Pippen Leads the Rout in His Return to Chicago

Scottie Pippen’s role in the Bulls’ glorious past was there for all to see. A 2 1/2-minute video tribute highlighting his 11-year career that produced six championships flashed across a huge scoreboard Monday night at Chicago.

Once the welcome-home festivities were over and the warm ovation ended, it was time to play basketball.

Pippen had 11 points and six assists in his return to Chicago as the Portland Trail Blazers did what nearly every team has done since he and Michael Jordan left--they routed the overmatched Bulls, 88-63, holding Chicago to the fewest points in the NBA this season.

“It was very emotional for me, but I tried to handle it as well as possible realizing I had a game to play,” Pippen said. “I’m just glad I didn’t have to make a speech. I was able to sort of work my way out of that.

“It was something that brought back a lot of memories for me, a lot of things I miss about this city, playing in this arena.”

The Bulls shot only 34%.

“You want to feel sorry for them, but you can’t,” Pippen said.

After missing his first two shots, Pippen made three of his next four and also went high to block a layup attempt by former teammate Randy Brown.

Utah 109, Denver 89--Karl Malone scored 33 points and Bryon Russell added 17 as the Jazz won at Salt Lake City.

Jazz rookie Quincy Lewis added a career-high 14 points, and John Stockton handed out 18 assists as Utah won its 11th game in its last 14.

Detroit 118, Orlando 106--Grant Hill scored a season-high 42 points as the Pistons ended a 13-game losing streak at Orlando, Fla.

Hill made 17 of 30 field-goal attempts as the Pistons won their fourth in a row.

Boston 105, Cleveland 98--Antoine Walker had 32 points and 13 rebounds, both game highs, as the Celtics won on their new parquet floor.

Washington 99, Golden State 87--Mitch Richmond scored 19 points at Washington as the Wizards extended the Warriors’ losing streak to six and kept them winless under new Coach Garry St. Jean.

Around the League

Broadcast.com co-founder Mark Cuban agreed to buy the Dallas Mavericks from Ross Perot Jr. for about $280 million, according to media reports. Cuban, a billionaire since selling his company to Yahoo!, would be paying more than double the estimated $125 million Perot’s group paid less than four years ago, according to the Dallas Morning News, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and WFAA-TV. The sale is expected to be completed in March. Neither Perot nor Cuban could be reached for comment.