Magic bounce Jordan, Bulls from playoffs

Confetti did not rain down on the Orlando Magic, but there was little doubt which team had punched its ticket to the Eastern Conference finals.

It was the night the lights went out at the United Center as Orlando ensured Chicago would not be the epicenter of NBA supremacy for at least one more season.

Behind 27 points and 13 rebounds from Shaquille O’Neal, the Magic upended Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls 108-102 to win Game 6 of their semifinals series and advance to the conference finals on this day in 1995.

With the win, Orlando also became the last team to beat Jordan in the playoffs.

Jordan famously stepped away from the game after Chicago’s third title after the 1992-93 season to pursue a Major League Baseball career. He eventually returned late in the 1994-95 season and helped push the struggling Bulls into the postseason.

Following their playoff loss to the Magic, the Bulls reasserted their dominance the next season as they went 72-10 and embarked on a second three-peat as NBA champions. Jordan retired after the 1997-1998 season, only to return three years later with the Washington Wizards. He never made the playoffs during his two seasons in Washington before retiring — again — in 2003.

But on this night, it was the Magic who were celebrating on the United Center floor as a crowd of nearly 24,000 watched in disbelief.

And it wasn’t just that the Magic had