The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
47°F
Current Conditions
Few clouds
View complete weather report
Subscribe now

Bulls Remember, So Sonics Suffer

Associated Press

Just like Orlando and Indiana before them, the Seattle SuperSonics learned that a victory over the Chicago Bulls guarantees a whipping next time.

Michael Jordan scored 35 points and Scottie Pippen 29 as the Bulls overcame the ejection of Dennis Rodman to defeat Seattle 113-87 Wednesday night, avenging one of their three losses this season.

“We realize we can’t take those losses back,” Pippen said. “So the only thing we can do is pound them when they come in here.”

The Bulls blew an 18-point lead in losing at Seattle on Nov. 26. Their other losses were at Orlando and at Indiana, and Chicago responded with resounding victories in each succeeding meeting.

“We remember,” said Jordan, who also pulled down 14 rebounds, his high since coming out of retirement last March. “This team has a lot of character and wants to improve from our mistakes.”

Chicago needed Jordan’s work on the boards to go 18-0 at home and run its NBA-best record to 29-3.

Rodman, the Bulls’ top rebounder in 18 of his first 19 games, was assessed two technical fouls with 49.2 seconds left in the third quarter and finished with a season-low seven rebounds.

His first ejection since coming to Chicago provided the only drama after the Bulls opened a 63-45 lead by scoring the first 12 points of the second half.

Referee Ron Olesiak called Rodman for fouling Shawn Kemp. Rodman objected and Olesiak assessed a technical foul. Rodman kept arguing and Terry Durham hit Rodman with the second technical. Rodman went after Durham and was restrained by Pippen and Luc Longley. Finally, Rodman ran off the court, tearing off his jersey top and defiantly throwing it into the stands.

“It’s no big deal,” said Rodman, who had many battles with referees during his years in Detroit and San Antonio, but has been surprisingly controlled this season. “I had to make a statement out there.”

Said Jordan: “The crowd got a real kick out of it. Have you ever been to a race-car event? Everyone wants to see the race but they want to see an accident at some point. Well, everybody wants to see the Bulls but they want to see Dennis go crazy. Tonight, I think they got their money’s worth.”

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Bulls 113, SuperSonics 87 FG FT Reb SEATTLE Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts McMillan 34 3-8 2-2 2-5 5 4 9 Kemp 34 6-17 5-7 6-13 2 3 17 Perkins 26 4-13 0-0 4-9 3 1 10 Hawkins 34 3-11 6-6 0-0 1 1 13 Payton 28 3-7 0-0 0-1 3 4 8 Askew 25 3-10 3-3 1-2 4 5 10 Brickowski 20 4-8 0-0 1-2 0 1 8 Johnson 12 1-2 0-0 1-4 0 0 2 Wingate 15 2-8 0-0 0-0 1 1 4 Ford 4 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 Scheffler 4 2-2 0-0 1-1 0 1 4 Snow 4 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Totals 240 32-90 16-18 16-37 19 23 87 Percentages: FG .356, FT .889. 3-Point Goals: 7-26, .269 (Payton 2-4, Perkins 2-6, Askew 1-2, McMillan 1-4, Hawkins 1-7, Brickowski 0-1, Wingate 0-2). Team Rebounds: 5. Blocked shots: 2 (McMillan, Johnson). Turnovers: 16 (Kemp 4, McMillan 3, Payton 2, Brickowski 2, Johnson 2, Perkins, Hawkins, Askew). Steals: 13 (Hawkins 4, Payton 2, Johnson 2, Wingate 2, McMillan, Kemp, Perkins). Technical foul: Brickowski, 30.7 first. Illegal defense: None. FG FT Reb CHICAGO Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Pippen 38 9-15 6-9 1-7 5 1 29 Rodman 30 4-5 0-0 3-7 1 4 8 Longley 25 2-5 3-4 1-3 5 2 7 Harper 21 2-5 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 Jordan 36 14-25 6-7 1-14 5 2 35 Kukoc 18 3-5 1-1 2-6 2 1 8 Wennington 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 Kerr 23 4-6 0-0 0-2 3 0 10 Caffey 11 1-2 0-2 0-2 1 2 2 Simpkins 23 2-3 0-0 2-5 3 3 4 Buechler 9 1-1 0-0 1-2 1 0 2 Brown 4 2-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 4 Totals 240 44-74 16-23 11-48 27 19 113 Percentages: FG .595, FT .696. 3-Point Goals: 9-15, .600 (Pippen 5-9, Kerr 2-3, Kukoc 1-1, Jordan 1-2). Team Rebounds: 7. Blocked shots: 5 (Pippen 2, Longley, Jordan, Simpkins). Turnovers: 23 (Longley 5, Jordan 4, Kukoc 3, Pippen 2, Rodman 2, Harper 2, Simpkins 2, Buechler 2, Brown). Steals: 7 (Pippen 3, Harper 2, Kukoc, Kerr). Technical fouls: Longley, 10:36 second; Rodman 2, 49.2 third. Ejection: Rodman, 49.2 third. Illegal defense: None. Seattle 28 17 20 22 - 87 Chicago 26 25 31 31 - 113 A-23,877 (23,895). T-2:01. Officials-Ed Middleton, Terry Durham, Ron Olesiak.

