They shackled Shaquille O'Neal, stifled Anfernee Hardaway and completely discombobulated the only dimension of Dennis Scott's game. The Chicago Bulls have come to be known as a great offensive machine in the open court, but they get their hands dirty, too. As a result, Shaq, Anfernee and their bandaged teammates looked like mud today. Because they made the Magic chip paint off the rim in the fourth quarter of an ugly 86-67 victory, the Bulls are one game from returning to the NBA finals for the first time in three years. The Magic's point total was the second lowest in league playoff history, 3 more than Portland's 64-point debacle 20 days ago in Game 5 of its series with Utah. Orlando entered the final period down by 63-57. In the final 12 minutes, the Magic proceeded to shoot 3-for-18 and crumble horribly under the weight of Chicago's defense. "Guys are kind of upset, kind of embarrassed," O'Neal said. They should be. How Orlando went from a budding Eastern Conference dynasty to another doormat for Michael Jordan and his Bulls could take a crack research team months to unearth. What is clear from Game 3 of the conference finals is that Hardaway (8-of-24 from the floor) and O'Neal (1-of-9 from the free-throw line, 5 turnovers) have a long way to go to become prime-time players along the lines of Scottie Pippen (27 points, 11-of-14 from the field, 6 rebounds, 7 assists) and Jordan (17 points on 5-for-14 shooting, 7 rebounds, 4 assists). Pippen picked up the slack today ...
Keywords: Michael, Jordan, Chicago, Orlando, NBA, Basketball, Revenge, Redemption, Sweep, Penny, Hardaway, Shaq, Comeback, Return, Finals
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