Sonics Can’t Beat Bulls At Worst Bulls Up 2-0, Thanks To Strong Effort From Rodman

It’s not a pretty thing, this coronation of the Chicago Bulls.

In an ugly Game 2 in which Dennis Rodman, of all people, was the only one looking good, the Bulls overcame a performance even worse than their rusty Game 1 effort and beat the Seattle SuperSonics 92-88 to take a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.

How gruesome was it? The Bulls scored only one basket from the field in the final six minutes, had their second-worst shooting night of the postseason (39 percent) and blew three straight free throws in the final 10 seconds that would have clinched it.

Finally, after a jump ball sequence that was so ugly it had to be done over two times, Rodman controlled the tip, got fouled and made the second of two foul shots for the final four-point margin.

The crowd at the United Center let out a scream of relief and walked to the exits shaking their heads, wondering how the supposed best team in the history of the league could have played such a stinker.

But as they did many times in the regular season and in the first three rounds of the playoffs, the Bulls managed to find a way to win despite playing near their worst.

Game 3 is Sunday at Seattle, and the Sonics will be trying to become only the third team in NBA history to successfully come back from an 0-2 deficit in the Finals.