This Date In Sports History: Pat Riley Swept In The Playoffs For The 1st Time In His Coaching Career

By Jordan Long

Pat Riley was one of the most successful coaches in NBA history.  His teams own an impressive record of 1,210-694, an outstanding winning percentage of .636 while coaching the L.A Lakers, New York Knicks, and Miami Heat.  Riley even won 5 NBA championships.   His wins rank 5^th all-time in NBA history.  On this date in 1996 the Miami Heat were swept in the 1^st-round of the NBA playoffs, the first time in a series that Riley failed to win a playoff game.

                The Miami Heat entered the 1996 NBA playoffs with a record of 42-40, the 8^th seed in the Eastern Conference.  They had to face the Chicago Bulls who went 72-10.  The Heat were underdogs in the series. 

                Back in 1996, the 1^st-round was a best of 5 series.  The Bulls took game 1, 102-85.  In game two it was all Chicago, drumming the Heat 106-75.  Heading into game 3, Miami’s season was on the line.  A win and they would extend the series to game 4, a loss and they wouldn’t play another game until the beginning of 1996-1997 season.               

                The Heat started the game with Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, Rex Chapman, Walt Williams, and Kurt Thomas.  The Bulls went with their regular lineup of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Ron Harper, Toni Kukoc, and Luc Longley.

                The Heat were no match for the Bulls.  Chicago outscored Miami 62-44 in the 1^st half.  An 18-point deficit isn’t the best position but it is doable.  The Heat just needed to make a few stops on defense and go on a scoring run.  That would bring them back into the game.   

                Unfortunately, Miami couldn’t stop the Bulls and their offense.  Chicago managed to score 50 points in the 2^nd half while limiting the Heat to 47 points.  Chicago won this game 112-91 which meant a sweep for them.

                The leading scorer in the game for the Bulls was Michael Jordan.  He put up 26 points.  Scottie Pippen added 22 points.  For the Heat, Alonzo Mourning led all scorers with 30 points but it wasn’t enough to keep his teams’ season alive.

                The Bulls ended up winning the NBA championship that year, the start of their 3-peat.  For the Heat, they would go on to earn a playoff spot the next 5 seasons.  They were two other times, 2001 and 2007. Riley won 1 NBA championship after the 1996 season, in 2006 with the Heat.