ball on the ground again on the ground comey cuco and a travel violation so that the magic recovers it the chicago coaching staff arguing that they called dennis robin injured that left elbow when hit dennis rodman a little early when bowie replaced him the collision with dennis rodman get a report on scott in a moment here's cody from downtown he was 2 for 33 from three point land before that basket was the three point killer in games three and four of the regular season against the magic, the main person responsible for chicago winning both games and the balls now lead 83-80 from the orlando bench, dennis scott is fine, although he is in some degree of pain He could go back to O'Neal and that could be a blatant five.

It looked like some kind of hyperextension there when his lower arm got caught in Dennis Rodman and he bent back a little bit. A little bit and Fires Grant can tell you all about it since he's suffering in street clothes, well there's no flagrante in that, I thought I saw the cue, it's just a hard foul and he caught Shaquille for his lone fourth and the Bulls now lead 85-80. There are 7-35 left in the last quarter and the balls maintain that pressure in the back trying to do the magic. You use a lot of time and now Shaq in the second consecutive time publishes on the right side the illegal defense calls for the third. time against chicago so hardaway will shoot the technique hard four of six at the line some confusion about who the illegal referee was you holland put a two and a five and both tony cucos who wears number seven and steve kerr wears number 25 looking around him asking who chased you and what difference is there between the two of you or both chicago with a four point lead 7 20 for the fourth quarter o'neal with a bullet pass not handled by wolf a place that is not so familiar with throw the jump hook, take a tip on the wrist and have the opportunity for a three-point play while Michael Jordan rests and happy first team teammates, haven't you noticed your son's face on the way to McDonald's, his eyes light up and he smiles uncontrollably. and he gets so happy, come on dad, something has never changed now McDonald's has a new type of burger, the arch deluxe with flavored toppings and large size, adults love the new arch deluxe, the adult flavored burger, also available with bacon.

The new Plymouth Breeze, please keep all hands and arms inside the vehicle until the ride comes to a complete stop. 100 100 synthetics at a revolutionary price 100 synthetics at a price this slow. How they did it? They left it to pennzoil to make synthetics affordable. As? Would they do that? Hey, there's more of an extra six dollars rebate on a case or six dollars off an oil change from the pros. How would they make that pennzoil? A broadcast sponsor of NBC's coverage of the 1996 Summer Olympics. The NBA on NBC is presented by plymouth one smart idea after another that is plymouth by the US military be part of the toughest military e smart in the world be everything you can be and by budweiser official sponsor of the 1996 summer olympics this bud is for you in orlando the balls with an 87-81 lead in the magic our solid performance by dennis rodman has had a excellent series he already has two championship rings as a member of the detroit pistons we asked dennis what the difference is between playing with detroit and now with chicago in Detroit and you had the mentality of just going out and kicking someone seriously, only here you know that your ass is ours here it's like we can do it any way, we can do it physically, we can do it mentally, it doesn't matter. we will do it if we have we have the right things we don't do it right dennis has said it many times here's a robbery for chicago looks like thompson ran into luke longley well steve kerr takes over what not to say about dennis rodman he's been asked a lot times how good this Chicago team is, obviously very, very good, but he's also said that he felt his championship teams in Detroit were better because the league was much stronger at that particular time.

Chicago on a 23-8 run that dates back to the third quarter that lasts the last eight and a half minutes, the Bulls have made nine of their last shots that also dates back to the third quarter when Shaquille makes his move, the basketball picks up the number five, we have 6 34 left in the fourth quarter and the Bulls lead 88-81, the biggest lead of the game for Chicago they are doing a much better job of spacing in the final minutes, they didn't do a good job in the first few minutes of the fourth quarter if they maintain the space on the floor they will have a good chance to score in just under six minutes another big basket by steve kerr is a nine point lead for chicago the bulls look to achieve a four game sweep and head to the fartaway nba finals penny hardaway fouled after good start has made only one of his last seven shots, foul called for good, the double teams are coming fast and furious now and shaquille o'neal when much of the three quarters try to play him in coverage unique and a big reason why the Bulls feel comfortable doingdouble team, there are no real primary threats when it comes to three point shooters on the floor, however, Brooks Thompson is certainly a competent three point shooter.

Bowie will do one from time to time, but he's the best. Shooter Dennis Scott is sitting on the bench right now with a sore left elbow, and yet he's been struggling mightily going 3-for-19 in the series from beyond the arc. Scott, after the good start, only three of 12 from the field today there is pressure from Magic Hardaway. I got a piece, but Rodney recaptured it with an eight-point lead in Chicago after they trailed most of the way by 39. And you know Michael is enjoying this, he's back at the scene of his biggest playoff mistakes here in Orlando a year ago and you know he's using it as a positive.

