Jordan Vs Barkley: The Finals BATTLE That Lasted FOREVER…

If you or someone you know experienced serious mental health struggles as a result of social media use, you may be entitled to a potential recovery of over $1,000. Visit https://morganmorganpa.sjv.io/c/34680... to submit a claim now. This is the epic finals battle between Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley that lasted forever! In game 3 of the Finals, the Bulls and the Suns needed 3 overtimes to decide the winner, and things got crazy! But let’s take a step back… MJ and the Chuckster were best buddies for 30 years! They entered the NBA in the same draft class in 1984, often shared the golf course together and ruled the Olympics in the summer of ‘92 in Barcelona. But, just 10 months later they faced off in the 1993 NBA Finals, instantly turning enemies on the hardwood. The Suns had the home court advantage for winning a league best 62 games in the regular season, and Barkley was awarded the MVP for posting 25.5 points, 12 boards and 5 assists on 52% shooting in his 1st year in Phoenix. But that didn’t mean anything for Michael and the Bulls who were eager to complete their first ever 3-peat. The entire state of Arizona went through a heartbreak, losing both games at home. And with the series shifting to the Chicago Stadium for the next 3 games, due to the old Finals format, the Suns had nothing to lose anymore… But I guess that’s exactly what Barkley and company needed, a pressure relief. So they came out furious in game 3. Phoenix opened the game on an 11 to 4 run, playing confident on both ends of the floor. But Scottie Pippen had enough of that, swatting away Barkley’s layup and finding BJ Armstrong in transition. A couple possessions later, Jordan made sure to fire one behind the line and tie the game. After the slow start, His Airness really picked up the pace and started dominating the game only like he can. Damn every move he made was poetry in motion! MJ ignited a 19 to 6 response run for the Bulls to take an 8 point lead. But just when they thought they’ll have it the easy way, the Suns turned up the heat! You can’t relax in an NBA Finals game by any means, even for a split second, never! In the 2nd quarter, Paul Westfall had to sit Chuck on the bench ‘cuz his right elbow was hurting, and he was wrapped around with ice packs to keep the swelling down. Fortunately for Phoenix, the 33 year old Tom Chambers was in the groove off the bench, giving them some quality minutes until Chuck got rested. And this was a cool moment of Ahmad Rashad on the sidelines midway through the 2nd period. It’s one thing for fans to wear such t-shirts, but when the players do that, it gets the best out of the opposition. Kevin Johnson was playing extremely well, scoring 12 points and dishing out 6 assists thus far. And this opened the game for Barkley as well. Charles converts the and-1, but Jordan comes right back at him. Mike was a one man wrecking crew for Chicago, scoring 20 points already. And this is a rare moment of Richard Dumas making the GOAT look silly with the ball fake. At the half, the Suns led by a single point but MJ and Pippen made sure to impose their will in the 3rd quarter. On the other end, playing through visible pain after the injury in that 42 point outing in game 2, Barkley got a rare bucket to drop. Regardless, Pippen was doing everything he wanted on the offensive end, outplaying the entire Suns defense only by his will, bumping the Bulls lead up to 5 points. But they forgot about Den… Den Majerle stuns the crowd with back-to-back triples to take over the lead. Amazing. So, after 3 high scoring quarters, both teams picked up the physicality in the final stage and the game suddenly turned ugly. And Barkley made a great heads up play after Jordan missed a 3 to Danny Ainge in transition. This playing style was going into the Suns' favor, and Magic Johsnon put it best. Phoenix took a surprising 11 point lead in the middle of the 4th when the Bulls said, enough is enough! Are you kidding me? Pip takes advantage of Danny Ainge carelessness for the easiest points of the night. So, up by only a point, the Round mound of rebound finally stops the 4 minute bleeding for the Suns with a nice reverse layup. But Horace Grant erased all of that with this huge and-1 dunk! All tied at 103, it all came down to this. Now we don’t see this too often. The potential game winner by Majerle is waved off ‘cuz KJ called a timeout first. What a pity. But let’s see if Barkley can win the game for his team on the last possession. Sir Charles comes up short and we go to overtime.