- Antoine Carr was part of the Jazz squad that lost to the Bulls in the 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals
- Carr says the Bulls were lucky to beat them the second time
- Carr brought up Michael Jordan’s infamous push-off
Antoine Carr thinks Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were rather fortunate to beat the Utah Jazz in the 1998 NBA Finals. Carr made those interesting comments while speaking to Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson on the latest episode of Scoop B Selects.
“I don’t think at the time that the Chicago Bulls were the be-all,” Carr said. “They were a very good team and they got lucky beating us.”
Robinson asked how they got lucky, to which Carr said, “Well, I remember one game, I ain’t gonna say somebody pushed off, but.”
Toward the end of the deciding Game 6, of course, Jordan hit the game-winner, but he had pushed off Bryon Russell in the process. The officials didn’t call it and the Bulls won the game 87-86. Carr also listed down some other things that went against the Jazz.
“Well, I would say there was a little push-off,” Carr continued. “And then, there’s also a couple of shots that we hit, a nice three-pointer, and they discontinued it. And then I believe my man (Ron) Harper came down and hit one and it was after the buzzer and they counted it.”
Carr then joked that the officials cost the Jazz the game.
“So, if it hadn’t been for referees, we would’ve won this,” Carr added. “I’m kidding.”
(starts at 0:26 mark):
Michael Jordan’s Bulls got “lucky” beating Utah Jazz in ‘98 NBA Finals after MJ’s Game 6 “pushoff” on Bryon Russell says ex-Jazz PF Antoine Carr:
“If it hadn’t been for the referees, we would’ve won this.”
“I would say that there was a little bit of a push off there.” https://t.co/CdvAJoBMe0 pic.twitter.com/brdrrCpl58
— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) September 5, 2023
The referee part was certainly said in jest at the end there.
The first of the two incidents that Carr brought up there, though, was a three-pointer by Howard Eisley in the second quarter. With the Jazz leading 28-24, Eisley connected on a three, but referee Dick Bavetta called a shot clock violation. Replays indicated that there was a second left when Eisley shot it.
The other one was a shot from Ron Harper in the fourth quarter, which tied the game at 79. It was a close call whether he had gotten it off before the shot clock expired, but the officials counted it.
You can’t really blame the loss on those two calls, though, and to be fair, Carr isn’t doing that either.
This loss was a proper gut punch for the Jazz. It was the second straight year that the Bulls had beaten them in six games in the Finals, and those teams would have been looked at very differently had they managed to just win one of them.
Michael Jordan Was Incredible In This Game
Jordan rose to the occasion time and time again in his career, and this game was no different. He played almost 44 minutes and had 45 points while shooting 15-35 from the field.
Jordan scored 16 points in the fourth quarter alone, and his play in the final minute of that contest was simply legendary.
The Bulls were down 86-83 with 41 seconds remaining, but Jordan quickly scored to cut the deficit to one. He then famously stole the ball from Karl Malone on the next possession and well, the rest is history.
Jordan finished the series with averages of 33.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game, to take home Finals MVP honors for the sixth time.
The Bulls Might Well Have Lost The Series Had They Lost Game 6
For as great as Jordan was, he and the Bulls probably would have lost that series, had they failed to win Game 6. That doesn’t have anything to do with Jordan but with Scottie Pippen.
Pippen stated he wouldn’t have played in Game 7 had Jordan missed that shot. Scottie was dealing with severe back issues during that series and by Game 6, he was all but done. He only had six points in the game and played just under 26 minutes.
It was why Jordan had to take on such a huge load offensively, and it took everything he had to just about get the win in Game 6. You’d have backed him to ball out in Game 7, but without Pippen, you certainly wouldn’t have liked his chances of winning it.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
