Bulls Run Into Trouble in Detroit

Joe Dumars had a bad case of flu, but he wasn’t going to miss what might have been his last battle with old friend and rival Michael Jordan.

Dumars sank his first four shots--all from three-point range--then badgered Jordan over the final two minutes Wednesday as the Detroit Pistons held off the Chicago Bulls, 87-79, at Auburn Hills, Mich.

“I had a bad night last night and a bad day today,” said Dumars, who had 17 points in 28 minutes. “But this is the type of game I had to play. It was a matter of a thing called professionalism.”

Chicago fell a half-game behind Utah and is tied with Seattle for the best record and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Bulls played without Scottie Pippen, who stayed in Chicago because of kidney stones. Scott Burrell started in his place and scored 16 points.

Jordan, who has said this might be his final season, had 19 points and was held scoreless in the first quarter.

Indiana 82, Atlanta 70--The Pacers held the Hawks without a field goal for more than 10 minutes of the second half at Indianapolis. Reggie Miller scored 22 points and Jalen Rose had 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter.

Charlotte 109, New Jersey 103--The Hornets moved within one game of clinching home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, scoring 12 of the final 17 points at home.

Glen Rice had 21 points and Vlade Divac 20 to lead seven Hornets in double figures. Sam Cassell had 27 points and 10 assists for the Nets, who dropped into a tie with New York for the seventh seed in the East.

Orlando 99, Miami 87--Nick Anderson scored 24 points at Miami as the Magic avoided a season sweep by the intrastate rival Heat.

Horace Grant added 17 points and had nine rebounds for the Magic, which has been eliminated from the playoffs.

Phoenix 96, Denver 89--Antonio McDyess scored 25 points, Steve Nash had 24 and Jason Kidd had a triple-double at Phoenix as the Suns won their 10th consecutive game.

The win put the Suns 1 1/2 games ahead of San Antonio for fourth place and the first-round home-court advantage in the Western Conference playoffs.

Washington 101, Cleveland 93--For the second night in a row, the Wizards held off a second-half comeback attempt and kept their playoff hopes alive at home. To avoid missing the playoffs for the ninth time in 10 years, the Wizards need to win their remaining two games and hope the Knicks or Nets lose all of their remaining games.

Milwaukee 117, Boston 109--Terrell Brandon scored 22 points and Ray Allen added 19 for the Bucks at Boston.