OKLAHOMA CITY — Golden State’s 73-victory regular season spurred much conjecture about how the Stephen Curry-led Warriors would have stacked up against the 1990s Chicago Bulls teams powered by Michael Jordan, who, of course, once won 72.
Here’s one comparison: Those Bulls, in 1998, won the last of their six N.B.A. championships with Jordan but only after finding themselves in circumstances similar to what these Warriors are now facing.
That spring, the top-seeded Bulls were taken to a seventh game by the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals. Between Games 6 and 7, the Bulls’ coach, Phil Jackson, huddled with his players and told them not to fear failing.