NBA ROUNDUP : Pippen Takes Control as Bulls Beat Magic

Scottie Pippen isn’t ready to call the rest of his Chicago Bull teammates his supporting cast, but he is at the forefront of his team’s success without Michael Jordan.

Although Toni Kukoc made the game-winning shot, it was clearly Pippen’s play at Chicago that made a Christmas night fourth-quarter comeback possible as the Bulls beat the Orlando Magic, 95-93.

The victory, secured when the Magic’s Nick Anderson failed to get off a shot before the buzzer, was made possible when Kukoc’s running left-hander into the lane broke a 93-93 tie with two seconds remaining.

But it was Pippen, scoring 28 points and playing both ends of the floor in the final quarter impressively, who all but willed the Bulls to their ninth consecutive victory, the NBA’s longest current win streak.

“We always knew how to win down the stretch,” Pippen said. “Michael . . . was always the No. 1 person. But now, everyone has to contribute.”

Kukoc and B.J. Armstrong added 17 each for Chicago.

The Magic began the final quarter ahead 74-70, only to watch the lead disappear because of Pippen and their own sputtering offense.

Phoenix 111, Houston 91--Kevin Johnson, who had 36 points and nine rebounds, said the real Suns showed up for the Christmas Day victory over the Rockets, who had tied an NBA record with a 22-1 start but have since lost two games in a row.

“The trademark of our team has always been that if we play poorly or underachieve, we come back and play well,” Johnson said.

The Suns’ aggressive defense stopped Houston’s perimeter game, and Phoenix neutralized its height disadvantage by outrebounding the Rockets, 53-35.

Charles Barkley tied his season high with 38 points and had 18 rebounds, and A.C. Green collected 14 rebounds. He also scored seven of his 17 points in the final 2:40.

Hakeem Olajuwon had 27 points and 13 rebounds for the Rockets, and Robert Horry scored 20 points.

Johnson had 18 points in the second quarter, when the Suns took advantage of fast-break baskets to increase a 24-21 first-quarter lead to a 61-39 edge at halftime.

“There is no one in the league we would beat when you allow 32 transition points in the first half,” Houston Coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. “You can’t beat any team like that. We really had too many mental errors.”

Olajuwon said the Rockets came in planning to slow down the Suns, who were averaging 110 points a game.

Barkley scored 13 points in the third period, helping the Suns to an 84-68 lead. But the Suns went 4:45 without a point early in the fourth and Olajuwon led a 12-0 rally.

The dominating center started the run with a basket and finished it with a three-point play, shaving the deficit to 88-82 with 7:10 remaining.