Bulls Not Themselves, but Still Beat Grizzlies

The Chicago Bulls got a scoreless first quarter from Michael Jordan, blew a 12-point lead and had to rally in the fourth quarter against the Vancouver Grizzlies.

They still came away with a victory.

Jordan finished with 24 points as the Bulls did what they had to--and little more--Friday night in a 98-92 victory over the Grizzlies.

Chicago (50-17) clinched a playoff berth with the victory, becoming the first Eastern Conference team to do so. The Bulls retained their three game lead in the Central Division over Indiana, which beat New Jersey.

“Not really,” Coach Phil Jackson said when asked if he was worried about his team’s dull play. “It’s pretty obvious that when you play some real high-intensity games, you’re going to come out with a game like that at some point.”

Toni Kukoc had 16 points for the Bulls, and Scottie Pippen and Steve Kerr finished with 13 each. Kerr scored 10 of his 13 in the fourth quarter, including six during Chicago’s 11-7 run to end the game.

The Grizzlies shot only 32 of 82 (39%), while the Bulls were 33 of 62 (53%). Vancouver outrebounded Chicago, 43-33, and the Bulls had just eight offensive rebounds.

Dennis Rodman played only 15 minutes, grabbing four rebounds.

“Dennis did not have a lot of energy,” Jackson said. “Dennis complained about tendinitis in his knees. It was the first instance he talked about it.”

Rodman wasn’t the only Bull who wasn’t himself. Jordan didn’t even put up a shot until there were just 50 seconds left in the first quarter, and he missed a jumper. He finally scored his first points on a jump shot from the top of the key with 10:20 left in the first half.

One of the few highlights for Chicago was the play of its bench. The reserves, scoreless in Tuesday’s victory over Indiana, scored 35 points against Vancouver.

Bryant Reeves led the Grizzlies (15-51) with 30 points and Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 21. Sam Mack had 15, but no one else came close to double figures for Vancouver, which has lost six straight and 14 of its last 15.

New York 109, Atlanta 108--Despite blowing a 14-point fourth quarter lead and having John Starks and Allan Houston each miss two free throws in the final 6.9 seconds, the Knicks managed to win at Madison Square Garden.

Houston, starting at small forward for the first time this season, finished with 21 points. Larry Johnson had 19 points and Starks, making his first start of the season, had 16 points and eight assists.

Steve Smith had 24 points for the Hawks, who had won their three previous games and eight of 10.

Atlanta was without guard Mookie Blaylock, who missed his second game in as many nights after tests revealed anemia. His status is day-to-day.

Minnesota 104, Denver 88--The Timberwolves held the Nuggets to eight points in the third quarter at Minneapolis as they ended a losing streak at four games and moved back over the .500 mark at 34-33.

Minnesota, which had lost seven of its previous nine games, has not been below .500 since Dec. 26, when it was 13-14.

The Nuggets missed their final 14 shots of the third quarter to finish the quarter two for 20

Indiana 99, New Jersey 92--The Pacers scored their final 12 points on free throws at Indianapolis.

Reggie Miller, who led Indiana with 21 points, made six of the free throws as the Pacers didn’t have a basket over the final 4:33.

Miller’s third pair of free throws put Indiana ahead, 97-90, with 12 seconds left. After a basket by Keith Van Horn, Mark Jackson made the final two foul shots.

Utah 91, Philadelphia 79--Karl Malone scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half at Philadelphia as the Jazz bounced back from Wednesday night’s blowout loss to Charlotte.

The Jazz, a winner in 19 of its last 21 games, had its wining streak end at 11 games with the 111-85 loss at Charlotte.

Allen Iverson, who has averaged 30 points in the 76ers’ last six games, had 28 points.

Orlando 102, Portland 87--David Benoit came off the bench to replace the injured Nick Anderson and scored 19 points to help the Magic win at Orlando.

Benoit filled the offensive void left when Anderson left the game late in the first quarter with a pulled hamstring. Anderson, who has averaged 25.1 points since the All-Star break, scored nine before the injury.

The Magic moved within a half-game of New Jersey for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Miami 93, Golden State 87--Alonzo Mourning had 25 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots at Miami as the Heat handed the Warriors their sixth consecutive loss.

Golden State, the NBA’s worst shooting team, made only 37.4% of its attempts.

Detroit 105, Toronto 99--The Raptors gave the Pistons a scare, going on a 10-1 run to move to within two points with 1:31 left, but didn’t score again and their road record fell to 9-24.

Brian Williams had 24 points and 18 rebounds and Grant Hill scored 25 points for the Pistons.

Doug Christie’s three-point basket made it 101-99. A jump shot by Hill moved the margin back to four points, and Toronto wasn’t able to make the three-point shot it needed.

Charlotte 92, San Antonio 82--The Hornets began the third quarter with a 17-8 run to open its largest lead of the game, 68-51, and never looked back at San Antonio.

Bobby Phills scored 21 points for Charlotte, which has won 13 of its last 14 games.

San Antonio, which had won its previous two games, was led by Tim Duncan with 25 points and 12 rebounds.