Sports Sundays - 1992: Jordan ‘blazes’ the Portland Trail Blazers

      

Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls continued their dominance in the 1991–92 season, finishing with a 67-15 record. After effortlessly sweeping the Miami Heat in the opening round and surviving a seven game series over the New York Knicks in the second round and then beating the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Conference Finals, the Bulls advanced to the NBA Finals again to defend their title.

In the 1991–92 season, the Portland Trail Blazers won back to back as Pacific Division champions after dominating in the playoffs. Having won the Conference Finals in 1990 and with the same core of players returning  to the team, the Blazers thought that 1992 would be their year to win the championship. The Blazers were confident after splitting the first two games in Chicago, but the Bulls performed well on the road for the second straight year, winning two of three in Portland to head back to Chicago up 3-2. In the championship-clinching Game 6, the Bulls rallied from down 15 in the fourth quarter sparked by Jordan, who scored 12 of his 33 points in the last six minutes. The 1992 NBA Finals cemented the legendary reputation of Michael Jordan and his dynasty. 

Sports Sundays - 1993: The Three Peat

The Chicago Bulls finished the 1992-93 regular season at 57-25, which was the team's fourth straight 50-win campaign. However, upon entering the 1993 NBA Playoffs, the Chicago Bulls were not the favourites to win it again, but were still the team to beat for the title. 

Many NBA Analysts thought that it was impossible for the Chicago Bulls to win three in a row, as it as become a rarity in the NBA. It was a real challenge for the Bulls to win three in a row, but no one rose to the challenge like Air Jordan. The Bulls entered the finals after a tough series against the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals and did not have home court advantage. But Air Jordan made history by carrying his team to win the first two games of the series at Phoenix. Despite the Suns winning Game 3, the series ended with Bulls up 3-2. With the Suns leading 98-96 in the final minute of Game 6, it looked like it would come down to a seventh game for the final series. However, unlikely hero, John Paxson hit a three-pointer with 3.4 seconds remaining on the clock to win Chicago's first three-peat.