November 27, 1996: The Biggest Comeback In NBA History

November 27, 1996: A pair of arch-rivals play each other in the NBA. It turns out to be a historic game.

The Utah Jazz were hosting the Denver Nuggets, at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Jazz came in having won 10 of their 1st 12 games of the season, but the Nugs were struggling, having lost 10 of their 1st 15. Nevertheless, the Nugs led 37-19 at the end of the 1st quarter. Late in the 2nd quarter, it was 70-34 Denver. The Jazz trailed by 36 points, before closing it to 70-36 at the half.

With 9 minutes left in the 3rd, the Nuggets still led 74-41. But the Jazz scored the next 16 points, to close to 74-57 with 4:25 left in the 3rd. By the end of the quarter, it was 85-72 Denver. Still a ways to go, but now, victory for Utah looked plausible.

Over the 1st 1:35 of the 4th quarter, the Jazz went on a 16-3 run to get within 2 points. With 4:41 left in regulation, Chris Morris hit a 3-point shot to tie the game at 91. With 3:02 to go, Jeff Hornacek made 2 free throws to give the Jazz their 1st lead, 95-94.

The Nuggets weren't done, and Bryant Stith hit a 3-pointer with 1 minute left to make it 101-100 Denver. But a Hornacek 3-pointer gave the Jazz the lead again, and they never gave it up. Final score: Jazz 107, Nuggets 103. It remains the biggest come-from-behind win, meaning also the biggest blown lead, in NBA history.

Stith scored 31 points for the Nuggets. Karl Malone had 31 points and 17 rebounds for the Jazz, Hornacek 29 points, John Stockton only 9 points but 10 assists.

The Nuggets finished the season 21-61, well out of the Playoffs. The Jazz went on to win the NBA Western Conference title, but lost the NBA Finals to the Chicago Bulls in 6 games.

*

November 27, 1996 was a Wednesday. There were 9 other games played in the NBA that night:

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Phoenix Suns, 99-77 the America West Arena (now the Mortgage Matchup Center) in Phoenix.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 110-94 at the FleetCenter (now the TD Garden) in Boston.

* The Orlando Magic beat the Atlanta Hawks, 79-75 at the Orlando Arena.

* The Toronto Raptors beat the Charlotte Hornets, 92-88 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.

* The Detroit Pistons beat the Vancouver Grizzlies, 87-78 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 92-75 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

* The Seattle SuperSonics beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 106-98 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* The Portland Trail Blazers beat the San Antonio Spurs, 120-109 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

* And the Miami Heat beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 98-82 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

Baseball was in the off-season. Football was in midweek. There were 11 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Colorado Avalanche, 5-2 at the McNichols Arena in Denver.

* The New York Islanders beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-1 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Dallas Stars, 3-2 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.

* The Vancouver Canucks beat the Hartford Whalers, 6-3 at the Hartford Civic Center (now the PeoplesBank Arena).

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Washington Capitals, 2-1 at the US Airways Arena (formerly the Capital Centre) in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-0 at the Ice Palace (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa.

* The Montreal Canadiens and the Pittsburgh Penguins played to a tie, 2-2 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Detroit Red Wings beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-2 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Edmonton Oilers, 5-1 at the Edmonton Coliseum (as the Northlands Coliseum was then known).

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 3-2 at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (now the Honda Center).

* The San Jose Sharks beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2 at the San Jose Arena (now the SAP Center).

* And the Boston Bruins, the Calgary Flames, the Phoenix Coyotes were not scheduled.

Also, actress Hailey Bieber, daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin and wife of singer Justin Bieber, was born on this day.

June 15, 2004: Larry Brown's "Double" Shocks the L.A. "Superteam"

Left to right: Larry Brown, Rip Hamilton,

Ben Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace

June 15, 2004: The NBA Championship is awarded to the best team in the league. Not the best collection of players, but the best team.

