Bucks a Small Obstacle as Bulls Try for Record

The lowly Bucks stand in the way of the NBA’s first 70-victory season, with the Chicago Bulls eager to get it over fast and out of their hometown where, as Scottie Pippen noted, fans tend to “over-celebrate.”

The Bucks are 24-54 this season, 0-4 against the Bulls and would seem to present no difficult hurdle.

The Bulls are 31-8 on the road--that’s a .795 percentage--better than the overall record of any other team this season. Only four teams, Seattle, Orlando, San Antonio and Utah, have home records better than the Bulls’ road record.

The Bulls tied the 1971-72 Lakers’ record in a yawner at Cleveland on Sunday, which the players treated in a blase manner. Speaking for his teammates, for once, Dennis Rodman called it “no big deal.”

Rodman says the Bulls would have beaten the old Lakers--but not his Detroit Piston titlists of 1989 and 1990.

Pippen said he couldn’t compare teams from different eras, then later declared the Bulls the best team of all time.

Said Michael Jordan, the Bull most thrilled by the prospect of a new record, “I’ve never wanted to compare two different teams from two different eras, but this is a great season to take pride in.

“I’ve been able to come back and help this team get back to where we want to be, which is on top. We’re not there yet, so that’s the motivating factor for me. Quite naturally, we’re happy, but the thing is to win the championship.

“Sixty-nine wins, we have home-court advantage [through the playoffs] but the season is just getting ready to start. What we’re trying to do is not put too much emphasis on 69 or 70 wins or 73. We just want to keep playing all the way to June and get in the finals and win a championship.”