 The Bulls entered the 1989 – 90 season as a team on the rise , with their core group of Jordan and young improving players like Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant , and under the guidance of new coach Phil Jackson . Jordan averaged a league leading 33 @.@ 6 ppg on 52 @.@ 6 % shooting , to go with 6 @.@ 9 rpg and 6 @.@ 3 apg in leading the Bulls to a 55 – 27 record . They again advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals beating the <unk> and Philadelphia 76ers . However , despite pushing the series to seven games , the Bulls lost to the Pistons for the third consecutive season . 