From 1972 to 2010, Larry Brown coached 10 different ABA or NBA teams (a record), and also coached 3 different college basketball teams. He took UCLA to the 1980 NCAA Final, and the University of Kansas to the Final Four in 1986 and 1988, winning the National Championship in 1988.

Brown was from Long Island, New York. As a teenager, he was a camp counselor there, and one of his students was Tony Kornheiser, later a great sportswriter and, with Michael Wilbon, co-host of the ESPN show Pardon the Interruption. A lifelong friendship was formed.

Here's how Kornheiser once described Brown's genius for coaching: "He took the Clippers to the Playoffs! Nobody takes the Clippers to the Playoffs!" From 1976, when the Los Angeles Clippers were still known as the Buffalo Braves, until 2012, when a change in management made them a perennial Playoff team, the only coaches to take them to the Playoffs were Larry Brown in 1992 and 1993, Bill Fitch in 1997, and Mike Dunleavy in 2006. That's it: 4 times, and Brown provided 2 of them.

And it wasn't just the Clippers: He took the NBA's other "little brother team," the New Jersey Nets, to the Playoffs in 1982. That was the good news. The bad news is that he never seemed to stay in one place too long. He either didn't like the job, or he angered somebody in management. But somebody was always willing to hire him. He got the Denver Nuggets to the last ABA Finals in 1976, and the Western Conference Finals in 1978; the Indiana Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1993 and 1994; and the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA Finals in 2001.

But Brown and the Sixers' top player, Allen Iverson, couldn't co-exist. So, in 2003, Brown resigned, and took the head job with the Detroit Pistons. Despite this, in 2005, Iverson admitted, "I love him as a man. The coach, that's totally different. Yeah, I like him as a coach. He's the best coach in the world. I can't say it enough. He's the best in the world."

Joe Dumars, the guard who had led the Pistons' defense in their "Motor City Bad Boys" period -- losing the Finals to the Lakers in 7 games in 1988, then winning back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990 -- was now the general manager. He had built a team with guards Chauncey Billups, Richard "Rip" Hamilton and Lindsey Hunter; forwards Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince and Corliss Williamson; and center Ben Wallace.

The Pistons beat the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1st round of the Playoffs, the New Jersey Nets in the next round, and the Indiana Pacers in the Conference Finals. Now, the NBA Finals were in front of them. Standing between them and glory: The Los Angeles Lakers.

Coached by Phil Jackson, and led by center Shaquille O'Neal and guard Kobe Bryant, the Lakers had won 3 straight NBA Championships: 2000, 2001 and 2002. There had been discussion of the Lakers getting favorable, but incorrect, calls from referees, especially in the Playoffs.

In 2003, the Lakers lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals. Their general manager, former Laker forward Mitch Kupchak, was determined to get the title back. He decided to build a "superteam." He signed 3 free agents: Karl Malone, who built a career as one of the all-time great power forwards with the Utah Jazz; Gary Payton, who had been a superstar point guard with the Seattle SuperSonics; and forward Horace Grant, who had helped Jackson win 3 titles as a forward with the Chicago Bulls, and teamed with O'Neal to get the Orlando Magic to the 1995 Finals.

Everything pointed to the Lakers going through the league like a hot knife through butter. But first, Bryant needed knee surgery in the off-season. He went to Colorado to get it. At his hotel, he was accused of sexually assaulting a female employee. The case was dropped, and, eventually, NBA fans decided, pretty much the way baseball fans did with David Ortiz and his steroid cheating, that it simply never happened, and that the man in question was a wonderful guy.

Eventually. But not in the 2003-04 season. Bryant heard it from fans all over the league, and he missed a few games. While the Lakers' record of 56-26 was enough to win the Pacific Division, it was not historically notable, and they only finished 2nd overall in the Western Conference to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

They knew they would truly be measured by what they did in the Playoffs, and they did raise their game: They beat the Houston Rockets in the 1st round, the Spurs in the next round, and the Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals, to set up the Finals matchup with the Pistons.

