This Date in Sports History: The 1996 Chicago Bulls Completed One Of The Top Regular Seasons In NBA History

By Jordan Long

On this date in sports history, the 1996 Chicago Bulls completed one of the top years in NBA history.  They headed to Washington  D.C. to play the Bullets looking for their 72^nd  victory of the year.  Chicago had already beaten the 72 Lakers for most wins in a year.  The Bulls wanted a win to have momentum heading into the postseason.

                Chicago and Washington weren’t playing for anything.  Chicago already wrapped up home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs while Washington missed the postseason for the 8^th straight season.   Chicago didn’t rest anybody even though nothing was at stake and played their regular line up of Michael Jordan, Toni Kukoc, Scottie Pippen, Luck Longley, and Dennis Rodman.  On the other side, the Bullets started  Juwan Howard, Ledell Eackles, Calbert Cheaney, Brent Price, and Jim McIlvaine.

                In the 1^st quarter, Chicago came out firing, outscoring Washington 31 to 22.  In the 2^nd quarter, Washington managed to crawl their way back into the game, taking a 52-51 lead into the locker room.  It looked like it might be a back and forth 2^nd half.  The Bulls defense came to play and allowed 41 points in the 2^nd half. The Chicago Bulls were able to create turnovers, block shots, and score fast break points.  The Bulls scored 52 points in the 2^nd half.  Chicago took this game 103-93.

                The leading scorer for the Bulls comes at no surprise, Michael Jordan with 26 points.  Scottie Pippen added 20 points.  For Washington, Juwan Howard totaled 27 points.  The win made the Bulls 72-10 which at the time was the best record in NBA history. This has since been beaten by the 2016 Golden State Warriors who had 73 wins in 2016.  The Bullets dropped to 39-43.

                In the playoffs, Chicago swept  Miami in the 1^st-round.  In the 2^nd-round they faced the New York Knicks.  The Knicks were no match for the Bulls as they were knocked out in 5 games.  The Orlando Magic were next for the Bulls.  The Bulls beat them 4-0.  In the Finals Seattle was a tough matchup but Chicago beat them in 6 games.  This was the start of their final 3-peat.