Believe It or Not, Raptors Upset the Bulls

When the Toronto Raptors assemble their 1995-96 highlight film, they won’t have a problem singling out the greatest moment.

The Raptors pulled off one of the most unlikely upsets of the season Sunday, defeating the Chicago Bulls, 109-108, before the largest crowd to see a game this season--36,131 at SkyDome.

Steve Kerr’s three-point attempt bounced off the front of the rim with one second to play.

“I’m speechless,” said Raptor forward Tracy Murray, who had 23 points and 12 rebounds. “It was a huge win. The crowd exploded on that last shot. It was unbelievable.

“I wasn’t watching the shot, but when I heard the noise, I went, ‘Oh, no, don’t tell me it didn’t go in.’ It was so incredible, I just wanted to lie on the floor.”

It was only the eighth loss of the season for the Bulls, who are still on pace to win a record 70 games.

Damon Stoudamire scored a career-high 30 points, and his six three-point baskets gave him 127, breaking the rookie record of 125 set by Dennis Scott in 1989-90.

Michael Jordan scored Chicago’s last two points with a fadeaway jump shot for a 108-106 lead with 31 seconds left. Murray, who recorded his first double-double of the season, got open on the inbounds play for an easy layup, pulling Toronto even at 108-108 with 30 seconds to play.

After Jordan was rejected by Oliver Miller at the other end, Scottie Pippen was called for a foul, sending Miller to the line with 21 seconds left. He made the first of two free throws for a 109-108 lead.

Jordan, who had 36 points, including the Bulls’ final 14, brought the ball upcourt with 20 seconds to play. Double-teamed, Jordan passed to Kerr, Kerr passed to Scottie Pippen and Pippen passed back to Kerr, who was standing about two feet behind the three-point arc. The ball bounced into the corner as time expired.

“I wish I would have made that last one,” Kerr said. “I had a good look at it. It was disappointing.”

Toronto had lost three previous games to the Bulls by an average of seven points.

“We finally beat them,” Stoudamire said. “We came close three times and we finally did it. This is the best because we stayed close for 48 minutes and beat the best team in basketball.”

Seattle 112, Sacramento 110--Gary Payton capped a career-high 38-point performance with a steal and layup with one second remaining as the SuperSonics defeated the Kings at Sacramento.

Payton barely missed a triple-double with 11 rebounds and nine assists and the SuperSonics overcame an 11-point deficit in the final 3 1/2 minutes for their 27th victory in 31 games.

New Jersey 84, Milwaukee 80--By falling to the Nets at Milwaukee, the Bucks tied a franchise record with their 11th consecutive loss.

The Bucks’ last 11-game losing streak came in December, 1992--Mike Dunleavy’s first year as coach. Milwaukee also lost 11 consecutive the previous season and in 1974-75.

The Nets, who got 18 points and eight blocked shots from Shawn Bradley, won their third in a row over the Bucks.

Washington 92, Denver 90-- Brent Price made a driving, one-handed bank shot with 0.7 seconds left as the Bullets defeated the Nuggets at Landover, Md.

Gheorghe Muresan scored 11 of his game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter and pulled down 10 rebounds as the Bullets snapped a two-game losing streak. Juwan Howard had 20 points and Calbert Cheaney added 15.

San Antonio 100, Indiana 88--Chuck Person made three three-point shots in a 15-2 fourth-quarter run as the Spurs defeated the Pacers at Indianapolis for their 13th consecutive victory.

Swingman Reggie Miller, the Pacers’ leading scorer, was ejected after receiving two technicals in the third quarter.

New York 85, Dallas 79--Patrick Ewing had 36 points and 15 rebounds at Dallas as the Knicks extended the Mavericks’ season-long losing streak to 10 games.

Jason Kidd had 16 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for the Mavericks.

Miami 111, Boston 95--Alonzo Mourning had 27 points and 16 rebounds as the Heat won at Boston for the first time in more than two years.

Rex Chapman, Walt Williams, and Chris Gatling all had 20 points for the Heat and Tim Hardaway had 14 assists. The Heat had a double-digit lead throughout the fourth quarter.

Miami moved two games over .500 and retained control of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Cleveland 90, Vancouver 85--Danny Ferry scored 22 points at Cleveland as the Cavaliers handed the Grizzlies their 18th consecutive loss.