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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Jordan Makes It 5 Titles, 5 Finals Mvp Awards 39-Point Effort, Key Assist Cap Remarkable Series

Associated Press

Michael Jordan got what he so richly deserved - a fifth NBA title and a fifth NBA Finals MVP award. He truly carried the Chicago Bulls.

Jordan earned a championship ring for his thumb - to go with those he won in 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1996 - by leading the Bulls to a 90-86 victory over the Utah Jazz in Game 6 on Friday night.

“Who else can it be? Five titles, five MVPs,” commissioner David Stern said before handing the trophy to Jordan.

“He showed us he’s the best basketball player in the world.”

Jordan scored 39 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and assisted on Steve Kerr’s 17-foot jumper with 5 seconds to play that gave the Bulls an 88-86 lead. Toni Kukoc finished the game with a dunk after deflecting Bryon Russell’s inbounds pass, setting off another Chicago celebration.

Scottie Pippen jumped into Jordan’s arms. Jordan then leaped onto the scorer’s table, held up both arms and pulled a championship hat onto his head. Jordan hugged several Jazz players before finding coach Phil Jackson, and the two embraced for several seconds. Jordan has said he will quit if Jackson doesn’t remain coach.

With confetti still falling from the United Center rafters, Jordan eventually hugged Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, whose task it will be to sign the NBA’s all-time leader in scoring average. Jordan made $30.14 million this season, the highest single-season salary in team sports history.

All the while, Jordan smiled broadly - a stark contrast to the tears he shed after earlier title clinchers.

Jordan said he couldn’t have won without Pippen, who had 23 points Friday and played incredible defense throughout the playoffs.

“I’ll take the trophy, he’ll take the car,” Jordan said, referring to the automobile that goes to the finals MVP.

Though willing to split the award, it was clearly Jordan who stood out in the finals as Pippen was his only teammate to give him consistent support.

Jordan won Game 1 with a 21-foot jumper at the buzzer and scored 38 points in Game 2. After the Jazz took Games 3 and 4 in Utah, Jordan fought off a debilitating virus to score 38 points and hit the winning 3-pointer in the crucial fifth game.

Then came Friday, in which Jordan again hoisted his team on his shoulders.

He made three straight Chicago baskets for an 86-83 lead after the Bulls had trailed most of the game. Russell’s 3-pointer tied it before Jordan split the double-team of Russell and John Stockton and fed Kerr wide open outside the free-throw line.

Jordan averaged 32.3 points in the series and 31.1 points in the Bulls’ 19 playoff games. For his career, he has scored 5,307 points in 158 postseason games, a 33.6 average.

The league’s leading scorer for an unprecedented ninth season, he was edged out for regular-season MVP honors by Utah’s Karl Malone. But Jordan upstaged Malone in almost every game of the finals.

Since 1991, the only two years the Bulls didn’t win the title were 1994, when Jordan was playing baseball, and 1995, when Jordan had just come out of retirement.