We have five minutes left on the four cents. I immediately looked around and didn't feel comfortable with the space of magic. He was looking for Thompson to make a move and get his man out of there. his man came out of there and ended up taking the ball and that's what happened to the magic throughout this series, so much time standing when the double teams come because that's the scheme, so you know where your shooters are, but from time to time you have to read the situation and make the appropriate cuts and luke longway found out on the play 22 minutes six points five rebounds right at the beginning of that play from thompson steve kerr took a shot to the chin although there was a bit of an exaggerated reaction on Steve's part he tried to get the attention of the referee, who dismissed it and was wrongly called for Thompson's three-point foul 92-85 Chicago just under five minutes left in the quarter, Magic desperately trying to hold on looking to force the fifth. game with 42 points and the only hesitation there was making sure both feet behind the line were swept by Rodman's pressure of magic bringing the ball to the center of the court where Scotty Pippin had a good look at the defense and where he was their people. and without a doubt he chose the best open person on that left side, so the Chicago Bulls, who scored 72 and 10 during the regular season, the best record in league history, seeking to continue their dominance until today, have won 10 of 11 in the playoffs are over in thompson, both teams are over the limit and jordan will go to the line, while the orlando magic now face the prospect of being swept from the playoffs for the third consecutive season and one has to wonder when This team has shown it. very little in mental toughness or growth, injuries can be used as an excuse at the moment and they are certainly having serious injuries, particularly those suffered by Horus Brandt, but I think the main problem is that there is no real leader in this ballgame .

Well, you have the two young players, Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway, extremely talented, perhaps at this stage in their career a little uncomfortable about stepping on the other coach's toes. I don't think they can do that. I think Penny Hardaway is the ball. The manager and the guy on the court and the point guard who has to become the leader of this team and eventually will be. Here's Steve Kerr with seven points and it's the Bulls 98 to the Magic 87 with three and a half minutes left. in the fourth quarter they have a foul on kerry, you know, i don't think shaquille o'neal would be completely gutted by the fact that penny hardaway would take on that leadership role as well when you have a player with as much experience as Horace Grant and he plays the type of play he plays, he can certainly be a leader on the team, but when teammates are asked throughout the year who the leader is, then we don't worry about it, we just go out there. and play as a team and because they've been so successful at winning so many games and winning pretty easily, they haven't had to worry about this being the toughest test they've ever had to face and being defeated in the first game.

I think it really took the heart out of this team, not that they necessarily gave up because they came back strong in that second game, but then losing the 18-point lead took it away even more. Hardaway is an all-around excellent player because he has the demeanor to be a true leader, I think so, I think he's just a year or two older, he's only 24, 98.89 chicago at the top as we approach three minutes left in the fourth quarter, the past of the broken government, you see, dennis scott is Back on the court, last touch of the balls and Scott will throw.

This is where Penny Hardaway really has to be a leader. He has to make something happen for himself or kick for a three-point shot and let Shaq clean up the offense. boards if it is a very tentative mistake on Jordan's part just a horrible sequence for the magic that leads to this three against one but the rebounds and Jordan will regroup and that last possession can be a symbol of the problems that this Orlando club has , so penny has had his. The problems in the final quarters of this series are due in part to fatigue, but in that last one he seems unsure what to do with Shaquille O'Neal driving and then handing it off to Hardaway with two minutes left in this fourth quarter and the Bulls leading 98 at 91. 45 points for Michael Jordan, he is 16 of 22 in what has been another extraordinary performance.

Thompson's wild shot couldn't go. Thompson is six of eight 15 points and the Bulls now lead 100 to 93 per minute and 20. The remainder of the quarter, we'll be right back if you think stress is hard on you and you consider your engine traffic jams, towing and transporting even at idle can cause detrimental wear. That's why Castrol is introducing Syntec blend, the only synthetic blend that combines conventional Castrol oil and syntec molecular components for greater protection than conventional oil in severe driving conditions because too much stress can be fatal. Castrol syntec blend provides additional protection for severe driving conditions.

