ORLANDO - While the Orlando Magic’s Game 1 win over Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the 1995 NBA playoffs is easily one of the most memorable in franchise history because of its late-game dramatics, it was Game 3 of that second-round series that might have been even more important to the upstart Magic.
While Game 1 will always be remembered for Nick Anderson punching the ball away from Jordan and leading to the winning points in the closing seconds, Game 3 was significant for the manner in which Orlando showed plenty of resolve in the face of a snarling Jordan and while playing before a hostile Chicago crowd.
The Magic got the Game 2 response they expected after Jordan turned the ball over twice in the final 16 seconds of Game 1 with the legendary guard playing like a man possessed in Chicago’s 104-94 victory that knotted the series at 1-1. That night, Jordan had 38 points, seven rebounds, four blocks, four steals and three assists as the Bulls broke open a one-point game with a 31-23 advantage in the third period.
Much of the basketball world expected more of the same from Jordan and the Bulls in Game 3 as the series shifted back to Chicago. However, the Magic’s well-balanced roster – and some highly motivated play from Horace Grant and Anderson – flipped things in favor of the Magic.
Back in the city where he grew up rooting for the Bulls, Anderson had 22 points, six rebounds, three steals and three 3-pointers in the momentum-swinging Game 3. Grant, previously a three-time champion with the Bulls who left Chicago to sign with the Magic as a free agent, chipped in another 18 points and 14 rebounds as the Magic shocked the Bulls with a 110-101 Game 3 victory.
``Winning in Chicago, that was big for us because we knew playing there in the playoffs was going to be so tough,’’ Anderson recalled. ``But beating them there, and playing as well as we did that night, that was a game-changer for our confidence.’’
With the NBA season suspended in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe, Fox Sports Florida has used much of April to show select classic games from the Magic’s glorious, 31-year history. After debuting the Magic’s first-ever preseason game, its first-ever, regular-season victory, 1989 wins over Magic Johnson’s Lakers and Jordan’s Bulls and Shaquille O’Neal’s Magic debut from 1992, Fox Sports Florida is re-airing Orlando’s four victories over Chicago in the 1995 playoffs. Games 3 (Thursday, 8 p.m.), 5 (Saturday, 5 p.m.) and 6 (Saturday, 7:30 p.m.) will air all this week.
As it turns out, that series was historically significant for a couple of different reasons. Not only did vanquishing the Bulls get the Magic to the Eastern Conference Finals and ultimately the NBA Finals, that playoff series proved to be the last one that Jordan lost in his Hall of Fame career. After losing to the Magic in the 1995 playoffs, Jordan led the Bulls to NBA crowns in 1996, ’97 and ’98, retired for a second time, returned to play for Washington and never made the postseason in his two seasons with the Wizards.
``That (1995 defeat of Chicago) gave us a lot of credibility and respect, beating Michael and the Bulls like that,’’ Anderson recalled. ``I know M.J. was coming out of retirement, but as they say, `The game must be played,’ and we won it.’’
The Magic won it because they hit the Bulls from every angle and survived another offensive onslaught from Jordan. Shaquille O’Neal not only had 28 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots, but he played a big role in Chicago centers Luc Longley, Will Perdue and Bill Wennington having to commit 11 fouls. Penny Hardaway chipped in 19 points and eight assists, while Dennis Scott rebounded a bit from his Game 2 disaster (one of nine overall and zero of five from 3-point range) with 10 points.
Jordan had 40 points and seven rebounds in that Game 3, but he turned the ball over four times against a Magic defense that limited the Bulls to 44.2 percent shooting. Scottie Pippen (25 points) and B.J. Armstrong (14 points) were the only other Bulls in double figures in scoring, but Chicago’s offense was mostly limited against an Orlando squad determined to grab control of the series while playing before a hostile Chicago crowd.
``That Game 3 kind of let everybody know that we were for real and that we weren’t going anywhere,’’ Anderson said. ``That means a lot when you are a young squad trying to prove yourself against a Chicago team that had already won three championships.’’
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