‘The Last Dance’ Redux: Michael Jordan Gets a Ton of Help From His Fellow Starters as the Bulls Best the Celtics
Coming off a win over the Washington Wizards, the “Last Dance” Chicago Bulls closed out a seven-game road trip with a matchup with the Boston Celtics on December 3, 1997.
Boston had gotten the better of the Bulls on opening night of the 1997-98 season, but Chicago flipped the script this time around, cruising to a 97-87 victory.
Michael Jordan led the way for the Bulls, making 11 of 21 shots from the floor and six of eight from the foul line en route to 29 points, also adding nine rebounds and five assists. And he got plenty of help from his fellow starters in Chicago’s 10th victory of the campaign. Ron Harper scored a season-high 18, Toni Kukoc tallied 15 points and 11 assists, Luc Longley chipped in with 11 points, and Dennis Rodman grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds.
Antoine Walker led the way for the Celtics with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Bruce Bowen added 16 points and five steals off the bench in the loss.
| Bulls | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Jordan | 29 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| Dennis Rodman | 8 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Toni Kukoc | 15 | 8 | 11 | 1 | 2 |
| Ron Harper | 18 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Luc Longley | 11 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Rusty LaRue | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Jud Buechler | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Jason Caffey | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Brown | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Bill Wennington | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Burrell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Celtics | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antoine Walker | 19 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Mercer | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Walter McCarty | 7 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Tyus Edney | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Pervis Ellison | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bruce Bowen | 16 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| Travis Knight | 5 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Dana Barros | 6 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Chauncey Billups | 9 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Dee Brown | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andrew DeClercq | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Minor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Here’s a look at the NBA standings following all the action on December 3, 1997.
| Eastern Conference | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Hawks | 15 | 2 |
| Miami Heat | 11 | 5 |
| Orlando Magic | 12 | 6 |
| Charlotte Hornets | 10 | 5 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 10 | 6 |
| New York Knicks | 10 | 6 |
| Indiana Pacers | 9 | 6 |
| Chicago Bulls | 10 | 7 |
| New Jersey Nets | 10 | 7 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 9 | 7 |
| Boston Celtics | 7 | 10 |
| Detroit Pistons | 7 | 11 |
| Washington Wizards | 6 | 11 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | 4 | 10 |
| Toronto Raptors | 1 | 16 |
| Western Conference | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| LA Lakers | 14 | 2 |
| Seattle Supersonics | 14 | 4 |
| Phoenix Suns | 10 | 4 |
| Utah Jazz | 11 | 6 |
| Houston Rockets | 9 | 5 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 10 | 6 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 10 | 7 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 7 | 9 |
| Vancouver Grizzlies | 7 | 12 |
| Sacramento Kings | 5 | 12 |
| Dallas Mavericks | 4 | 12 |
| LA Clippers | 2 | 14 |
| Denver Nuggets | 1 | 14 |
| Golden State Warriors | 1 | 14 |
Up next for the “Last Dance” Bulls was a matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks.
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