People said this could be poised for a big upset as the Bullets were laden with talent: Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Rod Strickland and 7'7 Gheorghe Muresan. Sadly for the Bullets and their fans it was not meant to be.

April 25, 1997: The Bulls broke out a season ending mini-slump in start of their defense of their NBA crown.

April 27, 1997: This was one of Michael Jordan's all-time greatest playoff performances as he drops 55 spectacular points.

April 30, 1997: A fantastic game with a bit of a miracle finsih. This was the last ever game for the Bullets as they would become the Wizards next season.

The 1997 Atlanta Hawks was a team that outperformed expectations. An excellent team coached by Lenny Wilkins and led by center Dikembe Mutombo with the scoring prowess of Steve Smith, Mookie Blaylock and Christian Laettner. But, they just hit that roadblock that was the Chicago Bulls.

May 6, 1997: A super game saw the Hawks build up to a 16 point lead in the 3rd quarter but Jordan and Pippen kept chipping away as the game down to the final second.

May 8, 1997: The Hawks stunned the world as they evened the series with fantstic shooitng in game 2 in Chicago.

May 10, 1997: The Bulls are back. Starnge to say it but after a tough two games in Chicago the Bulls dominated the Hawks in game 3, advantage back to Chicago.

May 11, 1997: Bulls raced out to a 24 point lead in the 4th quarter, but those pesky Hawks clawed their way back into it. Could the Bulls hold on?
NOTE: Game is Joined In Progress late in first quarter due to length of preceding game on same TV network.

May 13, 1997: Rodman was feeling a bit left out so he went on the offensive in the 4th doing everything in his power to make sure the Bulls didn't lose, and they didn't. On to the Conference Finals.

1997 Western Conference Semi-Final: The Houston Rockets were 2 years removed from their last NBA title and thought that having 3 Hall-of-Famers in the starting line-up should bring them their 3rd tilte in 4 years. Charles Barkley and Clyde Drexler joined Hakeem Olajuwon in Houston and took on last year's West finalists the Seattle Sonics led by Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton in a momentous 7 game series.

May 5, 1997: Seattle's Gameplan was simple, double team Olajuwon and make them beat us from the outside. Well, Houston did beat them from the outside thanks to Mario Elie. Back to the drawing board.

May 7, 1997: Seattle decided to counter Olajuwon by starting Sam Perkins and it worked with great effect. Sonics built an early lead and never looked back. Series tied and heading to Seattle.

May 9, 1997: Game 3 back in Seattle and a much closer game throughout decided in the final minute.

May 11, 1997: A highly entertaining game that went to overtime. Houston wins this and surely has put the series out of reach as we head back to Houston for Game 5.

May 13, 1997: Down 3-1 Seattle's mission was simple: win. And that hey did by putting top defender Payton on rookie sharpshooter Matt Maloney the Sonics held the Rockets to poor 3-pt shooting and pulled out an improbable victory. Back to Seattle.

May 15, 1997: Seattle continued their great defense in taking this wild game 6 featuring a fight. Rockets almost climbed back in it as it seemed Hakeem took on the whole Seattle team, but the lead was too great. Game 7 coming up.

May 17, 1997: An exciting end to a dramatic series sees Barkley, Drexler & Olajuwon heading to the Conference Finals to face the Utah Jazz.

The Miami Heat realising their failings of the prior season brought in some key talent during the off-season and current season that propelled them all the way to the Conference Finals. Joining Mourning and Hardaway were Jamal Masburn; Dan Majerle and PJ Brown. Again the might of the Bulls proved too much for a Pat Riley coached team.

May 20, 1997: The Bulls hadn't played for a week and it showed. Could they muster enough to take this game 1?

May 22, 1997: A very strange game as this was the lowest combined pont total in NBA playoff history.

May 24, 1997: The Heat were simply outmatched as they set an NBA record for turnovers in a playoff game. The one positive thing: Mourning guaranteed victory in game 4.

May 26, 1997: Alonzo Mourning has a 2nd career as a palm reader as his guarantee came true in front of a rabid Heat crowd.

May 28, 1997: Jordan and the Bulls were annoyed by the physcial play of the Heat in game 4 but they were the ones who would have the last laugh.

1997 Western Conference Finals: One of the great series of all-time. Olajuwon, Barkley and Drexler lead the Rockets while Malone, Stockton and Hornacek lead the Jazz. Decided on a 3 pointer buzzer-beater to send Utah to the 1997 NBA Finals.

May 19, 1997: Jazz had been resting for a week whilst the Rockets are coming off a gruelling 7 game series versus the Sonics. Malone received his MVP award earlier in the day as the Jazz cruise in Game 1.

May 21, 1997: The story of this series isn't about 3 future hall-of-famers on the Rockets but rather their 27 year old rookie PG. Can they hold off the Jazz?

May 23, 1997: Home cooking as Eddie Johnson gives the Rockets a huge spark off the bench. Game tied at the half and decided late.

May 25, 1997: Jazz determined to get the ball to Malone more but game decided with a 3 at the buzzer from an ulikely hero!

May 27, 1997: MVP Malone feeling the pressure and he responds big time. Three point shooting the downfall for the Rockets.

May 29, 1997: One of the most classic playoff games of all time. Drexler has a big game and the Rockets are up by 10 with 3 minutes to go and the Jazz start to chip away and eventually tie the game.... Stockton has the ball in his hands as the clock runs down...