Hornets Show Bulls That Nobody’s Perfect

The streak is over. So is the mystique. The Chicago Bulls are not invincible at home.

“We had a goal of winning every game this season on our home court. It was not meant to be,” said Scottie Pippen, who missed two tip-in tries in the final seconds as the Bulls’ 44-game regular-season home winning streak ended Monday with a 98-97 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.

Chicago’s 37-0 home start was the best in NBA history.

“We can look at the positive side,” said Michael Jordan, who had 40 points and 11 rebounds but missed a shot before the final horn. “This really puts us in a different frame of mind, that even if we’re playing at home, we can lose. We have to come out more focused. We can’t take anyone lightly.”

Not even the Hornets.

Friday in Charlotte, the Bulls scored the first 20 points and embarrassed their hosts, 126-92.

“They had a right to be overconfident against us,” Hornet Coach Allan Bristow said. “We didn’t even show up Friday. We were totally humiliated. Tonight, we played hard.”

Dell Curry made two free throws with 19.4 seconds to go and scored 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter as the Hornets (39-37) moved 1 1/2 games ahead of Miami in the race for the final Eastern Conference postseason spot--and the right to meet Chicago in the first round of the playoffs.

“Believe it or not, we’re playing for more than what the Bulls are playing for,” Bristow said. “We’re playing for a shot at the playoffs. They’re just trying for records.”

Chicago (66-9) remains on pace to post the first 70-victory season in league history.

“We lost,” said the Bulls’ Dennis Rodman, who missed four free throws down the stretch and nearly had a run-in with Coach Phil Jackson. “That’s what happened. Now we go for 70.”

The Bulls hadn’t lost a regular-season game at the United Center since March 24, 1995--Jordan’s first home game after coming out of retirement.

After Curry’s free throws, the Bulls had four shots to win but missed them all: a spinning drive by Toni Kukoc, a tip by Pippen, Jordan’s put-back try and another tip by Pippen.

“The ball,” Kukoc said, “just did not want to go in.”