The Last Shot (basketball) - Background

Background

Further information: 1998 NBA Finals, 1998 NBA Playoffs, and 1997–98 NBA season

The Utah Jazz and the Chicago Bulls finished the season tied for the best record in the NBA at 62-20. The Jazz swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, and the Bulls beat the Indiana Pacers 4-3 in the Eastern Conference Finals, setting up a rematch of the prior year's NBA Finals, which the Bulls had won in 6 games. The Jazz swept the season series against the Bulls 2–0, giving them the tiebreaker for home-court advantage throughout the NBA Playoffs.

In the mostly tight finals series, the Jazz had won Game 1, while the Bulls had won Games 2-4. At the United Center in Game 5, Michael Jordan airballed an off-balance, catch-and-shoot 3 at the buzzer, allowing the Jazz to stave off elimination with a 83-81 victory and return to Utah for Game 6, and a potential Game 7. None of the previous 5 Finals appearances for the Bulls had gone to a Game 7.

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