1996 NBA FINALS WATCH : SuperSonics Give Fans a Big Hand

The Seattle SuperSonics, headed for Chicago and thrilled at their partial comeback from 0-3 in the NBA finals, went back onto the Key Arena floor to say goodbye to their fans.

“We needed to thank them,” Frank Brickowski said, “and that’s the only way we can really do it, other than the people we see out at night or during the day. We need to thank them and let them know that we appreciate them.”

Said Coach George Karl: “I think tonight’s game was the biggest test we’ve ever had as a basketball team and we’ve had a lot of them this season. Our men showed up and it was a privilege to be part of what went down out there.”

*

Scottie Pippen, who missed 15 of his 20 shots: “A lot of them were forced on me, but that’s the type of pressure they force you into with the shot clock running down.”

Pippen, playing timidly again, took 19 of his shots in the last three quarters. He tried only one in the first quarter, even dribbling the ball as time ran out in the period before passing off--too late--to a teammate.

After that, Coach Phil Jackson told him to take his shots.

“We kept encouraging him to shoot,” Jackson said. “He’s got to shoot for us to play well.”

*

It was another quiet night for Dennis Rodman: 12 rebounds and six points in 37 minutes. Jackson took him out late in the game and Rodman looked dismayed.

Michael Jordan says the referees have quieted Rodman down.

“They are not going to let Dennis destroy the game or disrupt the game with his antics,” Jordan said, “and I think he’s been getting away with it pretty well. I think they were starting to crack down on him pretty good. Even when he’s not doing anything, they’re looking for it.”

*

The Bulls had never lost two games in a row in a finals before. . . . The Bulls’ 78 points were their fewest in a playoff game in the ‘90s. . . . The Bulls were three for 26 on three-point shots. Pippen, one for eight in Game 4, went one for eight again. Jordan was 0 for four, Toni Kukoc one for five and Steve Kerr, who made 52% of his three-points shots during the regular season, was one for seven. In one stretch, the Bulls missed 20 three-pointers in a row.