Thursday, April 30, 1998
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 7
Jordan's 38 ends Nets' run
The Associated Press
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. —Bring on the next victim. Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls are back in championship form.
Jordan and the Bulls made sure the New Jersey Nets ended their first playoff appearance in four years with nothing more than a little respect by posting yet another first-round sweep.
Jordan hit 15 of his first 18 shots and scored 38 points yesterday night as the Bulls ended the best-of-five series with a 116-101 victory against the upstart but injured Nets.
"When I am in that kind of rhythm it really doesn't matter. And I felt that early on in the game," Jordan said. "When I took my first three, I knew I was on."
The first-round sweep was the third straight for the two-time defending NBA champions, and it gave them a 24-1 record in the opening round.
"We knew their backs were to the wall, and we just took it to them," Jordan said. "It's important to get it over with quick. It gives us a chance to get ready."
The Bulls will play either Charlotte or Atlanta in the second round. The Hornets lead the series 2-1 with Game 4 at Atlanta tonight.
"Weain't going nowhere, no time soon," said Bulls guard Ron Harper. "Everybody is saying how old we are, and that weaint going
Jordan: Found his rhythm early in last night's playoff game
now here.
We're here
until June.
That's our
goal. To be
here till June,
not to leave
early."
Scott Burrell supported Jordan by hitting nine of 11 shots from the field and scoring 23 points, including 11
in the third quarter when Chicago opened a 93-76 lead. Dennis Rodman added 17 rebounds as Chicago outrebounded New Jersey 35-21, limiting New Jersey to 10 boards in the first 36 minutes.
"We competed; we played hard. We can walk away from this with our heads high," Nets forward Chris Gatling said. "We lost to the better team."
Sherman Douglas, again filling in for the injured Sam Cassell, led the Nets with 19 points. Gatling and Keith Van Horn each had 18, and Kendall Gill had 17 for New Jersey, which lost despite out-shooting Chicago from the field, 60 percent to 56 percent.
The Nets had rallied from big deficits and made the Bulls struggle in the first two games in Chicago, and they thought that playing before a home crowd would make a difference.
It didn't, even though the fans
CHICAGO (116)
CHICAGO 116, NEW JERSEY 101
Pippen 2-12 9-10 13, Kukoc 6-10 10-0, Rodman 5-13 0-0 11, Jordan 16-1
22 4-5 18, Harper 5-6 0-0 12, Burrell 9-11 1-2 22 3, Kerr 2-5 0-0 4,
Wennington 1-1 0-0 2, Simpkins 0-1 0-0 0, Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Buechler 0-0 0 0.
Totals 46-82 15-17 116
NEW JERSEY (101)
Gill 8-13 1-2 17, Van Horn 5-9 8-11 18, Williams 1-3 1-2 3, Kittes 5-8 4-1 6, Douglas 9-15 0-1 9, Harris 2-3 0-1 0, Gatling 7-12 4-1 6, Seikaly 1-1 2-3 4, Cassell 1-1 0-0 2, Evans 0-0 0-0 0, Vaughn 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 39-65 20-28 101.
35-26-32-23—116
28-24-24-25—101
Chicago New Jersey
3-Point goals —Chicago 9-16 (Burrill 3-5, Jordan 2-2, Harper 2-2, Rodman 1-1, Kukoc 1-2, Pippen 0-1, Kerr 0-3), New Jersey 3-8 (Kittles 2-5, Douglas 1-2, Harris 0-1) Fouled out —Rodman Rebounds —Chicago 44 (Rodman 17), New Jersey 28 (Williams 10), Assists —Chicago 26 (Pippen 10), New Jersey 17 (Douglas 8) Total fouls —Chicago 22, New Jersey 17. Technicals —Douglas A. 19,899 (20,049).
booed Jordan and his team more than they had in the past.
On the court, nothing changed, and the Nets' problems were compounded by Jordan's sizzling shooting. He opened with a three-point basket and then proceeded to sink one jumper after another, most of the time with a defender not too far away. He finished 16-of-22 from the field.
Both teams shots about 65 percent in the opening half, but the Bulls opened a 61-52 lead. Chicago broke the game open midway through the third quarter with a 14-6 spurt that included nine
straight by Burrell.
The Nets made one desperate run in the fourth quarter, closing to 97-85.
However, Jordan made several fakes on Kerry Kitties on the left wing and hit another jumper. As the crowd groaned, Jordan put his finger to his lips and mouthed "shhhh."
"Michael Jordan was on fire, and whenever we made a run, he seemed to make a three or hit a couple of big baskets," Van Horn said. "He was in a zone. It didn't matter who we threw at him. He was going to score."
Spurs cool Suns' heat in playoffs
The Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO — Once again, the San Antonio Spurs relied on a one-two punch to knock out the opposition. Only this time, the players weren't David Robinson and Tim Duncan.
Avery Johnson continued his sizzling playoff run with a career-high 30 points, and Chuck Person's three-point shooting helped ignite a decisive second-half surge as the Spurs defeated Phoenix 99-80 Wednesday night to win their opening-round series 3-1.
"We couldn't get anything going until Avery and Chuck stepped up," said Robinson, who finished with 15 points and 21 rebounds but shot only three-of-12 from the field.
Johnson and Person came through on a night when San Antonio stars Robinson and Duncan struggled early against double-teams.
