Pacers Trip Up Bulls, Jordan

Scratch Mike’s tee time for Sunday.

The Chicago Bulls finished their little slice of Hoosier hell Friday night with another horror show, watching Michael Jordan develop feet of clay--or tripping over the feet of Derrick McKey--and losing, 92-89, to the Indiana Pacers, who tied the Eastern Conference finals, 3-3, and set up Game 7 in Chicago.

There went the Bulls’ five days off and a chance to rest before the finals. Coach Phil Jackson, who called Game 4 “Munich ’72 revisited,” ran out of metaphors but blasted the referees again, particularly Bulls’ nemesis Hue Hollins, who called a rare, late illegal defense, giving the Pacers the free throw that wiped out the last Bull lead with 1:27 left.

That was before the entire crew made no call on Jordan’s late drive, on which, replays suggested, he tripped over McKey’s foot.

“You guys saw it,” said Jackson, working on his second $10,000 fine in a week. “You saw the game. You saw the illegal-defense call with 1:27 in the game that evened up the game, changed the direction of the ballgame, which upset us. . . .

“And, obviously, they swallowed the whistle on the last play. It’s unfortunate. But that’s one thing I’ve learned, to isolate Michael so that call can be seen and made. It didn’t happen tonight.”

Pacer Coach Larry Bird, advised the replay showed his man got away with a trip, responded with a mild, “Really?

“I tell you,” Bird added, grinning, “if I see David Falk reffing the next game, I’ll know we’re in trouble.”

Falk is Jordan’s agent and will surely be there Sunday, since Mike’s first Game 7 since 1992 could be his last ever. The Bulls didn’t want it to come to this but Bird, reeling after his team’s Game 5 wipeout, sure did.

“I felt the guys just really quit on me,” he said. “That was one thing we’d been stressing the last couple days. We wanted more intensity. We wanted the guys to play harder, give it all we got, and if Chicago beats us, I can live with that.

The Pacers were ready. Before the game, they introduced Bobby Plump, the Milan guard who hit the title-winning shot against Muncie Central in the ’54 state final that inspired “Hoosiers.” Thousands of fans milled in the streets outside, watching on a giant TV screen.

Maybe they were too ready. Boomer, the mascot, added a cape to his costume and a fireworks launcher but as he slid down his rope during the pregame show, the cape flew up over the launcher and almost set his costume panther head on fire.

The team was ready too. Bulls’ drivers were jostled. On a near breakaway by Jordan, mild-mannered Chris Mullin came up from behind and swiped him across the head.

The game see-sawed. The Pacers led by 10 in the second period, the Bulls by five in the third, and the teams were never more than four points apart in the fourth quarter.

The Bulls led, 87-86, when Hollins called his illegal defense, on Scottie Pippen, naturally.

Hollins and Pippen have a history dating to a 1994 Bull-Knick series, when Hollins made a notorious call, ruling Pippen tipped Hubert Davis’ forearm on a shot in the closing seconds, with replays showing it occurred after the shot was away.

The Bulls have charged ever since that Hollins has it in for Pippen and show it whenever he works their games.

“This was one of those games,” Pippen said Friday, “when he finds a way to pick me out somehow.”

Reggie Miller’s free throw tied the score, 87-87. The Pacers inbounded the ball and Travis Best put them ahead with a running 10-foot bank over Steve Kerr.

At the other end, Jordan drove, was fouled and tied it with two free throws.

Best, guarded by Jordan, beat him into the lane with a spin move, forcing Jordan to foul him. Best made two free throws, putting the Pacers up, 91-89 with :08 left.

The Bulls set up the last play for Jordan, isolated on the left wing against McKey. Jordan started to his right, driving into the lane but, the replay showed, his left foot hit McKey’s left and there went the Bulls’ weekend.

“I know people may think I tripped over my foot,” Jordan said, “but I’m not that clumsy.”

You think the conspiracy theorists won’t have a ball with this one?