The Bulls are 11-7 in Christmas Day games in franchise history.
Here, in chronological order, are the Tribune's nominations for the five most memorable games. Proving how difficult this selection process became, the 1993 and 1994 vintages got lumped together, thanks to Scottie Pippen.
1966: New York Knicks 133, Chicago Bulls 132
The Bulls played on Christmas Day in their inaugural season, long before the NBA made such games an extravaganza. Bob Boozer's 40 points included a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line. But even Erwin Mueller's 27 points and 18 apiece from Jerry Sloan and Guy Rodgers couldn't save Johnny Kerr's squad from falling to 14-24 in New York en route to being the only expansion team to make the playoffs. Walt Bellamy's 29 points led the Knicks.
1986: New York Knicks 86, Chicago Bulls 85
Patrick Ewing ruined the Bulls' first Christmas Day game in a decade, rebounding Trent Tucker's miss and burying a 10-foor jumper at the buzzer. According to Tribune beat writer Bob Sakamoto's game story, coach Doug Collins "walked onto the (Madison Square Garden) court and stood under the Bulls' basket, arms folded. He stared straight ahead in a defiant pose, as if refusing to accept defeat, then sat on the bench for about five minutes before retiring to the locker room." Collins later said, "I'm a competitor and I was really disappointed. We had the game won." Indeed, Dave Corzine's three-point play and forcing Tucker's miss made it almost so. Ewing finished with 28 points and 17 rebounds, outdueling Michael Jordan, who shot 10-for-28 for his 30 points with six turnovers.
1990: Chicago Bulls 98, Detroit Pistons 86
Behind Michael Jordan's 37 points and 15 from John Paxson, the Bulls avenged a 21-point road loss from six days earlier against the defending NBA championship. Horace Grant, replaced in the starting lineup by Stacey King, got ejected late for throwing a punch at Joe Dumars, revving an already raucous Chicago Stadium crowd. Jordan fouled Isiah Thomas hard late, aggravating an eye injury and sending Thomas to the bench for good. It was the lone game on the NBA's schedule.
1993: Chicago Bulls 95, Orlando Magic 93
Setting the tone for the memorable season following Michael Jordan's stunning retirement, Toni Kukoc sank a running one-hander with two seconds left to cap his 11-point fourth quarter. The victory marked the Bulls' ninth straight in a 10-game win streak. Scottie Pippen, who played the entire 48 minutes, wowed the Chicago Stadium crowd with 28 points and several highlight-worthy plays. That the victory came just 21/2 months after Jordan's retirement gives it a slight nod over the wild 1994 Christmas Day home victory. In that crazy 107-104 overtime win, John Starks got ejected, Pete Myers drew a technical for taunting and Pippen scored all seven points in overtime to finish with 36 overall. Playing all 53 minutes, Pippen bailed out Steve Kerr, whose mental error of batting Anthony Mason's pass to Hubert Davis led to Davis burying a 3-pointer with four-tenths of a second left to force overtime.
2011: Chicago Bulls 88, Los Angeles Lakers 87
It's not often a season-opener also doubles as a Christmas Day showcase. But following the five-month NBA lockout, reigning most valuable player Derrick Rose sank a 9-foot floater in the lane with 4.8 seconds left. That capped a comeback from 11 points down with 3 minutes, 44 seconds remaining at Staples Center, featuring Luol Deng's steal against Kobe Bryant to set up Rose's game-winner and Deng's exclamation point of blocking Bryant at the buzzer after Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson slowed Bryant with defensive help. Rose finished with 22 points after a scoreless first quarter. "We're always going to play to the end," Deng said.
