NBA ROUNDUP : Knicks Remember Jordan, Forget Pippen

That the New York Knicks paid extra attention to Michael Jordan was no surprise. That they didn’t pay enough attention to Scottie Pippen was very surprising--to Jordan.

“It’s really mind-boggling that you can forget about a talent like his,” Jordan said Sunday after Pippen scored 25 of his 29 points in the first half of the Bulls’ 111-90 victory in Chicago.

“Everybody was thinking about me scoring 57, 60 or whatever, but they forgot about Scottie Pippen. He should be considered for MVP of this league.”

Jordan, who scored 55 points in Chicago’s 113-111 victory at New York two weeks ago, was a mere mortal this time. He had 28 points on eight-for-19 shooting, the sixth time in six home games since coming out of retirement that he missed more shots than he made. Jordan is shooting 34% at the United Center.

Jordan did make what Coach Phil Jackson called “the biggest shot of the game . . . a rainmaker that bailed us out of a shot-clock violation.”

The Knicks pulled to 93-83 with 5:23 to play and Charles Smith blocked shots by Toni Kukoc and Jordan before Jordan made a high-arching, 15-foot fadeaway from the left baseline as the 24-second clock sounded. The Bulls then pulled away for their ninth victory in 10 games.

“As soon as I got it, instinctively, I knew I had to get it right back up,” Jordan said. “It probably was the most memorable shot I’ve had in this arena.”

But it was Pippen who got the Bulls to the double-digit lead they maintained for most of the game.

Pippen, who hadn’t played since last Tuesday because of flu, was 11 for 13 with four rebounds, four steals and four assists as Chicago took a 67-47 halftime lead.

Pippen finished with eight rebounds, seven steals and five assists. Kukoc added 20 points and 10 assists in the best game the Jordan-Pippen-Kukoc trio has had.

San Antonio 112, Denver 109--David Robinson scored 42 points at Denver as the Spurs moved one step closer to securing home-court advantage throughout the playoffs with the overtime victory.

The Spurs led, 110-107, when Avery Johnson fouled Denver’s Greg Grant on a three-point attempt with 4.8 seconds left. But Grant missed the third foul shot.

Dikembe Mutombo grabbed the offensive rebound--his 20th rebound of the game--but Robinson blocked his shot.

Robinson, who also had 14 rebounds, sealed the victory with two free throws with 1.5 seconds left.

The Spurs, who moved two games ahead of Utah for the best record in the Western Conference and the league, overcame a 14-point first-half deficit but couldn’t withstand a ferocious Denver rally in the fourth quarter.

The Nuggets trailed, 96-87, with 4:42 left in regulation, but went on a 14-5 run capped off by Bryant Stith’s tip-in as time ran out, forcing overtime.

Atlanta 94, Charlotte 93--Grant Long won the game on a layup with three-tenths of a second left at Charlotte.

Atlanta erased an 11-point lead in the third quarter with the help of Mookie Blaylock, who got 12 points in the period. His three-point basket with one minute to play tied the score, 92-92.

The Hornets missed five of six free throws down the stretch and clung to a 93-92 lead. Blaylock then dribbled past the time line to the right wing, where he passed to Long, who maneuvered between two defenders for the winning basket.

Indiana 114, Minnesota 75--The Pacers moved closer to their first NBA division championship with their most lopsided victory this season.

The victory gave Indiana 50 in a season for the first time since joining the league and put the Pacers 1 1/2 games ahead of Charlotte in the Central Division with three games to go.

Rik Smits led the Pacers with 22 points and Derrick McKey added 20 at Indianapolis.