Oh, with four doors, tons of interior space, comfortably contoured seats, and an excellent stereo, the Plymouth Neon sedan is a great boost to cruise, while the Plymouth Neon Expresso coupe's 132-horsepower engine and fully independent suspension take it become a real boost in the passing lane, the plymouth neon coupe or sedan never is.middle of the road 92.95 to start 12 4 very well equipped tonight no melrose place but you can still see heather sometimes me i feel like different people what dark events drove a woman crazy you went back in a movie inspired by a true story shattered live nbc place five minutes left in the fourth quarter it's chicago 100 and orlando 93 chicago with the three and a 20 in the department three conventional timeouts and a 20 in Orlando with three timeouts to go, well there you see the big difference in scoring the first half for Shaq in the second half, in fact, in the first game, with the Big Blowout Shack barely playing a minute there in the Chicago Bulls' 20-point Game 3 win and in this fourth quarter in particular, for example, almost every time he's played. the ball in the low post they have quickly attacked him and forced him to give up the ball and that is why throughout the season the magic as his go-to man in the final stretch has been that man, penny hardaway scott, in the free throw line. for the first time he is at 82 percent free throw shooting with five minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Scott can bring the magic to five. Another example of how bad his shot was and Michael Jordan is still smiling. He was not happy with that decision he felt. I was going for a loose ball off that rebound and I was looking at the referee, so you see, I told you, so Scott misses both for Dennis Scott going back to the miserable finals series he had last year along with Nick Anderson against the Houston Rockets, another Extremely difficult time and, uh, Dennis today, three of 12 from the field, oh, two at the free throw line, and it looked like Dennis was going to have a good game coming out and making those first two field goals was aggressive to the defense, mainly against Scottie Pippen. did a good job early but then couldn't find the range dennis robin now four of seven on the line eight points along with his 14 rebounds eight points ahead in chicago make it nine by minute two to go thompson against kerr the bulls come from behind Orlando led by up to 11.

Hardaway rejected by Rodman 102.95 with 47 seconds left in the quarter both teams are over the limit and the delay with that Scott says what I called five seconds after I got the best free percentage Throw to the shooter to the Chicago Bulls The man who committed the foul was Scottie Pippen, who had trouble from the line when he was double-teamed because Magic simply lost all mental awareness after coming out with a lot of emotion in this ball game and just gradually faded away. it was wearing down as michael jordan kept the ship afloat for the chicago bulls and really in the history of michael jordan he has had to score so many points by himself, which is more or less the case today, pippin in double figures that the bulls have lost those ball games, but he was able to play such a wonderful game today and take it home 16 of 23 from the field 10 of 12 on the line one of five assists for jordan 104 95 chicago with 35 seconds left in the hard orlando magic season The Bulls have a seven-point lead, we are 25 seconds away and the foul is committed by Thompson, so he will put Pippin on the line trying to stop the clock.

Kevin was two of four at the line while shooting 67 free throws during the season. from 23 and 8 there were 10 seconds left in this last quarter. Well, it wasn't a typical Scottie Pippin performance. He played so well in the third game and came up very short when he seemed to come out of his perimeter shot. slot, but the attraction seemed to feel when he's with the outside shot of him that they're unbeatable because he just opens up a lot of other things for Scottie Pippen on the offensive side to create and you know you're always going to have a tremendous defense. his effort scores 105 and the magic 97 light pressure shown by chicago thompson with 17 points from the start now a six point lead seconds to go and again a late whistle almost as if Holland was saying guys you have to foul harder so I can blow the whistle, imagine tiptoeing up to ron harper, so ron hoffer to the free throw line, he's two of three at the line, he's a 70 shooter during the regular season, oh, the defense The Bulls team has been absolutely fantastic throughout this series, very smart in the way they decided to play Shaquille O'Neal ineffectively and so much similar coverage allowed him to score some points but kept other people out of the game.

Nick Anderson had trouble getting involved when he was healthy and I think the key guy they felt was Dennis Scott. with his ability to open up games from beyond the three-point line keeping him out of this series offensively and a timeout taken for the magical nine seconds left in the fourth quarter the Bulls lead by seven, the new Plymouth Voyager has it easy. In fact, the Voyager not only outperforms all other minivans on the road, but with a 150-horsepower 3-liter V6 engine, it has 36 times the cargo space of a Porsche 911 for about a third of the price. they will call private specialist beneath the ribbons on your chest will be the souls of those who came before you you will be an individual but triumph is a team you will know strength courage hello from a fabulous plank road course where Plank Road 10 just achieved another impressive victory and our coach Paul is ready to give his victory speech.

Now this is watered down and it's not an ice house it's made with ice so it's never watered down it just tastes like more of what you want is the beard so remember winning isn't everything but Ice House is Thank you and enjoy yesterday in Utah. What a game the Sonics held off a furious Jazz rally in the fourth quarter to escape with a two-point win and a 3-1 series lead. now that the scene returns to seattle es stuart die for the jazz the western conference finals move to prime time tuesday night at 9 eastern on nbc well the chicago bulls are on track for a sweep of four games over the Orlando Magic while reaching the NBA Finals where they would face Seattle or Utah during the regular season.

