Bulls Winning Mind Games Against Heat

The score was tied in Chicago with 7 1/2 minutes to go, but the Bulls knew they were going to win.

The Miami Heat? Those players were pretty sure Chicago would win too.

“Until we can find a way to beat them . . . they’ve got our number,” Heat Coach Pat Riley said Thursday after the Bulls won, 90-80, against the team they defeated in last season’s Eastern Conference finals.

“It’s 73-73 and we turn it over four of the next five times and take a couple of bad shots--and we’re down nine. That’s what it comes down to against this team all the time. At the end of the game, you’ve got to be mentally strong.”

And nobody plays the mental-toughness game as well as the two-time defending NBA champions.

At crunch time, “our defensive intensity picks up. We hustle. We make all the big plays, get to the loose balls,” said Michael Jordan, who had 24 points and 11 rebounds as the Bulls dominated the boards and stretched their winning streak to six.

Jordan got plenty of help from his teammates as the Bulls improved to 38-8 in the all-time series against Miami, including 10-1 in the playoffs.

Toni Kukoc had 19 points, Dennis Rodman grabbed 13 rebounds and the two combined with little-used reserve Scott Burrell to spark a 13-2 run after Miami’s Tim Hardaway made three three-pointers to make it 73-all.

“We had good, open shots and just didn’t hit them,” Hardaway said. “This is a tough place to win.”

Utah 107, Houston 103--The two players the Jazz has been missing this season brought their games with them this time at Salt Lake City.

Center Greg Ostertag outran Houston’s Brent Price and blocked the point guard’s breakaway layup attempt with 2:29 to play, and Bryon Russell made two pressure free throws with eight seconds left as the Jazz outlasted the Rockets.

“I think those two guys might have turned a corner today,” said John Stockton, who led Utah with 24 points. “It’s no secret they’ve struggled this year, and this might be the game that gets them going.”

The game was the first meeting of the teams that played in last season’s Western Conference finals, won in six games by Utah. Ostertag and Russell were integral components of last season’s team, but they haven’t contributed much after signing big free-agent contracts in the off-season.

“Ostertag and Russell stepped up for us, and we needed it at the end,” said Coach Jerry Sloan, who won his 500th game with the Jazz. “Ostertag got some big rebounds for us, and Russell played some tough defense late.”

NBA Notes

Dan Garcia of the Newark Star-Ledger, whose lawsuit against New Jersey Net Coach John Calipari was dismissed, said he does not plan to appeal. Garcia contended in his suit that he suffered “extreme humiliation and emotional distress” because Calipari called him “a Mexican idiot” in a confrontation after a practice at Ramapo College on March 20.