In 1989 Jackson had another promising season for the Knicks, teaming with Ewing to lead them to the Atlantic Division title and the number two seed in the east (behind the eventual world champion Detroit Pistons, whom they swept 4-0 in the regular season), and making his lone All-Star Game appearance. After sweeping Charles Barkley's Philadelphia team in the opening round, the Knicks faced the upstart Chicago Bulls, led by Michael Jordan, in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Noteworthy in the series was near the end of game two, where Jackson en route to a fast break layup in the fourth quarter looked back and stuck out his tongue at Jordan before finishing the layup; Jordan responded with a 40+ PPG average the remainder of the series, and led Chicago to a 4-2 series victory. Following a contract extension prior to the 1990 season, Jackson began to lose his All-Star form; the loss of Pitino (who left to coach the University of Kentucky) and starting the season out of shape were key factors. Consequently, he began to face stiff competition from backup guard Rod Strickland, and then after Strickland was traded away, Maurice Cheeks, to the point where in their decisive first-round game five against Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Dennis Johnson and the Boston Celtics at the Boston Garden, Knick coach Stu Jackson decided to bench Mark Jackson for the entire game; New York went on to defeat Boston to advance to the second round, where they lost to the eventual champion Detroit Pistons in five games.