Flight Late, but Bulls Soar : East: Jordan struggles for three quarters but scores 16 points in the fourth to lead Chicago into the finals.

Grounded for three quarters because of mechanical problems, Air Jordan finally took off in the fourth quarter of Game 6 in the NBA Eastern Conference finals.

Bothered by a sore right wrist and missing 15 of 20 shots in the first three quarters, Michael Jordan scored 16 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter to propel the Chicago Bulls into the NBA finals for the second consecutive season with a 99-94 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers Friday night before 20,273 at the Richfield Coliseum.

“I was fighting myself the first three quarters because I wanted to win so bad,” said Jordan, who missed seven consecutive shots in the second and third quarters. “I didn’t want to think about going back to Chicago (for Game 7), so I was really fighting myself.

“I really lost a lot of confidence in myself in the first three quarters. My mind was there and I had a lot of desire, but my body didn’t function until the fourth quarter.

“I wanted to try to calm myself down. But in the fourth quarter I started saying to myself ‘just take your time and relax and let the game come to you,’ and it did.”

After his first shot of the fourth quarter was blocked by Larry Nance, who led the Cavaliers with 25 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots, Jordan made five of his last six shots and hit all six of his fourth-quarter free throws as the Bulls overcame a seven-point deficit to defeat the Cavaliers, 4-2, in the best-of-seven series.

With the Bulls trailing, 83-78, Jordan made a spectacular move around Nance, hitting a layup from behind the backboard with 6:32 left. He added a free throw to pull Chicago to within two points.

“I needed one play to get me back in it, and that three-point play against Nance on the baseline got me back into it,” Jordan said. “From that point on, I played with a lot of intensity.”

Jordan scored seven of the Bulls’ last eight points, making five free throws and a layup as Chicago outscored Cleveland, 8-4, in the final two minutes.

“Being that I didn’t do anything in the first three quarters, I felt it was time for me to do something in the fourth quarter,” Jordan said.

Behind, 90-87, Jordan made a layup over guard Craig Ehlo to pull the Bulls to within one point.

Jordan stole the ball from Nance at the other end of the court and set up teammate Scottie Pippen to give Chicago a 91-90 lead with two minutes to play.

With the Bulls leading, 93-90, after Jordan made two free throws with 1:32 remaining, Cavalier guard Mark Price hit a three-point shot to tie it, 93-93, with 47 seconds to play.

But Jordan scored on a drive and added a free throw to put the Bulls back in front with 37 seconds left. After Pippen made one of two free throws to give Chicago a 97-93 lead, Price made a free throw and intentionally missed the second foul shot with 17 seconds to play.

As he battled Horace Grant for the rebound, Price tried to throw the ball out of bounds off Grant, but Grant caught it and set up Jordan, who made two free throws after he was fouled by Daugherty.

Jordan struggled in the first half, and Pippen and Grant carried the Bulls. Grant scored 20 points, including 14 in the first half, and had nine rebounds. Pippen had 18 points and eight rebounds in the first three quarters.

“It was time for me to get my offense going and I did,” Grant said.

The Bulls (67-15) will open the NBA finals against Portland (57-25) Wednesday at Chicago Stadium. The Bulls had the best record in the NBA (67-15), and the Trail Blazers (57-25) had the second best record.

“Portland is one of the most athletic teams in the league,” Jordan said. “We’re going to have to play very smart and play a lot of good defense. I’m pretty sure the hype is going to be Clyde (Drexler) against myself. But my approach is it’s not me against Clyde, but it’s my team against his team. I’m not going to go into the finals looking at it as a one-on-one competition between Clyde Drexler and myself, even though we’ll be guarding each other quite a bit.”

Chicago has struggled in the playoffs. The New York Knicks pushed the Bulls to a seventh game in the Eastern Conference semifinals, and Cleveland beat the Bulls by 26 points in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals and 14 points in Game 4 to even the series.

“The toughest part about repeating is the mental aspect,” Jordan said. “We’ve got the same physical talent you had last year, but the mental approach is probably the most difficult thing.”