In one corner, we have a team that went 10-6 in Group Play, but finished in fifth place in a ridiculously tough group. They've gotten revenge by winning five games in a row by an average of over 23 points to make it to this stage and show that maybe, just maybe, they belonged in the other postseason bracket.
On the other side, we have a team that finished Group Play at 8-8 in fifth place in their group. They won their first two matchups before falling at home in the third round. They've followed that up with five straight wins, including the last two on the road to serve as a worthy opponent of our top overall seed.
Our winner's bracket representative, the '95 Rockets, will get home court advantage as a privilege of running the table over the '93 Bulls, who had to play three extra games to reach this point. Today's simulation is provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's play!
Championship Game
The Bulls led by six with 1:15 left in the game, but went ice cold as Mario Elie scored five straight points to make it a one point game, and a Hakeem Olajuwon dunk with two seconds left served as the Consolation Championship-winning basket, as Michael Jordan missed a runner at the buzzer that would have forced a Game 63 in Chicago for all the marbles. Hakeem finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds, Clyde Drexler had 11 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, and Otis Thorpe added 13 points and nine rebounds for Houston. Scottie Pippen led the Bulls with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists, Michael Jordan added 16, six, and six, Horace Grant finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, and B.J. Armstrong logged 16 points and seven assists for the Bulls.
To see the completed bracket, click here.
Congratulations to the 1995 Houston Rockets, who finish as the Consolation Bracket Champions! It's a decent prize for a team that missed out on greater glory, but it's a nice run that these guys will always treasure.
With that, the focus can now turn solely onto the Elimination Stage and the 16 teams still remaining. Next week, I will begin going over the results from the Round of 16 as we continue our quest to find the greatest NBA/ABA Champion of all time!
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