The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls were on a mission as soon as the season started. Michael Jordan just went through a full training camp, Chicago signed bad boy Dennis Rodman, and the Bulls wanted to avenge their loss to the Orlando Magic in the previous postseason.
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The Bulls were on a tear that season, and it was clear they would win 70 games. In fact, Chicago won 72 games, to be exact. But if you ask former Bulls center, John Salley, they should’ve won 73 games.
The date was March 24, 1996, and the Bulls rolled into Toronto with a 60-7 record. They destroyed one of their top competitors in the East, the New York Knicks, 107-86 in the game prior.
The Raptors were in their first season as a franchise and things weren’t going so well. Toronto entered their matchup with Chicago with a dismal 17-49 record. This includes losing 120-108 in their previous game against the San Antonio Spurs.
This should have been an easy victory for the Bulls, right?
The Bulls party too hard
Like every other team that faced the Bulls that season, the Raptors would bring their A game. They did just that from the opening tip.
Toronto looked energized while Chicago looked sluggish. There was a reason why the Bulls seemed off their game.
Apparently, the team stayed out all night partying the night before the game. This was recounted by the Raptors’ power forward, Tracy Murray.
“They were out there until five in the morning, but that’s the type of city Toronto is. It’s a city where you want to get out and get into it and really see what’s going on. We used that to our advantage,” Murray said.
According to Salley, Chicago didn’t take Toronto seriously.
“We relaxed, to tell you the truth, because we were playing the worst team in the league,” Salley said. “It was springtime, and most guys are phoning it in. We took them for granted.”
The Bulls found some rhythm in second half, as they took a four point lead into the fourth quarter. The game would remain close until the final buzzer.
Toronto takes down Chicago
Jordan would give the Bulls a 104-103 lead with about two minutes remaining by hitting a tough fallaway midrange jumper. MJ extended the Bulls lead to 106-103 when he hit two clutch free throws.
At this point Raptors fans believed their team was done for. They played well, but there’s no way to could outpace Jordan, right?
On this night, they absolutely could and would. With a minute remaining in the game, rookie Damon Stoudamire would draw a foul on Jordan. He’d hit one of two free throws.
106-104 Bulls lead.
Stoudamire’s missed free throw led to Doug Christie grabbing the offensive rebound and drawing a foul. Christie missed both of his charity stripe attempts, but Stoudamire would chase down the loose ball and eventually find Oliver Miller underneath the hoop for a slam dunk.
106-106 tie game.
Jordan would answer right back hitting a tough jumper with three Raptors on him with just under 32 seconds left in the game.
108-106 Bulls lead.
The Raptors answered right back with a beautiful inbounds play that set up Murray for an open layup.
108-108 tie game.
Everyone knew the ball would go back to Jordan and it did. MJ attacked the rim and appeared that he may have been fouled but the referees whistle was silent.
Christie ended up blocking Jordan’s attempt and Miller was fouled. At the line, Miller hit one of two free throw attempts, giving the Raptors the lead with 20 seconds remaining.
109–108 Raptors lead.
The Bulls had one last chance to walk out of Toronto with a victory. Jordan walked the ball up for the Bulls’ offense, ready to make a move. Yet, he fumbled the ball and almost turned it over.
Steve Kerr would grab the loose ball and eventually fire up a three that missed. The ball would bounce right to Jordan who quickly fired up a shot and banked it in, yet, it was waived off. Time had expired.
The game, which was played at the SkyDome, home of MLB’s Toronto Blue Jays, saw their record-setting crowd of 36,131 go berserk. The Raptors had done the unthinkable.
They withstood 36 points from Jordan and handed Chicago their eighth loss on the season. Up to this point, this was the greatest game in Raptors history.
It stayed that way until the 2019 playoffs where Toronto went on their magical run that ended in the franchise’s first and only NBA championship.
On this night in 1996, this was the Raptors “championship.”