Few people gave the Pistons the chance. The Lakers were considered a team of destiny. They forgot that a collection of players can be beaten by a team. The Pistons won Game 1 in Los Angeles, 87-75, despite 34 points from Shaq, and the basketball world was stunned. They pushed the Lakers to overtime in Game 2, with the Lakers winning 99-91, with Kobe scoring 33.

But getting a split in L.A. energized the Pistons. At The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan, the Lakers never had a chance. The Pistons won Game 3, 88-68. The Lakers were never in the game. Shaq had 36 points and 17 rebounds in Game 4. But Rasheed Wallace had 26, and he and Ben Wallace (no relation) each had 13 rebounds. The Pistons won, 88-80. Malone did not play in Game 5, and he retired after the Finals, so this was the last game for "The Mailman."

Game 5 was played at The Palace on June 15. The Pistons led 25-24 after the 1st quarter, but pulled away in the 2nd, pulled away further in the 3rd, and the Lakers simply couldn't come back. The Pistons won, 100-87, and the World Champions were, as the chant echoing through Auburn Hills said, "DEE-troit BAS-ket-BALL!"

The Pistons had done this despite not having a single player on their roster who was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame until Ben Wallace was elected in 2021. Billups was named the Most Valuable Player of the Finals. None of the '04 Pistons were named to the NBA's 75th Anniversary 75 Greatest Players. In contrast, Shaq, Kobe, Payton and Malone all were.

Brown finally had his 1st NBA Championship, as either a player or a coach, at the age of 63. (He had won the 1969 ABA Championship while playing for the Oakland Oaks.) He remains the only head coach to win championships in both the NCAA and the NBA.

There was actually another "Double" going on: Bill Davidson was the owner of the Pistons, and also of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who had won the Stanley Cup 8 days earlier. This made him the 1st owner of 2 World Championship teams at once since Edward Bennett Williams of the 1983 Baltimore Orioles and Washington Redskins; and the 1st ever NBA-NHL double-title owner.

Born in Detroit in 1922, William Morse Davidson founded Guardian Industries, manufacturers of architectural and automotive glass, 2 good fields for someone from Detroit to be in. He bought the Pistons in 1975, and the team's court, first at The Palace and, since 2017, at the Little Caesars Arena, is named for him. He owned the Lightning from 1999 to 2007, and died in 2009.

The Lakers? They were now the biggest flop in NBA history -- or, at least, since their 1969 edition, when Wilt Chamberlain was added to Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Gail Goodrich, and lost Game 7 of the Finals at home.

And after the season, Bryant told the team's owner, Dr. Jerry Buss, that he could no longer coexist with either O'Neal or Jackson. Jackson told Buss that Bryant was "uncoachable." So Buss told Kupchak to appease Bryant. He did: O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat. And Jackson resigned.

With Bryant as "The Man," The Lakers fell apart. And Shaq, along with Dwyane Wade, helped the Miami Heat win the 2006 NBA Championship. In 2007, the Lakers got knocked out by the Phoenix Suns in the 1st round. Shaq was recorded rapping in a nightclub, saying, "Kobe, tell me how my ass taste!" (The implication was not that Kobe could kiss Shaq's ass, but that he already had.)

Sportswriter Dave Zirin wrote, "Kobe did to the Lakers what Jimmy Hoffa did to the Teamsters: Both made them a national force & ruined them forever." (Ironically, when Hoffa disappeared, it was in the northern suburbs of Detroit, at a restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, then Machus' Red Fox, now named Andiamo, just 14 miles from where The Palace would be built.)

Well, not forever, as it turned out. Shaq's teasing was the wakeup call that Bryant needed. He made peace with Jackson, who returned. The Lakers got Pau Gasol. Together, they got back to the Finals in 2008, and won the title in 2009 and 2010. Meanwhile, O'Neal never won another. The final total: Bryant 6 titles, O'Neal 5; separately, Kobe 2, Shaq 1.

