Bulls Outpaced At Home; Miss Another Nba Mark

Chicago failed to tie the NBA record for home wins in a season, falling in its regular-season home finale as Eddie Johnson’s last-second free throw gave Indiana a 100-99 win.

The Bulls lost two of their last four regular-season games at the United Center after opening with a league-record 37 consecutive victories. They needed a win to tie the 1985-86 Boston Celtics’ mark of 40-1. The other home loss, to Charlotte on April 8, was also by one point.

Indiana set a team record with its 20th road victory despite playing without top scorer Reggie Miller, who will miss at least two more weeks with a fractured eye socket.

Pacers 100, Bulls 99

Indiana (100) - McKey 6-8 0-0 12, D.Davis 6-12 4-10 16, Smits 5-11 7-11 17, Workman 1-3 0-0 2, Jackson 4-8 4-4 12, Pierce 2-5 6-6 10, Johnson 1-4 1-2 3, A.Davis 2-5 3-6 7, Best 6-8 1-2 13, Ferrell 3-9 0-0 6, Hoiberg 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 37-74 26-41 100.

Chicago (99) - Rodman 3-4 0-0 6, Kukoc 8-13 0-2 20, Longley 3-7 0-0 6, Pippen 5-11 0-0 11, Jordan 9-23 4-5 24, Edwards 2-5 3-4 7, Kerr 2-9 0-0 6, Buechler 4-6 0-0 10, Brown 2-9 1-2 5, Salley 2-3 0-0 4, Simpkins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 40-90 8-13 99.

Indiana 27 25 25 23 - 100

Chicago 30 20 27 22 - 99

3-Point goals-Indiana 0-2 (Workman 0-1, Johnson 0-1), Chicago 11-25 (Kukoc 4-7, Buechler 2-2, Kerr 2-5, Jordan 2-5, Pippen 1-4, Brown 0-2). Fouled out-Edwards. Rebounds- Indiana 54 (A.Davis 11), Chicago 53 (Rodman 15). Assists- Indiana 15 (Jackson 5), Chicago 27 (Jordan, Brown 6). Total fouls-Indiana 16, Chicago 31. Technical-Chicago illegal defense. A-23,784 (21,771).

Cavaliers 75, Pistons 73

Cleveland Bobby Phills stripped the ball from Grant Hill with 1.1 seconds left, preserving Cleveland’s victory over Detroit as the Cavaliers clinched homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

The Pistons, who got 26 points from Allan Houston, are now assured of opening the playoffs on the road.

Both teams finish the regular season today, Cleveland at Indiana and Detroit at home against Milwaukee.

Detroit (73) - G.Hill 4-13 0-0 8, Thorpe 5-8 0-0 10, Reid 1-2 0-0 2, Houston 9-10 4-4 26, Dumars 3-7 7-9 14, Curry 3-6 2-2 8, Hunter 0-1 0-0 0, T.Mills 2-9 1-2 5. Totals 27-56 14-17 73.

Cleveland (75) - C.Mills 9-15 0-0 18, Ferry 5-9 0-0 11, Cage 3-5 0-0 6, Phills 9-17 2-4 21, Brandon 5-16 1-2 12, Majerle 2-6 0-0 5, T.Hill 0-0 0-2 0, Sura 1-6 0-0 2. Totals 34-74 3-8 75.

Detroit 22 18 13 20 - 73

Cleveland 23 19 18 15 - 75

3-Point goals-Detroit 5-10 (Houston 4-4, Dumars 1-2, Hunter 0-1, T.Mills 0-3), Cleveland 4-16 (Ferry 1-1, Majerle 1-3, Phills 1-4, Brandon 1-5, C.Mills 0-1, Sura 0-2). Fouled out- None. Rebounds-Detroit 40 (G.Hill, Houston 7), Cleveland 37 (C.Mills 8). Assists-Detroit 20 (Dumars 7), Cleveland 23 (Brandon 8). Total fouls-Detroit 17, Cleveland 17. Technical- Cleveland illegal defense. A-20,562 (20,562).

Hawks 121, Nets 99

Atlanta

Christian Laettner and Mookie Blaylock scored 20 points apiece as Atlanta outscored New Jersey 34-15 in the third quarter en route to a rout.

Atlanta goes into the final day of the regular season with a 45-36 record, tied with Detroit for the sixth playoff spot and one game behind New York for fifth. Today, the Hawks are at Miami, Detroit plays host to Milwaukee and New York travels to Boston.

In any tiebreaker scenario, either head-to-head or three-way, Atlanta would win out over the Knicks and Pistons. That could be significant since fifth place means a first-round series against Cleveland, while the seventhplace team gets defending conference champion Orlando.

New Jersey (99) - Williams 16-25 3-5 35, Brown 2-7 3-3 7, Bradley 3-9 0-2 6, Reeves 2-4 2-3 7, Childs 10-16 0-1 24, Fleming 1-3 0-0 2, Mahorn 1-3 1-2 3, Graham 4-11 0-0 10, Werdann 2-4 1-2 5. Totals 41-82 10-18 99.

