Knicks Gain Eastern Edge Over Bulls
The battle for home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference was supposed to come down to a showdown on Sunday between the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls.
Now that game will be for show only.
After the Knicks improved to 59-22 Friday with a 99-84 victory over the 76ers at Philadelphia, Larry Johnson made two free throws with 2.9 seconds to play to give the Charlotte Hornets a 104-103 victory over the Bulls (57-24) at Charlotte.
Because of a disadvantage in records against playoff teams in the conference, New York would have had to beat the Bulls in order to gain the home-court edge.
“I love challenges,” said Michael Jordan, who led the Bulls with 38 points, “and I think we’ve got a challenge in front of us. We’ve just got to step up to the plate.”
Most of the Knicks had left the locker room when the Bulls’ game ended.
“We had to last through a tough 10-game period,” Coach Pat Riley said. “The guys deserved it.”
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