The Bulls and the Sonic divided the two games 92-97-92, Seattle winning in Seattle and Chicago winning in Chicago. the bulls won both games against utah michael jordan averages 32 points per game and both against the jab nine seconds to go strong with three and seven tenths left in the fourth quarter steve kerr apparently the defense of the chicago bulls with the magic down seven aware that they are going to try to establish something from behind the line, making sure that they had a lot of pressure to force any magic player with the ball inside the three point line and Penny Hardaway just trying to get any type of score she could and that he would pay for it with the push.

At first glance it seems like Penny is fine on the line, but she once again had agood start and didn't do it again in the final stretch. It seems like a good stat line, but the fourth quarter is very important in any basketball game, and particularly in these playoff games. and that's when you have to have your guys take over to make sure that he makes your team do what you want to do on your offensive end and the foul given to Jordan to stop the clock. Brooks Thompson picks it up to bring Michael Jordan back to the line.

He is 10 of 12 at the free throw line now we are at 2 and 7 there are 10 seconds left until the Chicago Bulls reach the NBA Finals of the regular season and can break the record of the 1972 Los Angeles Lakers who had won 69 and lost to 13. A record 72-win season, they've been saying it all along, but it wouldn't mean anything unless they win another championship. Well, they'll have that chance as they head back to the final round, I think I'm as surprised even as Magic is with Orlando's performance. I think they were anticipating a much more difficult series. Well, George failed on both, but he didn't know that Jordan ends up with 45 points.

The Bulls make it 106 to 101 when the Orlando Magic have been swept. playoffs for the third consecutive season Shaquille O'Neal had a good start, however, in the second half, as we have mentioned, similar to Penny Hardaway, he did not achieve great results with 28 and his offseason has begun, as has Penny Hardaway who finished with 28. points let's go to ahmad Rashad on the court okay thank you Mark Michael a year ago when you lost this team in the playoffs a lot of motivation for you and you came here and said no It was a personal vendetta but a team vendetta. but you have to feel really good about this series, well I felt good because you know we really saw a challenge and we rose to the challenge.

I can say that every game, a different guy stepped up and gave us support, and I think that's what this team is about, it's not a one-man type of team and you know today it was my turn, some of the guys couldn't do it offensively you know I stepped it up a little bit and you know everyone rallied there. You guys have been so exceptional in the fourth quarter offensively and defensively, how do you explain that? Well, I think that's the moment of the playoffs, that's the most crucial moment. They know they want to execute, they want to play solid defense. do all the things necessary to win the games, you know, last year, you know, I wasn't in rhythm to do that for this team or we didn't really understand each other well before we were able to do it, so this year I had a better understanding about the team and I think we do.

They did have a better understanding of myself and you know, we were able to function down the stretch. Okay, we'll see you in the final. Congratulations. Okay, let's go to Jim. grey, very good, thank you very much, ahmad, I'm here with dennis rodman, dennis, another great ball game today, offensive mind, how did you get so offensive in this whole series? Well, I don't know, you know, I'm looking for an opportunity even. even though I'm lacking, that means I'm aggressive, I'm a force taker, no matter what, but, as they say, no matter how big you are, you can go down just as easily.

How much did the team need your enthusiasm? It seemed like it was indifferent days at the start of three or four of these games and today you lifted the team significantly. How much did they need your enthusiasm? Well, coach always says, go out and give us a spark, give us something, you know, I said it another time. My mind I have to do something. I have the gym, that's my job. Well, I think the team will lift and you know, when you have guys, a group of guys like this planet running, that's everything. Hey, you have to give them credit.

You surprised Dennis now this season, as you head into the finals, how well you've been accepted by the bulls. Well, I think they know a hard-working man when they see one and I hope I can stay here a couple more. years, if not, it's been fun, it's been great and we're going to do it right, thank you very much, alexis, with you again, okay, jim, and when we get back we'll talk to scottie pippen from the chicago bulls, the bulls are They're headed to the NBA finals, they have swept Orlando, whoever it may concern, I have always loved the summer games, running, jumping, everything is good, even the shot put is great too, but somehow I can't help but feel that there is something I miss myself and that's why I think soccer should be an official event of the summer games, let's get together and put this together, that's my dream and this is my planning reminder.

