This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning one series.
NBA Finals: (W1) Phoenix Suns vs. (E2) Chicago Bulls
The team with home-court advantage in the NBA Finals loses the first two games at home for the first time ever.
This game marks the second time in NBA Finals history that a game goes to triple OT after game 5 of the 1976 NBA Finals (in which the Suns lost to the Boston Celtics); Horace Grant hits the game-tying 3-point play with 1:33 left in regulation to force the first OT; Tom Chambers hits the game-tying lay-up with 50.9 seconds left in the first OT to force the second OT; Dan Majerle hits the game-tying shot with 3.2 seconds left in the second OT to force the third OT.
This was the first playoff meeting between the Bulls and the Suns.[17]
Statistical leaders
Notes
The league's best team during the regular season, the Phoenix Suns, were on the verge of playoff elimination after losing the first two games at home against the #8 seeded Los Angeles Lakers. However, they recovered to win Games 3 and 4 in Los Angeles to tie the series at 2–2. In Game 5, Dan Majerie hit an off-balance mid-range to force overtime. The Suns eventually pulled away to win Game 5, 112–104, at home to avoid becoming the first #1 seed to lose to a #8 seed. This would happen the following postseason, when the #8 Denver Nuggets defeated the #1 Seattle SuperSonics 3–2 (the Nuggets came back from a 2–0 series deficit to pull it off).
Both #5 seeds, Charlotte and San Antonio, beat their #4 seeded opponent in the first round.
The fifth-year Charlotte Hornets made their playoff debut, and became the first of the 1988/89 expansion teams (Charlotte, Orlando, Minnesota, and Miami) to win a playoff series, beating Boston 3–1.
The New York Knicks took a 2–0 series lead over the Chicago Bulls in the Conference Finals. However, headlines in New York papers and tabloids angered and energized Bulls superstar Michael Jordan, who torched the Knicks for 54 points in Game 4 [18] after shooting 3–18 in Game 3 to even up the series.[19] This performance surpassed Sam Jones's 51-point game against the 1967 Knicks as the most points ever scored by a player against the Knicks in a playoff game.[20] The Bulls went to Madison Square Garden, won Game 5 97–94, and clinched the series at home in Game 6 with a 96–88 victory.[21]
Celtics' star Reggie Lewis fainted on the court during Game 1 against the Hornets. He briefly returned to the game before sitting out the rest of the series. He died less than three months later from a heart condition.
After the Suns defeated the Sonics in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, there were complaints about the free throw comparison between the two teams.
Game 6 of the Suns–Spurs series was the last game ever played at the HemisFair Arena.
The Cavaliers defeated the Nets in the Eastern Conference First Round, which was their last playoff series victory until 2006, and their last without LeBron James until 2024. Game 5 of that series was also the last game played by Dražen Petrović, who died in a car accident five weeks later.
The 1993 playoffs would generate the highest NBA playoff viewership averages until 2026. On April 26, 2026, playoff viewership indicated it saw an average of 3.84 million viewers per game across ESPN, ABC, NBC, Peacock, and Prime Video.[22] 7 of the 8 teams that played in the 93 western conference playoffs, played in the nba finals of the 1990's . Blazers lost to the pistons and the Bulls in the 1990 & 1992 finals. The lakers lost 2 bulls in the 1991 nba finals. The suns lost to the bulls in the 1993 finals. The rockets beat the Knicks in game 7 of the nba finals in 1994, then swept the Orlando magic in the 1995 nba finals . The sonics lost to the bulls in the 1996 nba finals.The jazz lost 2 the bulls in back to back nba finals in 1997 & 1998 . The spurs won the last nba championship of the 1990's defeating the new york Knicks in the 50 games strike shortened 1999 nba season
References
↑"Flashback: The Day Phoenix Won The Western Conference On 64 Free Throw Attempts". June 5, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
↑"Team Rivalry Finder — Indiana Pacers versus New York Knicks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
↑"Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Chicago Bulls (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
↑"Team Rivalry Finder —Brooklyn Nets versus Cleveland Cavaliers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
↑"Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Charlotte Hornets (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
↑"Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus Phoenix Suns (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
↑"Team Rivalry Finder — Houston Rockets versus Los Angeles Clippers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
↑"Team Rivalry Finder — Oklahoma City Thunder versus Utah Jazz (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
↑"Team Rivalry Finder — Portland Trail Blazers versus San Antonio Spurs (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
↑"Team Rivalry Finder — Charlotte Hornets versus New York Knicks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
↑"Flashback #7: The Shot 2 (1993)". CBS News. January 11, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
↑"Team Rivalry Finder — Chicago Bulls versus Cleveland Cavaliers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
↑"Team Rivalry Finder — Phoenix Suns versus San Antonio Spurs (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
↑"Team Rivalry Finder — Houston Rockets versus Oklahoma City Thunder (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
↑"Team Rivalry Finder — Chicago Bulls versus New York Knicks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
↑"Team Rivalry Finder — Oklahoma City Thunder versus Phoenix Suns (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
↑"Team Rivalry Finder — Chicago Bulls versus Phoenix Suns (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
↑"New York Knicks at Chicago Bulls Box Score, May 31, 1993 - Basketball-Reference.com". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
↑"New York Knicks at Chicago Bulls Box Score, May 29, 1993 - Basketball-Reference.com". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
↑"All Jordan, All Even: Chicago Takes Game 4". New York Times. June 1, 1993.
↑Eastern Conf. Finals Game 6 "Chicago Bulls vs. New York Knicks" on YouTube
↑"NBA sees early playoff ratings boost, driven by over-the-air games". Awful Announcing. April 29, 2026.