"He dared me to shoot and beat them" - Horace Grant says stubborn Phil Jackson cost the Bulls their 1995 Playoff series vs. the Magic

The Orlando Magic own the distinction of being the only team to beat the Chicago Bulls in a playoff series during the Bulls' dynasty run. This happened during the 1995 Playoffs, where the Magic ousted Michael Jordan and the Bulls 4-2 in their best-of-seven second-round showdown.

Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway led Orlando's charge, but former Chicago Bull Horace Grant was the difference maker in the series. During an interview with The Ringer's Bill Simmons, Grant explained how Bulls head coach Phil Jackson motivated him to put up big scoring numbers.

"He dared me to shoot and beat them with 15,17 footers because I didn't get enough shots when I was in Chicago playing with MJ and Pip," said Grant.

Phil refused to put a man on Horace

Grant was the Bulls' 10th overall pick of the 1987 NBA Draft. The 6'10'' forward emerged as a key player in Chicago's first three-peat from 1991 to 1993 but did not get enough scoring opportunities because the team had Jordan and Pippen.

With two future Hall of Famers on his team, Grant averaged just 9.8 attempts per game as a Bull. But during that 1995 second-round series against his former team, Horace averaged 11.33 field goal attempts per game, most of which were jump shots that Phil challenged him to shoot.

"I made it throughout my college career, my NBA career," added Grant. "But he was like, 'Horace is going to beat us,' and I was told that one of the guys on the team came up to him and said, 'Man, can we have somebody guard him?' And Phil said 'No'. PJ said, 'No, we're going to make Horace beat us.'"

Related: "I'm trying to knock the hell out of Rodman" - Michael Jordan on how he beat Dennis Rodman in his own game during the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals

Horace did just that

Unfortunately, Jackson's gambit backfired as Grant knocked down one open jump shot after another. When the series was over, Horace averaged 18.0 points per game while making 64.7% of his field goal attempts. This included a 24-point performance on 10-13 shooting in the crucial Game 5, where the Magic took a 3-2 series lead.

"We knew Ho Grant was going to come around in that series because he was just as fired up playing against the Bulls as I was being a Chicago kid," recalled Magic forward Nick Anderson. "That was Horace's former team, and he wanted to prove something to them."

Not only did Horace have something to prove to his former team, but he also wanted to debunk his former coach's strategy. Even when Grant started making his shots in the first couple of games, Phil took his chance by daring him to beat them the rest of the way. That stubbornness ended up costing the Bulls that series and potentially a seventh title.

Related: "I sat down with Scottie, and I said, 'Listen, I’ve got to look out for myself and my family'" - Horace Grant reflects on leaving the Bulls for the Magic