If Seattle beat the Utah Jazz tomorrow and won that series in five, the series would then begin the NBA finals series would begin on Friday in Chicago the bulls on magic 106 to 101 obviously if Utah wins the series continues and then we will see but congratulations uh scottie pippen thank you guys for going all the way, I know you have. I've been saying that 72 win season wouldn't mean anything unless you go all the way and now you'll get your chance in the NBA finals, well, definitely, I mean, even though we swept this team in this series, this is a tough series for us trying to contain Penny Shaquille from deep or her three-point shooters made this a very tough series for us, but I think As a baseball club we stayed focused, we knew what we wanted to do and who we wanted to shut down.

Was there a particular philosophy in today's game? Michael Jordan seemed to want it offensively at the beginning and obviously had one of the notable performances from him. Well, actually it wasn't like that, you know, we didn't know what kind of enthusiasm this team had. to come out and I think his fans here really gave him a big boost and they came out, they played hard for 48 minutes, but Michael had that hand today and he was unstoppable and he really carried our team, are you surprised by the ease? the one where you were able to handle the Orlando Magic, I know they had injuries, but the injuries came after the damage was done well.

I feel like we have a good idea of ​​this team, you know, after putting Dennis in this club and bringing Michael back to his. rhythm uh, you know, we had realized that we had a very strong baseball team and from then on it was just a matter of us falling into our rhythm and you know, we really have the feel of this baseball club here now, shaquille o'neal and penny hardaway. Today I had a strong first half but I couldn't do it in the second half. There was one particular adjustment that you guys were able to get right.

That's what those guys have had all series to carry this team offensively and if they can do it. If 48 minutes go by, then it's a different game, but we know our defense will wear them down somewhere within those 48 minutes. Okay, Scotty, congratulations and thanks for joining us. Thanks Mom. Okay, Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls as the Bulls arrive. the nba finals once again the final score the chicago bulls over the orlando magic 106 to 101 the nba playoffs on nbc will continue tomorrow night in prime time with game five of the western conference finals between the utah jazz and the seattle supersonics sonics of course leave that series three games to one it will be tomorrow night at nine o'clock eastern right here on nbc tonight on nbc a fresh special from a prince hour followed by the powerful world premiere movie shattered minds although heather locklear for the sofas matt about rashad and jim gray marv albert saying see you later this has been the nba on the nbc the nba playoffs the us women's open the magic came out like the youngsters today penny hardaway in the dunk orlando led by nine at the half, but the bulls had too much experience and too many weapons rodman gave a great pass to scottie pippen and he jammed it the bulls pulled away in the fourth quarter in this ron harper the steal and the placement - in the Bulls led by three and Michael also avenged his losing streak last year by adding just 45 points to give the Bulls the victory, they have taken 11 of 12 playoff games so far after a 72-win regular season.

Dan Roan covered the decider well today in the o arena and ventured into a happy but still serious bulls locker room, the magic had both the crowd and desperation on its side and, shorthanded as they were, they nailed it and they worked their way to an 11 point first half lead shaq and penny were too hot to handle but so was michael he's not the slasher he used to be but jordan can shoot whenever he wants 15 points in the blitz of the third quarter that gave back control to the game after scoring 17 on Saturday, the Bulls knew they should, you know his statement, uh, from Saturday, really, you know, he said a lot, you know, judging by today's performance, which you know that everyone won and, uh, you know he really came out and played an extraordinary game for us, I just read what everyone else was going to do and you know if they were going to get involved early, you know if they were in their realm early and then, you know, I found out Which was kind of in my groove, but I didn't do it.

Don't force the issue, I just let the game come to me. There were heroes in all of Ron Harper's steel to start the fourth quarter. He scored 12 points in the fourth game and Dennis Rodman's 14 more rebounds helped hold Shaq to two points in the fourth. fourth and the bulls are in the final right now we're going to go, I'm ready to go tomorrow the next day, the next day after that, I don't want to sit around, wait, I want to do it, I'm ready to go the post-game celebration was short and just a little soft the bulls know they're not done yet I feel great just being back here we're not done yet as I know but it's good to get this far, it's Jordan's approach too as something that has welded this team into a winning machine and it's that same approach that makes the bulls the favorites when the finals begin in orlando dan roan wgn news okay, onto baseball now the white sox almost made a huge late comeback in toronto tonight, but their rally was cut short and so was their eight Eastern Conference championship games, but I wonder in this city who would buy a jersey like that because for the Bulls, I mean the Toronto Raptors, that would be a big deal, yeah , wait a couple of weeks for a real deal, but you know for the Toronto Raptors that would be a big deal, but here it is, it's like Michael Jordan winning player of the week.