Atlanta (121) - Augmon 5-9 0-0 10, Long 4-10 2-2 11, Laettner 9-11 2-2 20, Smith 4-9 11-11 19, Blaylock 7-13 2-2 20, Ehlo 1-6 1-2 3, Henderson 2-2 1-2 5, Rooks 5-6 0-0 10, Jordan 5-7 1-1 11, Bullard 3-3 0-0 8, Boyce 1-6 0-0 2, Norman 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 47-83 20-22 121.

New Jersey 23 32 15 29 - 99

Atlanta 32 26 34 29 - 121

3-Point goals-New Jersey 7-18 (Childs 4-9, Graham 2-7, Reeves 1-2), Atlanta 7-20 (Blaylock 4-10, Bullard 2-2, Long 1-3, Smith 0-1, Rooks 0-1, Ehlo 0-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-New Jersey 44 (Bradley 10), Atlanta 43 (Laettner 9). Assists-New Jersey 24 (Reeves 5), Atlanta 23 (Blaylock 5). Total fouls-New Jersey 21, Atlanta 19. Technicals-New Jersey illegal defense 2, Mookie Blaylock. A-11,238 (16,378).

Jazz 104, Kings 92

Salt Lake City

Karl Malone scored 18 points in just 23 minutes and Utah tied its second-best season-win total of 55.

Utah, seeded third, will open the postseason at home Thursday night against No. 6 Portland. Sacramento will be at top-seeded Seattle on Friday.

Sacramento (92) - Polynice 10-16 1-2 21, Grant 4-7 3-4 11, Causwell 0-3 0-0 0, Richmond 4-7 4-5 13, Edney 1-3 4-6 6, Hurley 1-3 2-2 5, Owens 2-5 2-2 6, Smith 3-5 0-2 6, Williamson 0-3 0-0 0, Simmons 5-10 0-0 13, Gamble 5-10 0-0 11. Totals 35-72 16-23 92.

Utah (104) - Benoit 4-10 0-0 8, Malone 8-9 2-4 18 , Spencer 2-4 0-0 4, Hornacek 4-7 0-0 8, Stockton 2-2 0-0 4, Ostertag 6-11 2-2 14, Eisley 3-9 0-0 8, Keefe 4-9 0-1 8, Foster 1-7 0-0 2, Carr 3-9 2-2 8, Morris 3-5 4-4 11, Russell 2-4 5-6 11. Totals 42-86 15-19 104.

Sacramento 25 23 27 17 - 92

Utah 24 30 30 20 - 104

3-Point goals-Sacramento 6-15 (Simmons 3-4, Richmond 1-3, Hurley 1-3, Gamble 1-4, Edney 0-1), Utah 5-12 (Eisley 2-3, Russell 2-3, Morris 1-3, Hornacek 0-1, Benoit 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Sacramento 39 (Smith 10), Utah 53 (Foster 9). Assists-Sacramento 20 (Hurley 7), Utah 27 (Eisley 7). Total fouls-Sacramento 18, Utah 20. A-19,911 (19,911).

Lakers 106, Timberwolves 82

Inglewood, Calif.

Cedric Ceballos scored 22 of his 36 points in the second half as Los Angeles routed Minnesota, giving Del Harris his 100th victory as their head coach.

The Lakers, who have gone 36-12 after a 17-17 start, conclude their regular schedule today at Portland before starting their first-round playoff series against the two-time defending NBA champion Houston Rockets next Thursday night at the Forum.

Minnesota (82) - Garnett 6-13 2-3 14, Gugliotta 5-15 5-6 15, Lang 6-11 0-0 12, Rider 1-7 1-1 4, Webb 3-10 0-0 7, West 3-7 0-0 6, Porter 2-10 0-0 4, Mitchell 5-11 2-2 12, Davis 1-4 1-2 3, Allen 1-2 0-0 3, Bragg 1-2 0-0 2, Riley 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-93 11-14 82.

L.A. Lakers (106) - Ceballos 14-22 8-9 36, Lynch 2-7 2-3 6, Campbell 5-8 1-2 11, Jones 8-14 1-2 19, Threatt 1-4 0-0 2, Strong 2-10 1-2 5, Peeler 6-17 1-1 16, Roberts 3-5 0-0 6, Blount 2-5 1-2 5. Totals 43-92 15-21 106.

Minnesota 25 24 19 14 - 82

L.A. Lakers 28 27 23 28 - 106

3-Point goals-Minnesota 3-12 (Allen 1-2, Rider 1-2, Webb 1-2, Gugliotta 0-1, Lang 0-1, Porter 0-4), Los Angeles 5-24 (Peeler 3-8, Jones 2-6, Roberts 0-1, Blount 0-1, Strong 0-2, Threatt 0-2, Ceballos 0-4). Fouled out-None. Rebounds- Minnesota 58 (Gugliotta 12), Los Angeles 59 (Strong 10). Assists-Minnesota 15 (Porter 5), Los Angeles 23 (Jones 8). Total fouls-Minnesota 20, Los Angeles 14. Technical-Los Angeles coach Harris. A-17,505 (17,505).