Bulls Forced to Work Overtime Before Defeating Depleted Nets

Keith Van Horn was so sick he couldn’t even sit on the bench in the second half. Sam Cassell’s bothersome groin injury limited him to 17 minutes.

Michael Cage couldn’t play, Rony Seikaly was used sparingly and Jayson Williams fought for rebounds with a cracked thumb.

But injury and illness didn’t keep the depleted New Jersey Nets from scaring, and almost beating, the Chicago Bulls in their playoff opener Friday night.

Scrapping, hustling, playing tight defense and using the scoring of veteran Chris Gatling, New Jersey rallied from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter and forced overtime before losing, 96-93 at Chicago.

“We played as well as we can,” Nets Coach John Calipari said. “You saw a fun team and an exciting team, a team diving on the floor. That’s the best we can do. That’s without [Van Horn] and [Cassell], our two leading scorers, and that’s what we want to do.”

Van Horn, weakened by a stomach virus, played 16 minutes in the first half and scored 10 points, nearly 10 under his team-leading average.

“I went out there and helped this team as much as I could and left it up to them,” Van Horn said. “I got to a point after the first half where I didn’t think I could focus out there.”

Cassell, the team’s second-leading scorer, had just four points.

“I looked at Keith at halftime and he was so white,” Calipari said. “I said, ‘Don’t come out, stay in.’ He was almost transparent. I’m concerned about Sam and him for Sunday.”

Williams, who had 21 rebounds despite his injury, said Van Horn was so weak he needed an IV.

The Bulls, with a wealth of experience, needed a steal from Michael Jordan and a block by Scottie Pippen to pull out the victory in overtime.

Jordan said earlier this week the only way the Nets could win a game in the series was if the Bulls went to asleep. Friday night they almost did.

“They play harder than any team we faced all season. They are going to run the ball at us and attack us off the dribble,” Pippen said.

The Nets, in the playoffs for the first time since 1994, weren’t satisfied with coming close. They got 24 points from Gatling and nearly overcame a three for 17 shooting night by Kerry Kittles.

“We knew the whole world was counting us out, 1,000-to-one. But we believed we could win this game. We’re not coming into Chicago saying we took them into overtime, it’s a feather in our cap,” Williams said.

Miami 94, New York 79--Tim Hardaway scored 34 points and Eric Murdock had 16 off the bench as the Heat built a 24-point lead and then held at Miami.

There was no repeat of the disputed last-second call that cost the Knicks a victory at Miami earlier this month, and very little of the bad behavior that has marked the rivalry.

The game was nearly six minutes old before the first foul occurred, and the only punch was Miami’s inside-outside combination, which overwhelmed the Knicks in the early going.

Miami repeatedly penetrated the lane, setting up open shots on the perimeter. Hardaway made six of Miami’s 11 three-point shots.

Larry Johnson scored 21 points to lead the Knicks.

Seattle 108, Minnesota 83--Vin Baker had 25 points and 12 rebounds to lead the SuperSonics at Seattle.

Minnesota sealed its fate in the second quarter by making only three of 24 shots as the SuperSonics took a 53-32 lead at the half. It was never close in the second half.

Seattle extended its lead to 29 points twice--72-43 and 74-45--in the third quarter and took an 82-58 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Timberwolves went 8:11 without a basket in the second quarter. During that span, Seattle built a 34-26 lead into a 46-27 advantage.

Gary Payton had 19 points and seven assists, and Detlef Schrempf tallied 17 points for the SuperSonics, while Kevin Garnett had 18 points and 18 rebounds and Stephon Marbury scored 13 points for the Timberwolves.

Baker, who did not make the playoffs in his first four NBA seasons in Milwaukee, scored 14 points on seven for nine shooting in the first quarter.