You know the plaque probably isn't on the wall of his house, I'm sure maybe for the charists maybe maybe it's okay, tourists picking up the Eastern Conference jerseys, well we have an important member of the bulls who He'll be here in a few minutes, a long time member of the bulls as well. Wow, it just got dark outside, I guess that means it'll be better. start reading this script bulls fans have waited two long years, but finally the bulls are back in the nba finals michael and company finished a clean sweep of the orlando magic yesterday and mj led them by 20 points in the first half 45 for the game that scored everywhere and the Bulls were up 106 to 101.

The Eastern Conference champions came home last night, some of the faithful were on hand to greet the team at O'Hare. It was a long weekend in Orlando and the bulls were happy. be home but there is still a lot of work ahead I am very excited I am extremely excited but I have been here long enough to know that it is not over yet and that we have not reached or achieved our goal that we started to achieve at the beginning of the year, so We have a lot of work left, it's special, but not that special, because I think our goal is to be NBA champions here again.

Five of the guys have been to the final before, but I've never been there. We are very excited that the entire team realizes that we still have our main goal, which is to win it all. Now only one team stands in the way between the Bulls and the NBA title. We are still not 100 percent sure who the opponent will be. It's going to be the Western Conference Finals still going on, of course, between the Seattle Supersonics and the Utah Jazz. The Sonics are ahead three games to one in that series and hope to finish at home tonight.

Now, if that happens, the finals would begin on Friday. here in chicago, but if the jazz wins tonight the two teams would return to utah for game six and if that happens the finals wouldn't start until sunday or maybe even later and as dave eckert discovered, jazz fans bulls aren't worried about sweeping down the stretch uh I don't think they have any problem with Seattle, and that's how I think they're going to play, you think they're going to go all the way now, oh yeah, sweep, sweep, why would we give them five Seattle? It's hard. It will be a close game, it will be close, very sweet, very sweet, why do you say that?

Because Micah is good, Michael is great, yes he is and I love the buzz, okay golden bulbs, okay I love bulls, you brought your broom today, we have one. sweep yes I thought maybe they were changing my job description but no this is for the sweep and maybe another one because the western conference teams are much weaker thanEastern Conference teams. I think even the knicks are better than the western conference. I should probably require it because our new correspondent in Seattle might be listening to Chris Cavello on radio station kjr 950 am good morning, hello, good morning, how's it going down there?

Pretty good, how are you? Hey, we're getting ready to take jazz out of Utah. Tonight, how are you going to play that jazz tune and get ready for the bulls, it's going to be a tough series all around. So what's the game plan and how are the Sonics going to contain the bulls? Well, they were going to play that. tough style of defense and you know we're trying to try to run with the Utah jazz, in Utah, Utah played that really slow flavor that the Sox don't really like to do and when we come home we like to run. a lot, so hopefully we'll run up and down the court and tire out Utah and Carl Malone Mailman.

What do you think some of the key matchups between the Sonics and Bulls would be? Oh, this is what makes it great. There's a lot. of big key matchups, first you have Gary Payton, he has Michael Jordan and as you know, Gary Payton is the defensive player of the year, so I think he will give Michael Jordan a lot of tough matchups. unlike anthony hardaway who couldn't really do that like you saw in the sweep with the orlando magic and you also liked sean kemp against dennis rodman uh two tough power forwards that go against each other they both like to rebound and they both like to play hard in the low pose, what do those Seattle fans think of the Bulls?

Hey, what can you say about the Bulls? I mean, 72 wins, you guys just get through the playoffs. It's going to be a difficult series, they have a lot of respect. For the bulls here, well, Chris, you have a lot to live up to. We need a photograph of you. We have correspondents all over the country, one in New York and one in Orlando, and we're going to miss these guys, but. I'm glad to meet a new friend. Send us a photo. Can you do that? Oh, definitely, yeah, actually, whatever you need here, like I said, we can't wait to play bulls and hopefully it'll be a good dragon. seven game series, okay, Chris, thanks for joining us and I'm sure we'll see you soon if you can take care of Utah.

Okay, we'll try to do it and good luck to everyone. Fine, thanks. Well the bull sweep means another championship t-shirt sweep, so stores like tropical t-shirts are putting out the latest in bulls where we'll be there next hour, but here now is a sample of what's hot in the printing presses and that can only get better for merchants by the way in a couple of weeks they expect another round of t-shirts celebrating the nba championship resorting to some news now the police recover a stolen car with radioactive material in the trunk that car was found and a happy special birthday today give him a very good job there is a reason for this it is just when the opening bell rings at the new york stock exchange this morning it may sound a little old maybe a little rusty how old is the monkey dow? 100 years 100 years so happy birthday and no We don't know where it is today, we have the numbers.

