[video] Rockets @ Bulls 1991 : MJ vs.. Kenny Smith?

Bulls had a 26 game home winning streak.. til:


This game:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199103250CHI.html

<object width="500" height="405"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Iu92R-UR12o&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Iu92R-UR12o&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="405"></embed></object>

Recap:

Spoiler

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1991_772744
Rockets snap Bulls' win string
EDDIE SEFKO Staff
TUE 03/26/1991
HOUSTON CHRONICLE, Section Sports, Page 1, 2 STAR
CHICAGO - It's official. The Rockets are legitimate.

So legitimate, in fact, they did what 26 teams before them couldn't - win at Chicago Stadium.

The Rockets overwhelmed the Bulls 100-90 Monday night, extending their winning streak to 12 games and handing the Bulls their first home loss since Dec. 8, when Portland won here.

In fact, the Rockets might have become league-certified championship contenders with their performance, which was rock-solid from start to finish.

The Bulls came in with the best record in the NBA. The Rockets came out of the game with more respect and, of course, the victory.

It was a game the Rockets would have been happy to just get out of healthy. The last time these teams met, Bill Cartwright's elbow smashed Hakeem Olajuwon's right eye.

It was payback time in the most painful way. The Rockets did it with solid defense and excellent play from their guards.

Kenny Smith led the Rockets with 25 points; Sleepy Floyd scored 10 consecutive points in the fourth quarter.

Ahead 85-80, the Rockets got a layup, a free throw, a three-point shot and two free throws by Floyd as they outscored the Bulls down the stretch.

Floyd's streak kept the Rockets in front 93-86 with less than two minutes to go. He topped it off with two free throws for good measure, and the Bulls resorted to three-pointers, which they couldn't make in the final minute.

The Bulls were not without incentive. The Rockets had handed Chicago its worst loss of the season in Houston, a 114-92 pounding, and the bulk of the margin was gained after Olajuwon had hit the deck.

The Bulls must have been as surprised as anybody when the Rockets stormed to a 17-point third-quarter lead, then were still up by 11 going into the final 12 minutes.

And the Bulls were led, not surprisingly, by a hot-shooting guard.

Yes, B.J. Armstrong did most of the damage.

Who?

The third-year reserve guard from Iowa hit a pair of baskets during Chicago's 9-3 streak to open the final period.

That got them to 76-71. But the Rockets recaptured a nine-point lead as Olajuwon hit a short fadeaway and Smith drove the lane for a nice layup with 6:44 to go.

The Bulls called timeout to collect themselves. Michael Jordan had yet to be heard from, sitting out four minutes and going scoreless for another four.

After the timeout, he knocked in the Bulls' next seven points, but the Rockets kept their focus and their lead.

If not their cool.

Jordan and Maxwell got into a mild shoving match with 5:19 to go. Both players received technical fouls, rendering the incident meaningless.

It had been Maxwell's job all night to stick with Jordan and he had done a decent job of harassing the league's leading scorer, despite what the final numbers would indicate.

At any rate, after the altercation, Maxwell pumped in a 20-foot jumper for an 84-77 lead.

Jordan came back on the next possession to get fouled on a quick drive by Maxwell. After the play, Jordan was doing a lot of talking to Maxwell, who simply grinned.

After that, it became a pressure-packed final four minutes, with the heat on during every possession.

The Rockets responded just as they have in every game in March. They won.

In the pre-game hoopla, Olajuwon sat in the visitors' locker room, and the television showed the Rockets' Jan. 3 game against the Bulls at The Summit.

Did he have any flashbacks?

"No, look I'm still in the game," Olajuwon said, pointing to the screen. "And without goggles."

Nobody would have blamed Olajuwon if he'd been a little skittish about going against the Bulls.

Judging from the first quarter, the nerves must not have been completely steady for Olajuwon. Either that, or the Rockets simply forgot about him because Olajuwon was barely part of the action.

In the first quarter, Olajuwon was low man among Rockets starters with two field-goal attempts.

Not surprisingly, the Rockets were trailing 28-22, but it could have been worse. They got a last-minute boost from Floyd, whose three-pointer with three seconds to go put the Rockets in a better frame of mind starting the second quarter.

The Rockets began the period with a 12-2 surge during which Olajuwon came alive. He hit three consecutive shots, the last of which gave the Rockets the lead 32-30.

Up to that point, they had been doing a splendid job of putting a ball-and-chain on Jordan. Maxwell had pursued him around the court almost nonstop.

"You can't just let him go crazy," coach Don Chaney said. "We knew we had to contain him at least somewhat to have a chance."

Just when the Rockets thought they were doing a good job, Jordan scored eight of the Bulls' last 10 points of the first half.

The good news was nobody else on the Bulls' squad was hurting the Rockets.

Meanwhile, Smith was dropping in an occasional jumper and the Rockets' defense was confounding the Bulls.

The Rockets had 11 steals, usually an entire game's worth, in the first two quarters. Those thefts constituted most of the Bulls' 15 first-half turnovers.

With so many botched opportunities, it was no wonder the Bulls were in a 51-42 hole at halftime, getting outscored 29-14 in the second quarter.

And the Rockets, who treated this as a game of playoff-type importance, kept rolling after the intermission.

The Bulls were limited to four points in the first 5:10 after halftime, shooting 1-for-7 from the field.

The Rockets could do no wrong. As an example of the kind of roll they were on, Maxwell broke free on a breakaway, but a Chicago defender was closing in.

Maxwell caught the ball too close to the basket, but scooped up a high, arching flip shot that kissed the glass and dropped through the net.

Those are the kinds of plays that generate a 63-46 advantage, which the Rockets hd with seven minutes to play in the third period.

Jordan had yet to make a peep in the second half, but his time would come. He scored six of Chicago's eight points as they crept back within 65-54, but the Rockets, with Maxwell scoring on consecutive layups, moved back ahead by 15 as the quarter wound down.

While an 11-point lead against Jordan and Co. is not safe, the Rockets had to figure themselves in good shape as they rolled into the fourth quarter with a 73-62 lead.

 

I don't think this particular game was on video. the 91 team with sleepy and buck johnson on the team. This isn't the game where Dream blocks Jordan at the end. hint: Kenny Smith (leading scorer)

 

There's only one 1991 game on youtube between the Rockets and the Bulls, the others are of the 91/92 season, not the 90/91.

If I'm wrong, then post some more videos that I may have missed from this game.

 

you're confused dude. i'm posting this video because it's new. Kam claims there's hundreds of videos of this particular game on youtube and i haven't found them.

there are plenty on the 91/92 games not the 90/91.

 

1. hahaha, this video shows that Kenny wasn't just a dude who jacked up 3s and when we got a young Kenny, he was awesome (note he didn't jack up 1 single 3 and shot like 69% in this game)

2. this is wrong. first meeting for Dream vs Bulls since he got elbowed in the eye and forced to wear goggles. Can't blame him for being cautious and not 100%.