Seemingly Out of Nowhere, NBA Finals Take A . . . : U TURN

On the other hand, at least traffic won’t be a problem.

The Bulls, fresh off their two-hour commutes from the ‘burbs to the United Center on a rainy Friday, get a reprieve tonight from the jammed Chicagoland roads. And, obviously, they’ll get a huge advantage, what with Coach Phil Jackson having actually said with a straight face after the Bulls’ loss that “we knew it was going to be a difficult game to get going because of the transportation problems that were out there.”

Instead, there will be a straight shot to the Delta Center, all of four or five minutes, maybe six on weekdays when downtown rush hour has to be factored.

So now they only have to deal with the Utah Jazz. That’s all.

Karl Malone finally has found his stride, scoring 39 points and grabbing nine rebounds two days ago. Antoine Carr, an emotional spark even when he isn’t making a major contribution, is suddenly playing so well that Coach Jerry Sloan is considering promoting him to starting center. And the Jazz are home with fans who will be blowing the roof off the arena with noise, the latest testament to their support coming when the team’s charter flight returned from Chicago at 3:15 a.m. Saturday and about 7,000 fans were standing in the rain for the welcome.

If the Bulls thought they didn’t want to be here for a Game 6, imagine what it’ll feel like to lose tonight and have to stick around until Wednesday and a Game 7 that could really put the championship celebrations on hold, like until another generation. The chance to repeat the three-peat--three consecutive titles for the second time--by clinching at home has disappeared, an obvious disappointment to the team and the city, so it’s time for them to grab the hardware with any script.

“I’m pretty sure we don’t have to worry about the traffic,” Michael Jordan said. “I’m sure it’s going to be a lot different focus, I guess, and some of the distractions are going to be taken away. But it’s no easy cake walking into Utah and trying to win.

“They’re going to be back there with their crowd, who was just hoping for them to win one game and get back to Utah. Let them deal with the scenarios that we have just finished dealing with and see if we can change places.

“I anticipate it will be very intense. We’ve got a 3-2 lead, which gives us some advantage, but I’m pretty sure they’re going to have some momentum with the crowd and being back in familiar surroundings.”

Added Scottie Pippen: “We still have the advantage. We don’t want them to tie the series up. Even though they’re very comfortable going back on their home court, we feel very good and feel like we have a good grasp on this team.”

Would he settle for a decent grasp?

Indeed, the Bulls are still in control, having already proved they could win in the Delta Center in Game 2. They also have history on their side since no team in NBA history has blown a 3-1 lead in the finals. Can anyone really imagine it would happen now, to the greatest player ever, the guy who has a will that’s every bit the match for his talents, and to a group that has only been known to dominate?

So who’s going to break it to the Jazz that it can’t happen? On this side of the champagne line, all they know is it could easily be the home team going for the clinch. Utah was within a point with 48 seconds left in Game 2 and within two points with a minute left in Game 4, lost convincingly only once and still is being perceived around Chicago as the rube from the small town who will wear the final footprint of the great Bulls’ run.

The Bulls easily could be really hanging on now, not only hanging on to their lead. So it was that a single victory Friday at the United Center could alter the momentum in such a way, because little separates the teams and anything is possible, the last thing the defending champions want to consider.

They practiced at home Saturday and flew here in the afternoon. The Jazz, meanwhile, staged its own light workout and film session, preparing for tonight, and maybe beyond.

“I don’t know how energized you can be after probably getting to bed at 4 o’clock in the morning,” Coach Jerry Sloan said afterward, “but I thought it’d be good for us to come over here, seeing how it was raining. Nothing else to do.

“That’ll probably be tough on them tomorrow, though. I probably did the wrong thing by bringing ‘em over here. We’ll have an excuse somewhere. That’s the way it’s supposed to be, isn’t it?”