Kobe and Shaq made peace with each other before Kobe's death in a helicopter crash in 2020.

*

June 15, 2004 was a Tuesday. Football was out of season. The Stanley Cup had been won 8 days earlier, by the Tampa Bay Lightning, controversially (especially in Game 6) in 7 games over the Calgary Flames.

These Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 4-2 at Chase Field in Phoenix. Gary Sheffield hit a home run. He, Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams each had 3 hits. Alex Rodriguez went 1-for-4 with a walk.

* The New York Mets beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-2 at Shea Stadium.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Montreal Expos, 8-2 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-3 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-2 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Florida Marlins, 7-5 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida. In the top of the 10th inning, Nate Bump walked Miguel Olivo with the bases loaded, then gave up an RBI single to Kelly Dransfeldt.

* The Anaheim Angels beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-2 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Texas Rangers, 5-4 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. Barry Larkin singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning. Ken Griffey Jr. went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Seattle Mariners, 3-0 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee. Victor Santos pitched 7 innings of 2-hit shutout ball, and 2 relievers finished the 2-hit shutout. Ichiro Suzuki did not get either of those 2 hits, going 0-for-3.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Oakland Athletics, 8-4 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Albert Pujols went 1-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Houston Astros, 4-2 at Minute Maid Park in Houston.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-3 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the San Diego Padres, 5-2 at Petco Park in San Diego.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-3 at SBC Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco. Barry Bonds went 0-for-2 with 2 walks.

May 29, 1997: John Stockton's Jumper

May 29, 1997: John Stockton sends the Utah Jazz to the NBA Finals for the 1st time, with perhaps the greatest buzzer-beater in NBA history.

Despite all its growth, Salt Lake City only has a team in one of the "Big Four" North American major league sports. If you count soccer, they have teams in both men's and women's leagues. But no baseball, no football, no hockey. Just basketball.

The Utah Stars reached the ABA Finals in 1970, won the ABA Championship in 1971, and reached the Finals again in 1974. But their owners ran out of money early in the 1975-76 season, and after a failed merger with another team, the Spirits of St. Louis, failed, the league canceled the franchise. They never made it to the end of the season, when 4 of the 6 surviving teams were accepted into the NBA: The New York Nets, the Indiana Pacers, the San Antonio Spurs and the Denver Nuggets.

But the Salt Palace still stood, and fans were ready to accept an NBA team. In 1979, the New Orleans Jazz, unable to fill the massive Superdome, were moved to Salt Lake City. Everyone knew the name "Utah Jazz" made no sense. Frank Layden, their head coach from 1981 to 1988, suggested they trade names with Los Angeles: That city was the center of the West Coast jazz scene, and "Utah Lakers" would have made sense with the Great Salt Lake. But the NBA wouldn't allow it.

The Jazz made the Playoffs for the 1st time in 1984, the 1st of 20 straight qualifications. But there always seemed to be somebody in the way: The Lakers of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, the Houston Rockets of Hakeem Olajuwon, the Portland Trail Blazers of Clyde Drexler, the Phoenix Suns of Charles Barkley.

The Jazz chose John Stockton, a guard from Gonzaga University in his hometown of Spokane, Washington, with their 1st pick in the 1984 NBA Draft. They chose Karl Malone, a forward from Summerfield, Louisiana and Louisiana Tech, with their 1st pick in the 1985 Draft.

They made the Jazz Playoff perennials, but a title proved elusive: They reached the Western Conference Finals in 1992, but lost to the Portland Trail Blazers; got there again in 1994, but lost to the Houston Rockets; and got there again in 1996, but lost to the Seattle SuperSonics.

In the 1996-97 season, Stockton and Malone were both named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players, despite never having reached the NBA Finals -- yet. That season, Malone was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player. In 2021-22, they were again named to the NBA's 75th Anniversary 75 Greatest Players.