Well, Charles Down started tracking a dozen smokestack industries like Chicago gas and American rubber on May 26, 1896. And by the way, the market will open with Friday's numbers. up to a fraction of a point 57 62.82 a little baggy, right? You know they're a little big, they're a little big, okay, if they fall off, this will be a first for live television, where do they come from? Jim's, they're Larry's, oh, I thought you swept them off the weather center floor or something. The Bulls drafted me many years ago, imagine, yes, someone, yes, there is a running bulls player like Jonathan.

Michael Jordan has every right to hold on. You won't lose those no I won't it's okay I'll try not to spill coffee on them either please thank you I have to play again and again the Bulls are on their way to the NBA Finals after I get rid of the magic of Orlando in four straight games. I like this because you can read very fast. I think that's half of what sports broadcasting is. The Bulls were struggling against Orlando until you know who broke out in the second half. Michael Jordan was a sensational hitter. on almost every shot on 16 of 23 from the floor he seemed to carry the bulls but he got some help from others and Dennis Rodman was a real nutcase out there he was crazy on the boards again his outlet pass found Scotty by a great time dunk and ron harper, who will be making his first trip to the finals, also put defensive pressure on magic, am I after his head? kevin, who knows, I don't think so, then you must be behind, it was a 10-1 run that helped the Bulls defeat Orlando from this one and MJ finished with 45 points that day and that effort was more than enough to hit the rest of the Bulls the title of Eastern Conference champions after last year we saw the challenge in front of us. and we stood up to it and faced it and conquered it, so I think it's a great achievement.

I sincerely hope Chicago wins the title, and I mean that with all sincerity, if we can't win. I want them to win it and I think, honestly, I don't think Michael is going to be denied. We hope to meet the opponents in the Western Conference. I think we're excited as a basketball club to be back. the finals again and we are looking forward to our showdown there, as Phil said, the Bulls now await the winner of the Seattle Utah series. The Sonics have a three games to one lead. They could finish tonight if Seattle wins the first game. of the nba finals would take place on friday night at the united center, moving on to baseball now and they say all good things must come to an end and that was the case with the white sox, it's true, did you know What was the last team to be swept? the playoffs three consecutive years the chicago stags took the goose egg in 48 49 and 50 they lost to good teams although all three won the nba title games having played 11 playoff games so far with only that loss against the knicks The law of averages tells us that the bulls are going to suffer another loss at some point very soon.

Of course, the law of averages doesn't take into account Michael Jordan's feeling of unfinished business after last year's loss to the bulls. magic and his desire to prove a point by trying to Prove that point with a sweep game on Monday four, Orlando Shaq and Penny trying to stop the sweep and that's how you do that size 22 Shaq over Luke Longley and then Penny with the drive Through the middle of the NBA defensive team, he had first team. 15 in the first half, but a guy named Jordan also knows a thing or two about scoring. John Koncak once dreamed of stopping Mike, but that's the closest he ever came and then Shaq and Rodman have been drawing the entire series. more than jaw, it's a Donny Brook, it's way short of a melee magic up nine in the third quarter after the magic switch, sure, it's Jordan and then Shaq responds with a clear advantage of his own magic by eight, but Jordan is still hot, dare I say and no, I guess.

I don't dare fall and he gets the foul. He had 15 in the third as the Bulls come back. Now Chicago lost just three Jordan to Steve Kerr shooting the three as hot as anyone tying the game at 74. The fourth quarter Bulls take a step. Done with Deep Brooks Thompson, good to have you in the game, eliminated by Ron Harper, puts him in bulls up three and then more Jordan, look at the isolation, all alone, turns around, forget it and then, with less than nine minutes to go, the bulls rise. for tony cucoch it had been just two for 31 from deep in the playoffs why not shoot anyway the bulls lead by five then jordan with some finishing touches look at the line yeah it's behind it yeah he hits it the bulls by 10 Horace Grant can only watch as his former teammates down his current teammates Shaq had 28 but only nine in the second half and yes, it's the Bulls 106 101 and the sweep is complete Jordan 45 points is that familiar number that he used to use 16 of 23 from the floor rodman another 14 The boards, the magic have now been eliminated from the playoffs three years in a row and the Bulls reach the finals for the fourth time in six years.