Duncan, the NBA's rookie of the year,
had only 11 points and five
rebounds for the Spurs, who pulled away from a 50-50 tie late in the third quarter.
But Johnson, who averaged 20 points in the series after scoring only 10 points per game in the regular season, scored nine points during a 29-6 surge that put the Spurs ahead 79-56 with 6:53 left.
"They are a dangerous team, and I didn't want to go back to Phoenix, even if they do have a nice restaurant connected to the hotel," Johnson said.
Person, who averaged only 6.7 points during the regular season, hit three three-pointers during the key run and finished with 18 points. Overall, he was six-of-eight from three-point range.
"They are a dangerous team, and I didn't want to go back to Phoenix, even if they do have a nice restaurant connected to the hotel."
Avery Johnson
San Antonio Spurs playe
"Obviously, I've slowed down a lot because my back has been a problem," Person said, referring to back surgery he had 18 months ago. "But coach has been limiting my minutes, and I was fresh tonight."
The Spurs led by only seven points entering the fourth quarter, but they opened the final period with a 17-1 run to break the game open.
"We had a good season, but we should have been more competitive in this series," said Suns guard Jason Kidd, who finished with 12 points.
With the Suns trailing 81-57 with 5:06 remaining, Phoenix guard Steve Nash committed a hard foul on Johnson, who then walked up to Nash and bumped chests. Players from both teams then started pushing and shoving each other before they were separated.
Kevin Johnson led the Suns with 18 points. Nash, who started in place of injured Rex Chapman, finished with 13 points after four-of-13 shooting.
Johnson, Duncan and Antonio McDyess of the Suns each got technical fouls.
"Going into the season, if you would have told me that we would be the fourth seed for the playoffs, I would have been very pleased." Suns coach Danny Ainge said. "Unfortunately, we didn't play well against the Spurs."
San Antonio will play the winner of the Utah-Houston series in the second round.
Knicks will face Miami without Patrick Ewing
Fractured wrist will keep player out of Game 4,5
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Patrick Ewing will not, repeat, will not be playing for the New York Knicks as they face elimination by the Miami Heat.
Not in Game 4 and not in Game 5, according to the Knicks.
"Again, I don't know how much I can say this. He's not playing in this series. I'm not sure why no one will accept that answer," coach Jeff Van Gundy said yesterday after the Knicks went through what might have been their final practice of the season on the eve of tonight's Game 4.
Ewing, who severely fractured his right wrist in late December, has been practicing with the team but has not been given clearance to play by the team's medical staff.
The Knicks have been insisting for almost two weeks that Ewing will not be available for the first round, yet fans have kept their hopes up, perhaps wishing for a recreated Willis Reed moment.
Reed provided the franchise with perhaps its most memorable moment by hobbling out of the tunnel for the start of Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals and scoring the first two baskets, spurring the Knicks to the championship.
Before this first-round series began, even Miami coach Pat Riley said he expected Ewing to play. He acknowledged yesterday that a return by Ewing was "unlikely, but you've got to be ready for it."
Ewing offered no comment yesterday other than to say: "Ask Dr. Scott."
That would be team physician Norman Scott, who has said he would not clear Ewing to play until he has regained nearly 100 percent of his strength and range of motion, making it look to some like the Knicks are more interested in protecting their $68 million investment than winning.
"The doctors have the best interests of the player at heart, so I don't know about any conspiracy to save money." Van Gundy said.
"We don't want him to fall on that wrist and re-injure it so that he couldn't play next year," forward Buck Williams said. "Once
he can handle a fall, I'm sure he'll play."
As far as Van Gundy is concerned, what the Knicks really need is someone coming out of the tunnel who can defend Voshon Lenard.
The Miami shooting guard scored 25 and 28 points in Games 2 and 3, respectively, negating New York's ability to limit the production of Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway.
"There's only one two-guard that's ever hurt us in back-to-back games as much as Voshon Lenard did, and that's Michael Jordan," Van Gundy said. "Reggie Miller? Never two games in a row. But this guy, two games in a row he's looked square in the eye and said, 'I'll take any one of you any time I want', and he has."
Van Gundy also needs his entire team to come out of the tunnel and play tough defense and intelligent offense, unlike Game 3 when it blew numerous opportunities down the stretch to reduce its deficit below four points.
The Knicks' No. 1 offensive option, Allan Houston, scored 18 points in the first quarter but shot 0-for-6 in a scoreless fourth. Option No. 2, Larry Johnson, fumbled the ball in the final minutes against a collapsing triple-team, causing a jump ball that Miami controlled.
"We played frantic and frustrated instead of intense and intelligent," Van Gundy said. "Voson Lenard let us know during the game that he was busting our butts, and so did Eric Murdock. And you know what, they did. So they had every right to talk. We didn't guard them one time, and they shot layups unimpeded."
John Starks missed practice yesterday to be with his ailing grandmother, but he was expected to be in uniform for Game 4. He is one of the players who will be asked to stop Lenard, and journeyman forward Anthony Bowie also could draw the assignment.
Miami likely will stick with Jamal Mashburn in the starting lineup instead of the injured Dan Majleer.
Chris Dudley probably will start at center for the second straight game, and Terry Cummings, despite spraining a toe Tuesday, will be available as his backup.
"It's obvious we want to close it out," Riley said. "It's also obvious the team most desperate has won each game. Is it their turn to have the edge? We have to ask that question."
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