Bulls Win Thanks to the Heroics of Hoiberg

These definitely aren’t the same Chicago Bulls.

The franchise used to riding Michael Jordan to championships became the last team in the NBA to win a game this season, nearly blowing it, and the hero was Fred Hoiberg.

Hoiberg’s fourth-quarter shooting, rebounding and then his go-ahead free throw with 1.7 seconds left lifted the Bulls to a 92-91 victory over Boston on Saturday night at Chicago.

But Hoiberg’s strategy at the free throw line in the final seconds nearly turned disastrous.

Hoiberg was fouled driving through the lane and made his first free throw to break a 91-91 tie. He intentionally missed the second, firing a line drive at the basket, but it almost backfired when he was called for a lane violation.

That gave the Celtics one last chance with the ball at halfcourt, but Paul Pierce’s hurried shot at the buzzer was well off and Chicago became the last NBA team to win this season.

“Right as I was shooting the second one, I thought if it goes off the rim and comes right back to me, the game is over,” Hoiberg said.

The Bulls, ready to embark on a seven-game road trip, had lost their first five games, the second worst start in franchise history. The 1967-68 team started 0-9.

San Antonio 95, Charlotte 79--Tim Duncan had 22 points and 12 rebounds as the Spurs defeated the Hornets for their 16th consecutive home victory.

The Spurs, whose winning streak extends back to last season, beat the Hornets at home for the first time since a 109-107 victory on Nov. 11, 1995.

David Robinson had 16 points and 11 rebounds in 30 minutes for the Spurs. Avery Johnson had eight points and 12 assists, while reserve Malik Rose scored 14 points in 16 minutes.

Bobby Phills and Derrick Coleman each had 13 points for the Hornets. Elden Campbell had 12 rebounds with 10 points.

Detroit 107, Seattle 99--Grant Hill scored 10 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Pistons to their first home victory of the season..

Hill outdueled Seattle’s Gary Payton, who finished with 30 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

Detroit also got 24 points from Jerry Stackhouse and 13 points and 11 rebounds from Jerome Williams as they improved to 2-5 after an 0-4 start. Seattle (5-2) got 16 points from Ruben Patterson.

Minnesota 111, Phoenix 100--Radoslav Nesterovic scored 23 points, on 11-for-12 shooting, and Terrell Brandon added 21 as the Timberwolves defeated the Suns at Minneapolis.

Kevin Garnett added 16 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota, which won its third straight after losing the season-opener. Garnett has had a double-double in all four games this season.

Cleveland 117, Milwaukee 112--Bob Sura stripped the ball from former college teammate Sam Cassell with 1.1 seconds remaining to give the Cavaliers a victory over the Bucks at Cleveland.

Sura had 23 points and Brevin Knight had 18 and 12 assists for the Cavs, who outran the NBA’s second-highest scoring team. Kemp finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Dallas 125, Orlando 117--Michael Finley scored 28 and three teammates added 21 points apiece as the Mavericks ended a three-game losing streak with a victory the Magic at Dallas.

Chris Gatling scored 31 points to lead the Magic.

Cedric Ceballos, Robert Pack, Erick Strickland each had 21 points to help the Mavericks overcome an 11-point halftime deficit with their highest point total of the season.

Portland 131, Atlanta 95--Damon Stoudamire scored 20 points and led a dominant fast break for the Trail Blazers, who built a 32-point halftime lead and coasted past the Hawks at Portland.

Jermaine O’Neal scored 17 and Detlef Schrempf added 16 for the Blazers, who shot 65 percent, helped by a variety of dunks and easy layups in transition.

Portland improved to 6-1, tied with San Antonio for the best record in the NBA.

Indiana 105, Washington 83--Indiana’s Jalen Rose scored 16 points and was one of seven Pacers to finish in double figures in a victory over the Wizards at Indianapolis, extending the Wizards’ losing streak to six.

Washington was held scoreless for more than four minutes in the third quarter as Indiana took command with 13 consecutive points to lead, 80-50.

Reserve Gerard King had career-highs of 20 points and 16 rebounds, including 10 on the offensive end.

Houston 103, Golden State 95--Rookie Steve Francis scored 27 points and Walt Williams had 16 as the Rockets won their second consecutive game following an 0-5 start with a victory at Oakland.