It was an added incentive that we saw focus, we saw a challenge, you know, after last year we saw the challenge in front of us and we stood in front of it and we faced it and we conquered it, so I think that's a huge accomplishment, Jordan Jordan , that's why he is the best player in the world. You know he came out. played well, let the game go to the sky, you know, shot the ball well, this is a great team, this is a great team, great individuals, great mentality and all that, so you know, we have young players there and players youths.

If they can't reload fast enough, they won't win. There were some things that were out of our control with the injury situation and we played and lost against a great basketball team, maybe in a few weeks they will be called the team. The best team that has ever played, who knows, and with some of the best covers they have ever played. Good job Dennis, we all know the old saying. A man does not form a team. Apparently, two men don't make a team. Shaq and Penny Accounting. For 62 percent of Orlando's offense against the Bulls, they accounted for just 37 percent of the team's offense during the regular season.

We'll have much more in Game 4 a little later on Sportscenter, including what's next for the Magic and what the Bulls have to do. do to win and make it all the way to the Finals like the Bulls, the Red Wings say their usual regular season record has been billed as better than the Super Bowl the last couple of years, the Bulls' magical series was supposed to be as well, if not better, than the NBA Finals turned out to be now in light of the Bulls' four-game sweep, let's really hope that's not true, with more information now on what put Chicago back on track in the finals, here's Stuart Scott Michael Jordan, it's nothing if it is.

He wasn't consistent before this year, having surpassed 40 points in one of every four playoff games with two 40-plus games under his belt this postseason. first shot and he makes it they want michael to go to work again change to bowie jordan got it off the glass he puts it in goal for jordan it's still perfect I said consistent in the first two quarters jordan hit his first seven shots he finished the half seven out of nine shots with 20 points in the second half nine of 14 from the field 25 more points we are fortunate to be able to ride or this afternoon ride on the coattails of michael jordan and he had a great game jordan jordan That is why mentally he is the best player in the world .

He's probably the toughest guy in the world, basically at scoring and trying to defend, judging by looking into Michael's eyes. I'm sure we could have shot them all today. They took the ball away from us. When we were here last season we had a chance to win, you know, I think this is kind of revenge for him. The irony of Jordan wearing jersey number 45 last year when he committed that crucial loss against Orlando and scored 45 on Monday to knock it out. The magic wasn't lost on the newly crowned MVP, he just wanted to come back and win and sometimes things are very ironic, you know how things happen and there's no explanation for it, really, as Jordan wrote down his old number of jersey, the Bulls made a key, but Not so surprising adjustment to prevent Shaquille O'Neal from scoring his after 19 points in the first half.

O'Neil saw a double team almost every time he touched the ball in the third and fourth quarters, they weren't as lucky as we were. I didn't have the same luck collectively as a team scoring with all those touches like we did in the first half of the game. Espn's NBA analyst Dr. Jack Ramsey joins me now. Dr. Jack, Coach Hill, said Shaq got so many touches, in fact, he got it right. every shot he made in the second half he just didn't shoot the ball that much no he only made four shots in the entire second half Stewart only one in the fourth quarter but more than that in my opinion he got the ball out of his position .

He has a lot of them on the right block. He likes the left block, where the side is clear and he can operate one-on-one and then if he's double-teamed, he'll find open receivers. It didn't happen enough to Shaq. that way the bulls have 12 steals in the first game 12 steals in the second game 12 steals in the fourth game they have three guys on the first team, all defensive teams, which makes their defense so suffocating, defense is the main factor for this team manager and They understand that they use defense to pressure teams to abandon their offensive game, get turnovers and lead them into a transition game of their own.

When they are behind, they apply strong pressure and it has paid off in this series. A great way for the Bulls to reach their fourth final in the 90s for Dr. Jack Ramsey in Orlando, I'm Stuart Scott, Espn, okay gentlemen, thank you very much, that leaves us with the magic of who, in addition to organize departure times, now they have to figure out where. They go from here, Shaq will be back,Brian Hill will return and what changes will be made to fix what went wrong during the last terrible week for the third year in a row.

You know this is how we end our season and you know it's real. disgusting because we are a better team than we show even though we know we had injuries and everything but just one of those things where it's always hard to accept that and live with it, sometimes you wonder if you know if I've done everything the right thing to get to this point. You know, you know, we think we've done it and now it's a matter of getting over that last hurdle. I'm so proud of each and every guy that took the field today.

I think if you know if our people here in Florida had any questions and around the country about the heart and will of our players, I think I hope they were answered today, at least the magic has been consistent throughout its brief history. They've been to the playoffs three times and all three times they've been swept in 94. The Pacers did it in the first round last year, the Rockets did it in the finals and this year it was the Bulls.