1997-11-04, By Jerry Briggs
CHICAGO - Michael Jordan’s clutch shooting and defensive prowess down the stretch gave the defending champion Chicago Bulls an 87-83 double-overtime victory over the Spurs on Monday night before 23,868 at the United Center.
Jordan hit a jump shot, made a steal and sank a free throw in the final minute of the second extra period to seal the win.
It was a heartbreaker for the previously undefeated Spurs, who led by 16 points early in the game.
But Jordan wouldn’t let the Bulls lose. He saved his teammates with a three-pointer at the buzzer in regulation. Jordan also nailed a big shot at the end of the first overtime.
Jordan finished with 29 points, 13 rebounds and five steals in 48 minutes.
“Both teams competed hard,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “The Bulls showed why they are the best team in the world.”
Playing without injured All-Star Scottie Pippen, the Bulls improved to 2-1. The Spurs fell to 2-1 despite 19 points and 22 rebounds from rookie Tim Duncan.
Spurs center David Robinson also scored 21 and pulled down 12 rebounds in 48 minutes, by far his most playing time since the preseason started in October.
Bulls forward Dennis Rodman punished Robinson, his former teammate, with 2:39 left. After Robinson drove for a dunk, Rodman (22 rebounds) threw a shoulder into the Spurs center’s back.
The blow knocked Robinson to the floor, where he stayed on his knees and hands for a few seconds. It cost the Bulls a technical foul, and it sent Spurs guard Jaren Jackson to the line to make a free throw. The play will be remembered by the Spurs.
When Jackson hit the free throw, it sliced the Bulls’ lead to 83-82. From there, Jordan took over again. He had his shot blocked by Robinson, but he retreated on defense stole it underneath the basket from a driving Johnson.
Then, with two Spurs defenders in his face on the other end, he swished a fade-away, 15-footer with 31.4 seconds left to put the Bulls up by three. Chicago’s Ron Harper forced Sean Elliott to miss a wild three at the other end that would have tied the game.
Jordan, subsequently, hit a clinching free throw with 11 seconds left for a four-point lead.
In analyzing how the game was lost, the Spurs could only blame themselves for letting it slip away. After they hit 13 of 24 from the field in a first quarter, the offense sputtered the rest of the way. They managed to make only 21 of 64 to the final buzzer.
Despite their shooting woes, they also fell victim to some hard luck - especially on the last play of regulation.
With 5.9 seconds left and the Bulls trailing by three, Jordan had his three-pointer blocked by Robinson. It ping-ponged out to Toni Kukoc, who also misfired on a trey.
As Johnson and Chicago’s Steve Kerr battled for the ball, it skipped out to Jordan, who buried the game-tying trey and sent the crowd into delirium.
“On two possessions you make stops,” Popovich said. “Then you come up empty. It’s a heartbreaker.”
Jordan struck again with 21.9 seconds left in the first extra period, nailing a 16-footer with two men in his face to tie it at 79-79. Johnson missed a hook shot on the other end, sending it into the second overtime.
The Spurs held a listles Jordan to five points in the first half and went into intermission with a 45-35 lead.
Robinson hit a running hook on the game’s first possession to spark an 8-0 Spurs run. Duncan added to the Bulls’ misery with seven points and seven rebounds in the quarter, as the Spurs silenced the home crowd and went up 29-15.
The Spurs, who shot 62 percent in the first period, cooled off in the second when the Bulls picked up their defensive intensity and closed to within 10 at the half.
Nothing came easily for the Spurs in the third period. The Bulls went to Jordan almost exclusively for the first six minutes, and he responded with 14 quick points, including a tomahawk slam over the top of Duncan.
The Spurs hit only 20 percent of their field goals in the quarter (4 of 20). They particularly missed the perimeter shooting of guard Vinny Del Negro, who sprained his ankle early in the half and didn’t return.
A drive by Elliott gave the Spurs a 57-53 lead going into the fourth.
- Spurs notes: Team owner Peter Holt denied a published report that the Spurs are in the hunt for Sacramento Kings guard Mitch Richmond, the subject of widespread trade rumors.
“We talked about it (within the organization), but it never went any further than that,” Holt said. “We’re not in any trade talks (with other teams) right now. I think everyone is pretty happy with what we have.”
The Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat reportedly are the most interested in Richmond, one of the league’s leading scorers and an All- Star for the past several seasons.
By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News