Bulls Let Clippers Scratch 16-Year Itch : Streak: The last Chicago loss to the L.A. franchise in the Windy City was early 1979, when it was actually the San Diego franchise.

Exhaling the breath they had gasped when Toni Kukoc’s three-point attempt with two seconds to play somehow went astray, the Clippers whooped and hollered and pumped their fists in a celebration more fitting for a playoff party than a December Tuesday night in Chicago.

But in a season of so many dreary moments and so many defeats, their 95-92 victory over the Bulls at the United Center was the Clippers’ equivalent of a seventh-game squeaker.

“When you don’t win that much, every victory feels like a championship game,” said forward Lamond Murray, who had 19 points in a team-high 46 minutes. “We worked hard. It felt good, and we had no problem showing it.”

Their delight was unmistakable and deserved. Their first victory in Chicago since Jan. 26, 1979, when they were based in San Diego, was the product of tenacious defense, clutch shooting down the stretch and steely nerves.

“The pressure is on them because they’re the (former) champs,” Murray said, “but they felt the pressure and we didn’t.”

All they felt was joy when Pooh Richardson’s jumper from the left side of the key sailed through the net with with 7.9 seconds to play to climax a strong finish for the Clippers (4-23) and end a 10-game losing streak against the Bulls (13-13).

“I just wanted to get a nice, clean look,” Richardson said. “If you miss it, cool. I didn’t want to take the shot too early.”

Of course, it helped that Scottie Pippen, the Bulls’ top scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker, was ejected with 2:13 left in the second quarter for earning his second technical foul, this for disputing a foul called on him by referee Terry Durham.

Pippen had gotten off to a sensational start, making eight of 11 shots, grabbing five rebounds and dishing off three assists in 17 minutes. But his displeasure over being called for an offensive foul was audible to many in the sellout crowd of 22,231 and he was ushered out with the game tied at 48.

“I stole the ball and he was going to post me up and he pushed me in the back and started a shoving match,” Clipper forward Harold Ellis said of Pippen, who had picked up his first technical for taunting Charles Outlaw after a first-quarter dunk. “I didn’t think he was going to retaliate like that. I didn’t expect it.”

Even without Pippen, there was no reason to expect that the Bulls--who had beaten the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks in their two previous games--would unravel so dramatically in the final minutes.

But after taking a 90-89 lead on a 21-foot jumper by Steve Kerr with 5:40 to play, the Bulls failed to score for 4:01, until Will Perdue made a layup to cut the Clippers’ lead to 93-92. In that span, the Bulls had two 24-second violations and one other turnover.

“We never had any rhythm to our offense and we had too many guys trying to go one-on-one,” said B.J. Armstrong, who was four for 20 from the field.

They still trailed by a point with 1:14 to play but couldn’t get the ball in play and were called for a five-second violation, their 27th and final turnover. Richardson then made his jump shot, giving him a team-high 21 points, and Kukoc missed his desperation fling, sending the Clippers leaping off their bench.

“Going down the stretch, the pressure is on us because we’re supposed to win,” Perdue said. “We had time after we lost Scottie to make the proper adjustments, and we didn’t. That’s a situation where we’ve got to step up our game and we did that to a point, but not enough. No doubt about it, we’re an angry team. This is a game, even though it was a close game, that we should have an advantage because of the team we have.”

Clipper Coach Bill Fitch, who joked that when the team last won in Chicago, “I was just a baby coach,” considered the victory a reward for his club’s diligence.

“We’re not talented from the standpoint of superstars, but we’re getting better,” he said. “I think we all see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Clipper Notes

Forward Loy Vaught, racked by a fever and the flu, played only 18 minutes. He never got off the bench after the first two minutes of the third quarter. “I got dizzy and I almost had to put one knee down after I lost my balance out there,” he said. . . . Tuesday’s game was the first in 21 the Clippers won after trailing going into the fourth quarter.