Jazz Continue Trend Against Spurs
This time, it was San Antonio’s turn to get trounced by the Utah Jazz.
Karl Malone scored 23 points and John Stockton had 13 points and 19 assists as Utah routed San Antonio 95-75 Tuesday night in San Antonio to win the opener of their Western Conference semifinal playoff series.
After holding Portland to an NBA playoff-low 64 points in Game 5 of their opening-round series on Sunday, the Jazz came up with another defensive gem against San Antonio.
“Our defense stepped up again,” said Utah guard Jeff Hornacek, who scored nine of his 17 points in the third quarter. “We made them take tough shots.”
The Spurs, who were booed in the Alamodome as they lost the home-court advantage in the best-of-seven series, have never won a playoff series after losing the first game. Game 2 is Thursday in San Antonio.
Stockton and Hornacek were a combined 12 for 22 from the field, compared to 4 for 19 for Vinny Del Negro and Avery Johnson of San Antonio. Johnson also had just five assists.
David Robinson led the Spurs with 29 points and six rebounds. Sean Elliott added 14 points for the Spurs, who shot 42 percent from the field.
Jazz 95, Spurs 75
Utah (95) - Morris 6-11 0-0 13, Malone 10-23 3-5 23, Spencer 3-6 0-0 6, Hornacek 7-12 1-1 17, Stockton 5-10 2-2 13, Eisley 0-2 0-0 0, Ostertag 0-4 0-0 0, Russell 4-7 0-0 11, Carr 2-6 0-0 4, Keefe 3-7 2-2 8. Totals 40-88 8-10 95.
San Antonio (75) - Elliott 2-7 9-13 14, Smith 2-5 0-0 4, Robinson 9-12 11-18 29, Del Negro 1-11 1-1 3, Johnson 3-8 0-0 6, Perdue 4-6 0-0 8, Person 3-6 1-2 8, Alexander 1-2 1-2 3, Herrera 0-1 0-0 0, Williams 0-2 0-0 0, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-60 23-36 75.
Utah 29 17 28 21 - 95
San Antonio 18 23 20 14 - 75
3-Point goals-Utah 7-14 (Russell 3-3, Hornacek 2-5, Morris 1-3, Stockton 1-3), San Antonio 2-5 (Elliott 1-1, Person 1-2, Del Negro 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Utah 53 (Malone 7), San Antonio 45 (Perdue 7). Assists-Utah 31 (Stockton 19), San Antonio 19 (Johnson 5). Total fouls-Utah 30, San Antonio 16. Technicals-Malone, Utah coach Sloan, Utah illegal defense 2, San Antonio illegal defense. A-15,112 (20,662).
Bulls 91, Knicks 80
Chicago
Scottie Pippen discovered his shooting touch just in time for the Chicago Bulls.
Pippen, just 3 for 16 through the first three quarters, made his first four shots in the final period as the Bulls broke open a close game and beat New York for a 2-0 lead in their second-round playoff series.
Michael Jordan, who finished with 28 points, carried the Bulls for the first three quarters as Chicago struggled against New York’s aggressive defense.
Then Pippen, just 4 of 15 in Game 1, found the range. He hit a jumper, a 3-pointer and then a dunk to cap a 12-0 spurt that put the Bulls up 76-63 with 7 minutes left. Pippen finished with 19 points
New York’s frustration began to surface right after the Bulls took control.
Patrick Ewing charged toward Chicago assistant coach Jim Cleamons, who said something to Ewing from the Bulls bench. Referee Jess Kersey restrained Ewing and a double technical was assessed. There were five technicals called in the final period.
Games 3 and 4 in the best-of-seven series are Saturday and Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
New York (80) - Oakley 3-10 3-6 9, Mason 5-10 0-0 10, Ewing 9-19 5-9 23, Starks 2-5 8-8 12, D.Harper 4-13 0-0 11, Davis 0-4 1-2 1, Grant 2-5 0-0 6, Williams 1-2 0-0 2, Anderson 2-6 2-2 6. Totals 28-74 19-27 80.
Chicago (91) - Pippen 7-21 2-2 19, Rodman 3-4 0-0 6, Longley 3-6 0-0 6, R.Harper 5-13 3-4 15, Jordan 11-25 5-5 28, Kukoc 2-7 2-2 6, Kerr 2-5 0-0 5, Buechler 0-2 0-0 0, Edwards 1-2 0-0 2, Wennington 1-1 1-2 3, Salley 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 35-86 14-17 91.
New York 19 22 18 21 - 80
Chicago 22 20 19 30 - 91
3-Point goals-New York 5-19 (D.Harper 3-8, Grant 2-3, Oakley 0-1, Starks 0-1, Anderson 0-2, Davis 0-4), Chicago 7-21 (Pippen 3-7, R.Harper 2-3, Kerr 1-2, Jordan 1-3, Buechler 0-2, Kukoc 0-4). Fouled out-None. Rebounds- New York 48 (Oakley 11), Chicago 60 (Rodman 19). Assists- New York 13 (D.Harper 5), Chicago 19 (Pippen 6). Total fouls-New York 21, Chicago 26. Technicals-Ewing, D.Harper, Starks, Chicago assistant coach Cleamons, R.Harper. A-24,328 (21,771).
Houston hopes to cool Seattle
The Seattle SuperSonics can’t continue shooting as they did in Game 2 against the Houston Rockets. Can they?
“They haven’t shot like that all year,” Rockets guard Mario Elie said. “Here comes Sam Perkins. Here comes Gary Payton. Here comes Nate McMillan. They can’t keep shooting like that in Houston.”
Seattle hit a playoff record 20 of 27 3-point shots in Monday’s 105-101 victory that gave them a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference semifinal playoff series.
Houston guard Kenny Smith thinks better defense in Friday night’s Game 3 will help cool the SuperSonics.
“They hit some tough shots,” Smith said. “But a lot of shots, they had nobody in their face. We’ve got to rotate quicker. We’ve got to always have a hand in their faces to at least make it tougher.”
The Rockets set an NBA playoff record with 19 3-pointers against Utah last season.
“Shooting 27 3-pointers and making 20, that’s not even realistic,” guard Sam Cassell said. “But it happened. Those guys made some great shots - 3s, 2s and free throws. It was just their night.”
The Rockets are pinning their hopes on the home court and their playoff resiliency to get back into the series.
The Rockets have been down 0-2 in the conference semifinals each of the past two years against Phoenix and they rebounded each time to win NBA titles.
“The series doesn’t even start until you are faced with elimination,” Smith said. “That’s when it officially starts. Phoenix blew us out three times last year. They had our number. But we fought back and won.”
The Rockets took Tuesday off before beginning practice for Game 3 on Friday night in The Summit. Game 4 is in Houston on Sunday.
xxxx NBA playoffs Today’s game Atlanta at Orlando, 5 p.m. (TNT)