NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFFS : Silence Not Golden for the Bulls

The Bulls extended their media boycott a second day and were fined $25,000 by the NBA Sunday.

“It is up to the club to make the players available,” said Brian McIntyre, NBA vice president. “It goes with the responsibility of being in the playoffs.”

Jerry Krause, Chicago general manager, was notified of the penalty. He wasn’t available for comment, either. The Bulls first refused to speak after Friday’s practice, rallying around Michael Jordan, whose fondness for gambling made him an object of controversy again.

However, Coach Phil Jackson said his players had other gripes: Scottie Pippen’s distaste for questions about his playoff record; Horace Grant’s unhappiness that he was being made to look like a crybaby; a sense they were all being made to look like crybabies.

All the Bulls except Jordan talked after Saturday’s 103-83 victory over the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals.

Jordan, walking to his car parked inside Chicago Stadium, said he was “taking the rest of the season off” from the media.

Sunday, the entire roster fell silent once more and the NBA announced its fine. “I think they have an aversion. I don’t know what the aversion is, but it has become an ongoing situation,” Jackson said Sunday. “I think they want to let their actions speak for them.”

The teams meet again this afternoon, with New York leading the series, 2-1.

The Knicks, their momentum destroyed, go back into the eardrum-threatening din of Chicago Stadium today. They are counting their blessings, however creatively, trying to hang in there.

“We weren’t tentative,” Coach Pat Riley said. “I mean, they were aggressive. I mean there’s a difference. They were just one step ahead. They just came right at us.

“That was their Armageddon game if there ever was one for them in the last three or four years. I mean, they could not go down, 3-0.

“We don’t want to overreact to it. We’ve won 75 games this year (60 during the season, nine in the playoffs, six in exhibitions), lost 27, and habits have been created and we’re not going to make many changes. We’re either good enough or we’re not. . . .

“You just got to look at it, study it, be honest about it and move on. We’re a good team. We’re a great team. We wouldn’t have won 75 games if we weren’t. It’s not time to change everything. It’s time to get an attitude adjustment, more than anything else.”