ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, June 17, 1996 TAG: 9606180058
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHICAGO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
When destiny finally arrived for the Chicago Bulls, the moment was all the more moving for Michael Jordan.
Overcome by memories of his murdered father, Jordan celebrated with tears the title his father wasn't there to see, the title he pursued so relentlessly after coming out of retirement.
``I never doubted that I could get back this moment, and the fact that it happened on Father's Day makes it even more special,'' Jordan said Sunday night after the Bulls returned to their home court to win their fourth NBA title in six years.
After letting the Seattle SuperSonics back into a series that looked like it would end in a sweep, the Bulls finished them off with a dominant 87-75 victory in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
The title followed an NBA-record 72 victories in the regular season and accolades and awards seemingly without end.
The Bulls' place in history isn't as secure as it could have been, knocked down by back-to-back losses to a dogged opponent, but they still are NBA champions because they finished their season with a focus and aggressiveness seldom seen earlier in the series. Chicago beat the Sonics mainly with rebounding and defense - much of it by Dennis Rodman, who had 19 boards in one of the best games of his career - to overcome a mediocre night by Jordan, who nonetheless got his record fourth Finals MVP award and the championship he pursued so hard after coming out of retirement.
After the buzzer, Scottie Pippen, Rodman and Harper exchanged hugs with coach Phil Jackson as they donned their championship caps. In the locker room, they smoked cigars, drank champagne and put on T-shirts reading: ``Greatest Team Ever.''
``The one thing about this championship is that we were expected to win,'' Jackson said. ``Whenever you're expected to do something, the pressure is great, and it's a relief to win rather than an exultation.
``We knew we were good enough to win. We just had to put that nail in the coffin. We just were waiting for that game to show up where we played real well.''
That they did.
Jordan had 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and although he did not have the kind of dominant game that has made him one of the all-time greats, every other member of the Bulls picked up the slack in a game Chicago controlled throughout the second half.
Pippen, who struggled with his shooting touch through the first five games of the Finals, came back with 17 points, eight rebounds, five assists, four steals and three 3-pointers.
Rodman, who tied his own NBA Finals record with 11 offensive rebounds, added nine points, five assists and three of Chicago's 14 steals. He played his hardest in a third-quarter stretch when it looked as if Seattle might be fighting its way back.
The fourth quarter never really was close, and Chicago won its championship on a court where the Bulls won 49 games and lost only twice during the season.
``I think we could have beaten them,'' said Seattle's Hersey Hawkins. ``If we beat them, are people going to call us a great team? No one would have called us great or close to great, and I'm not going to call them great. We'll be back next year.'' Whether these Chicago Bulls are the best even can - and will - be debated. Their accomplishments, though, are a matter of record. Their championship round was marked by a few moments of greatness but many more minutes of struggle. Jordan wasn't always the best player on the court, and his team was upstaged at times by the more spectacular play of Seattle's energetic All-Stars, Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp. In the end, though, after two consecutive losses at Key Arena injected some suspense, the Bulls went out in style.
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP Chicago Bulls stars Michael Jordan (23) and Scottieby CNBPippen toast theirO fourth NBA championship in six seasons. Color.