As the ESPN serial Michael Jordan documentary “The Last Dance” draws to a close, Boston Celtics fans will have noted a conspicuous absence of their beloved team from much of the narrative under analysis.
Those of us who were old enough to recall the sad shape of the franchise for the bulk of Jordan’s prime may recall the general state of affairs for Boston being among the primary reasons, but few of us could rattle off exactly how the team fared on a game-by-game basis in that era.
So, to that end, The Celtics Wire assembled a game-by-game analysis of how Boston did in each of the games it played against Jordan’s six championship-season Bulls.
Chicago won it all for three years running between 1991 and 1993, and then three more in a row from 1996 to 1998. We’ll look at Boston’s best and worst game of the season as well as the others in those seasons.
We’ll also cover the two years Jordan missed the finals in 1994 and 1995 just to illustrate, with the former season the sole full campaign missed by His Airness — incidentally Boston’s best season against Chicago of this stretch.
1990-91: Celtics finished 56-26, first in Atlantic Division
Best Game: Mar. 31 – Boston wins 135-132 in double overtime
Worst Game: Feb. 26 – Chicago wins 129-99
The Rest: Nov. 6 – Celtics win 110-108; Nov. 9 – Bulls win 120-100
Final Record: 2-2
1991-92: Celtics finished 51-31, first in Atlantic Division
Best Game: Apr. 5 – Boston wins 97-86
Worst Game: Mar. 11 – Chicago wins 119-85
The Rest: Nov. 6 – Bulls win 132-113; Dec. 25 – Bulls win 121-99
Final Record: 1-3
1992-93: Celtics finished 51-31, first in NBA Atlantic Division
Best Game: Dec. 2 – Boston wins 101-96
Worst Game: Apr. 4 – Chicago wins 101-89
The Rest: Dec. 5 – Bulls win 96-89; Jan. 18 Bulls win 103-93
Final Record: 1-3
1993-94: Celtics finished 32-50, fifth in Atlantic Division
Best Game: Apr. 22 – Boston wins 104-94
Worst Game: Dec. 15 – Chicago wins 108-98
The Rest: Nov. 13 – Celtics win 98-97; Mar. 16 – Bulls win 101-91
Final Record: 2-2
1994-95: Celtics finished 35-47, third in Atlantic Division
Best Game: Dec. 28 – Chicago wins 105-97
Worst Game: Mar. 30 – Chicago wins 100-82
The Rest: Dec. 3 – Bulls win 125-109; Mar. 22 – Bulls win 124-107
Final Record: 0-4
1995-96: Celtics finished 33-49, fifth in Atlantic Division
Best Game: Dec. 18 – Chicago wins 123-114
Worst Game: Mar. 2 – Chicago wins 107-75
The Rest: Bulls win 107-85
Final Record: 0-3
1996-97: Celtics finished 15-67, seventh in Atlantic Division
Best Game: Apr. 1 – Chicago win 111-106
Worst Game: Nov. 9 – Chicago wins 104-92
The Rest: Nov. 1 – Bulls win 107-98; Mar. 11 – Bulls win 117-106
Final Record: 0-4
1997-98: Celtics finished 36-46, sixth in Atlantic Division
Best Game: Oct. 31 – Boston wins 92-85
Worst Game: Mar. 23 – Chicago wins 111-88
The Rest: Dec. 3 – Bulls win 97-87; Jan. 6 – Bulls win 90-79
Final Record: 1-3