Under head coach Jerry Sloan, a former Chicago Bulls star, they again reached the Conference Finals, and again played the Rockets, looking for their 3rd Finals berth, and 3rd Championship, in 4 years. They were still led by Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, but now with Charles Barkley added. The Jazz won Games 1 and 2 in Salt Lake City, dropped Games 3 and 4 in Houston, with Eddie Johnson hitting a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give the Rockets Game 4. The Jazz won Game 5 in Salt Lake.

Game 6 was played at The Summit in Houston. The game was tight throughout, with the Jazz leading 23-21 after the 1st quarter, the Rockets leading 49-43 at the half, and the Rockets leading 71-70 after 3 quarters. As the clock ran out in regulation, with the score tied, Stockton fired a 3-point shot, and it went in, giving the Jazz a 103-100 victory, and their 1st Finals berth. It is among the biggest "buzzer-beaters" in NBA history.

The Jazz went on to lose the NBA Finals to the Bulls, and did so again in 1998. They have not been back to the Finals since, although they usually make the Playoffs. The Rockets would not win another Playoff series until 2009, did not return to the Conference Finals until 2015, and, through the 2021-22 season, have not returned to the NBA Finals.

Stockton was named to 10 NBA All-Star Games, and became the NBA's all-time leader in assists and steals. Malone was named to 14 NBA All-Star Games.

UPDATE: In 2024, the NHL's Arizona Coyotes moved to Salt Lake City. For their 1st season, they were simply "Utah Hockey Club." For the next season, they became the Utah Mammoth. They share the Delta Center with the Jazz.

The Jazz do not have a team Hall of Fame. They have honored 11 men with banners, including 9 retired uniform numbers, 4 of them for men who never played for them: 1, for 1981-88 head coach Frank Layden; 9, for 1985-2009 team owner Larry Miller; 1,223, the number of his coaching wins, for 1988-2011 head coach Jerry Sloan; and a banner with a microphone on it for 1974-2009 broadcaster "Hot" Rod Hundley.

* From their time as the New Orleans Jazz, 1974-79: 7, for guard "Pistol" Pete Maravich.

* From after the move to Utah, but before their Finals appearances: 4, for forward Adrian Dantley; 35, for guard Darrell Griffith; and 53, for center Mark Eaton.

* From their 1997 and '98 NBA Finals appearances: 12, for guard John Stockton; 14, for guard Jeff Hornacek; and 32, for forward Karl Malone.

Miller, Layden, Sloan, Eaton, Stockton and Malone have also been elected to the Utah Sports Hall of Fame.

In addition, since Stockton and Malone were so linked, a statue of the two of them together stands outside the Delta Center.

*

May 29, 1997 was a Thursday. The NBA Eastern Conference Finals had wrapped up the night before, with the Chicago Bulls eliminating the Miami Heat in 5 games.

Football was out of season. The Stanley Cup Playoffs were between the Conference Finals and the Finals, and the Detroit Red Wings went on to sweep the Philadelphia Flyers.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-0 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. David Cone allowed 5 hits over 7 2/3rds innings, striking out 12, and Jeff Nelson completed the 5-hit shutout. Tino Martinez hit a home run. Derek Jeter went 2-for-4.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. The White Sox scored 4 runs in the top of the 11th, including a home run by Jorge Fábregas. The Red Sox could only pull 1 run back in the bottom of the 11th.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-2 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Shawn Estes outpitched John Smoltz. Barry Bonds went 0-for-3, but had an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Florida Marlins, 6-5 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-4 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. With MLB moving the Brewers to the National League the next season, this would be the last season for Wisconsin vs. Minnesota to be the kind of rivalry in baseball that it is in football (college and pro) and hockey (college).

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-2 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Houston Astros beat the San Diego Padres, 10-6 at the Astrodome in Houston. Tony Gwynn went 2-for-4 with a walk.

* The Anaheim Angels beat the Oakland Athletics, 7-1 at the Oakland Coliseum.

* And the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners, 8-2 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. went 0-for-3 with a walk. Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with a walk.