Jordan Lets One Get Away : NBA playoffs: He loses the ball to set up Grant’s dunk in 94-91 defeat by Magic.

Nick Anderson stole the ball and a game for the Orlando Magic Sunday. And he took it away from Michael Jordan. In an improbable finish, the Magic defeated the Chicago Bulls, 94-91, in Game 1 of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Chicago had a 91-90 lead when Anderson slipped behind Jordan and knocked the ball to teammate Anfernee Hardaway. Hardaway sprinted down the floor and flipped it to Horace Grant for a dunk and a one-point lead with 6.2 seconds left.

The Bulls had a final chance, but when Jordan dribbled into the lane against Anderson, he passed up a shot and threw a hard pass behind Scottie Pippen, who couldn’t hang on with 1.5 seconds remaining. The ball went out of bounds, and Orlando clinched the game on two free throws by Hardaway, who was fouled on the inbound play.

Game 2 of the series will be played here Wednesday night.

The Bulls almost survived Sunday even though Jordan shot eight for 22 and scored 19 points. Pippen also struggled, making two of 11 from the field.

Shaquille O’Neal led the Magic with 26 points and overcame Chicago’s defensive strategy of fouling him often by going 12 for 16 from the foul line.

The Bulls were in a 43-43 tie at halftime even after shooting 35% in the first half. Jordan got them the tie by scoring on a finger roll with 2.3 seconds remaining. He’d been two for 12 before that shot.

The Bulls scored the final seven points of the first half after struggling to stay in the game for most of the rest of the first half. O’Neal, who didn’t make a field goal in the first quarter, scored 12 points in the second. His last one came with 3:10 remaining and gave Orlando a 43-36 lead.

The Bulls somehow got back in it. Center Luc Longley made it 43-38 with 2:35 remaining, then Pippen’s three-pointer made it 43-41 with 1:57 left. After Hardaway committed an offensive foul, Jordan missed a jumper that would have tied it.

But the Magic missed a shot, and Jordan made the tying shot.

Orlando led, 22-19, after a first quarter that included four ties and four lead changes. The Bulls shot 32%, and Jordan was two for 10. But they stayed in it by dominating the boards and by getting eight points from guard B.J. Armstrong.

Meanwhile, the Bulls did just what they said they wouldn’t do in trying to stop O’Neal--they fouled him frequently. He took only one shot in the first quarter and missed that one. He did get the ball in his hands, but the Bulls kept fouling him.

Chicago Coach Phil Jackson again started Longley instead of Will Perdue, saying: “He’s the only guy who can play Shaquille in a one-on-one situation. Everybody else needs help. So we’re going to have to have him out there so we can stay at home on three-point shooters.”

What the Bulls didn’t count on was O’Neal turning into Rick Barry at the foul line. He was six for six in the first quarter.

The second quarter was different. The Bulls still had trouble shooting, and Jordan struggled so badly that Jackson didn’t send him back into the game until 6:36 remained. He promptly missed a shot.

The Bulls seemed slow in getting double-team pressure on O’Neal, and he made them pay. Chicago trailed, 22-21, when he scored his first field goal with 10:56 remaining. It came on a resounding dunk, and moments later, he backed Bill Wennington into the lane and scored again.

His next one made it 32-28, and after a three-point shot by Dennis Scott, O’Neal’s jump hook made it 37-31 with 4:52 remaining. He finished the quarter with another jump hook and by slamming in a miss by Brian Shaw for a 43-36 lead.

That’s where Orlando’s scoring ended, and by halftime, it was tied again. Pippen had been no more effective than Jordan, going one for five.

Chicago’s defensive strategy worked better early in the second half when O’Neal went to the foul line three times in the opening 2 minutes 18 seconds and made just three of six free throws.

Chicago never stretched any of its leads past four, and the quarter ended with Orlando up by four, 69-65.

The score was tied, 78-78, with 6:54 left. Orlando had an 88-86 lead when Jordan went the length of the floor and scored for an 88-88 tie. He was fouled by Anderson, and the foul shot gave Chicago an 89-88 lead with 1:11 left. Two foul shots by O’Neal made it 90-89 with 48.9 seconds left.

Pippen then scored on a lob from Toni Kukoc with 40.2 seconds left, and after Scott and Hardaway turned it over with 18 seconds left, the Bulls seemed in control. That’s when Anderson got the ball from Jordan.