20 Years Later: Nick Anderson stole the ball

Of course, we know that was not true as the Rockets eventually won the title.

May 7, 1995 was actually quite a huge day in the NBA Playoffs in general. NBC played a NBA Playoffs triple header. It started at Madison Square Garden where Reggie Miller famously scored eight points in nine seconds as the Pacers stunned the Knicks 107-105.

The second game was a Game Five between the Jazz and the Rockets. Hakeem Olajuwon scored 33 points and Clyde Drexler had 31 points as the Rockets stole the series 95-91 at the Delta Center. No other Rockets players scored in double figures.

The Magic and Bulls though was the main event. Well, Jurassic Park making its television debut at 8 p.m. ET was the main event, but whatever.

Shaquille O’Neal was an animal on the inside. He scored 18 of his 26 points in the first half. The Bulls really had no answer for him other than to throw their “three-headed monster” — Will Perdue, Bill Wennington and Luc Longley — at him. They could do very little. O’Neal ended up averaging 24.3 points and 13.2 rebounds per game in the six-game series.

The illegal defense rule was a bit confusing back in the day. It pretty much prevented zone defenses. It was amended in 2000 loosening the restrictions on zone defenses.

Flopping is not new.

This is a recurring storyline throughout the game. The NBC broadcast actually shows a bulky adhesive on Jordan’s hand. And it is his right hand. Jordan started the game shooting horribly and taking a good chunk of Chicago’s shots. He was really out of rhythm. Maybe the injury did play a big part.

We will have to stay tuned to find out.

Next: If Michael Jordan had Twitter