This sidebar appeared with the story: Bulls 113, SuperSonics 87 FG FT Reb SEATTLE Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts McMillan 34 3-8 2-2 2-5 5 4 9 Kemp 34 6-17 5-7 6-13 2 3 17 Perkins 26 4-13 0-0 4-9 3 1 10 Hawkins 34 3-11 6-6 0-0 1 1 13 Payton 28 3-7 0-0 0-1 3 4 8 Askew 25 3-10 3-3 1-2 4 5 10 Brickowski 20 4-8 0-0 1-2 0 1 8 Johnson 12 1-2 0-0 1-4 0 0 2 Wingate 15 2-8 0-0 0-0 1 1 4 Ford 4 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 Scheffler 4 2-2 0-0 1-1 0 1 4 Snow 4 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Totals 240 32-90 16-18 16-37 19 23 87 Percentages: FG .356, FT .889. 3-Point Goals: 7-26, .269 (Payton 2-4, Perkins 2-6, Askew 1-2, McMillan 1-4, Hawkins 1-7, Brickowski 0-1, Wingate 0-2). Team Rebounds: 5. Blocked shots: 2 (McMillan, Johnson). Turnovers: 16 (Kemp 4, McMillan 3, Payton 2, Brickowski 2, Johnson 2, Perkins, Hawkins, Askew). Steals: 13 (Hawkins 4, Payton 2, Johnson 2, Wingate 2, McMillan, Kemp, Perkins). Technical foul: Brickowski, 30.7 first. Illegal defense: None. FG FT Reb CHICAGO Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Pippen 38 9-15 6-9 1-7 5 1 29 Rodman 30 4-5 0-0 3-7 1 4 8 Longley 25 2-5 3-4 1-3 5 2 7 Harper 21 2-5 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 Jordan 36 14-25 6-7 1-14 5 2 35 Kukoc 18 3-5 1-1 2-6 2 1 8 Wennington 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 Kerr 23 4-6 0-0 0-2 3 0 10 Caffey 11 1-2 0-2 0-2 1 2 2 Simpkins 23 2-3 0-0 2-5 3 3 4 Buechler 9 1-1 0-0 1-2 1 0 2 Brown 4 2-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 4 Totals 240 44-74 16-23 11-48 27 19 113 Percentages: FG .595, FT .696. 3-Point Goals: 9-15, .600 (Pippen 5-9, Kerr 2-3, Kukoc 1-1, Jordan 1-2). Team Rebounds: 7. Blocked shots: 5 (Pippen 2, Longley, Jordan, Simpkins). Turnovers: 23 (Longley 5, Jordan 4, Kukoc 3, Pippen 2, Rodman 2, Harper 2, Simpkins 2, Buechler 2, Brown). Steals: 7 (Pippen 3, Harper 2, Kukoc, Kerr). Technical fouls: Longley, 10:36 second; Rodman 2, 49.2 third. Ejection: Rodman, 49.2 third. Illegal defense: None. Seattle 28 17 20 22 - 87 Chicago 26 25 31 31 - 113 A-23,877 (23,895). T-2:01. Officials-Ed Middleton, Terry Durham, Ron Olesiak.