NBA FINALS : Bulls Take Bite Out of Barkley, Suns : Game 1: Nine-for-25 shooting by league MVP and a slow start by Phoenix give Chicago all the cushion it needs in a 100-92 victory.

Sunset came early to these parts Wednesday, followed by a sudden cooling trend and unscheduled gloom, courtesy of an ongoing eclipse known as the Chicago Bulls.

The Phoenix Suns fell behind by 20 points in the second quarter, a slumber they never fully recovered from in what became a 100-92 victory for the Bulls in Game 1 of the NBA finals at America West Arena.

Home-court advantage seemingly vanished before the Suns had it. It took everything Phoenix had just to catch up, leaving little at the end when the Suns had the opportunity for a comeback. They were left to sift through the rubble of league MVP Charles Barkley’s shooting, nine for 25, and Kevin Johnson’s five turnovers, in contrast to two assists, in 36 minutes while making only four of 13 shots.

“I thought the edge was psychological, probably more than anything else; just the experiences we had and the ability to get out to that 18-, 20-point lead,” Bull Coach Phil Jackson said. “They (the Suns) had a bit of a run, came back to put the game in perspective and kept it close in the second half. I thought it was our experience in the playoffs that probably won us this game.”

Said Barkley: “It was nerves or whatever you want to call it. We just didn’t play well.”

The problem was, once the Suns got going, Michael Jordan was there waiting. He scored 14 of his game-high 31 points in the fourth quarter, 21 in the second half.

That slammed the door on Phoenix, which got as close as three points with 4:25 to play, only to fall back again.

“We maintained our poise,” said Jordan--yes, Jordan, who broke his self-imposed silence with the media. “I think that’s part of the experience, the maturity of this team being around together for a long period of time. When teams are making a strong push, especially on the road, we don’t lose our composure.

“Anytime you get a lead like that, it’s tough to maintain the killer instinct. You get a little relaxed, you get a little more risky in terms of what you do offensively, as well as defensively, and they crept right back into the game.”

Most of the pregame buildup for this series didn’t focus on whether the smaller Suns could stay with the bigger-yet-still-very-athletic Bulls, Jordan and his gambling or Chicago trying to become the first team since the Boston Celtics of the 1960s to win three titles in a row.

Instead there was this media war of words:

“(Phoenix) is a destination usually arrived at with a gold watch and a house trailer,” a Chicago Tribune columnist wrote. “Think of the map of the United States as a large rug. Phoenix is the corner where the dirt is swept.”

The Phoenix Gazette responded:

“Chicago is the city that works, due largely to the fact that busloads of shiny new civil servants swell the city payroll after each election.

“Chicagoans are politically savvy. Like the Athenians of yore, they hold their votes sacred, which is why they use them early and often.

“They are also arts-minded. Chicago alderman once raided an exhibit that featured a painting of the late Mayor Harold Washington in tacky lingerie. Outraged colleagues agreed Washington, a man of impeccable fashion sense, would never wear a bustier before the cocktail hour.”

But when it came time to play, only the Bulls could boast, scoring on their first five possessions to grab a 12-6 lead and then widening that to a double-digit cushion before the end of the first quarter. It was 34-20 heading into the second, and Johnson had one assist and three turnovers.

Phoenix locals had waited since 1976, through several playoff disappointments, for this? A 20-point deficit midway through the second period? Not only that, but the Suns, the league’s highest-scoring team during the regular season and playoffs, had only 26 points, lowlighted by a 4:10 stretch without a field goal.

By halftime, the Western Conference champions were shooting 39.6% and down, 52-41. The Bulls, finding no hint of Patrick Ewing or Charles Oakley when they looked down the lane, did much of their damage inside.

From this came a game. Taking advantage of 10 offensive rebounds in the third quarter--and 19 overall to the Bulls’ 10--the Suns got within two points with 30 seconds left in the period, but couldn’t get the lead.

They stayed within five points of the Bulls much of the fourth quarter but couldn’t find the passing gear. The comeback was nothing more than a tease.

From that came the bottom line.

Lights out.