Mercer, Bulls Send Spurs Crashing to Defeat, 105-104

Let the San Antonio Spurs say they played soft. The Chicago Bulls will take this victory--and they’ll take it with pride.

Ron Mercer scored 24 of his 33 points in the second half, including the go-ahead 17-foot jumper with 52 seconds to go, as the Chicago Bulls defeated the San Antonio Spurs, 105-104, on Thursday night at Chicago.

Brad Miller sealed the victory by making two free throws with four seconds left.

“It was just great for the whole team,” Mercer said. “Just great. Period.”

With a roster full of youngsters and few veterans, the Bulls needed their best game of the year to defeat San Antonio. They got it, shooting a season-best 54%.

Elton Brand had 22 points before fouling out with 1:45 left, and Miller finished with 11 points and six rebounds. Bryce Drew had 12 points and 11 assists.

“It was a terrific win for our guys,” Coach Tim Floyd said. “Hopefully we can build off of this.”

The Spurs, meanwhile, have to figure out where they go from here. They’re losing ground on the Western Conference leaders, and Coach Gregg Popovich is disgusted with the way his team is playing.

“I’m officially declaring us a soft team--both mentally and physically,” Popovich said. “It’s everybody’s fault, coaches and players alike.”

Portland 103, Utah 102--Damon Stoudamire scored nine of his season-high 32 points in overtime, including the winning jumper at Salt Lake City, as the Trail Blazers defeated the Jazz for the fourth consecutive time.

Scottie Pippen had 22 points and Rasheed Wallace added 21 as the Portland picked up its seventh victory in nine games.

Toronto 94, Denver 93--Vince Carter scored 25 points, including a three-pointbasket with 4.9 seconds left at Denver.

Mark Jackson had 11 points and a season-high 17 assists for the Raptors, who won for the first time in three games.

Boston 112, New Jersey 111--Milt Palacio made a three-point shot at the buzzer while falling down at East Rutherford, N.J.

Palacio’s only basket came after the Nets botched an inbounds pass at halfcourt with 1.8 seconds left. Paul Pierce scored 22 of his 25 points in the second half for Boston.

Sacramento 91, Charlotte 87--Chris Webber had 24 points and 10 rebounds as the Kings defeated the Hornets at Sacramento and ended Charlotte’s winning streak at seven.

Milwaukee 107, Cleveland 89--Sam Cassell and Ray Allen each scored 23 points to lead the Bucks at Cleveland to their fourth consecutive victory.

Orlando 102, Detroit 96--Darrell Armstrong had 22 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds as the Magic won for the 14th time in its last 15 home games against Detroit. Tracy McGrady led Orlando with 26 points.

Minnesota 88, Atlanta 81--Anthony Peeler scored 22 points at Minneapolis as the Timberwolves rallied to defeat the Hawks and end their season-high winning streak at four.