Bulls Rebound For 3-1 Lead

For three quarters, it was Scottie Pippen’s show. He stepped outside to hit 3-pointers. He drove the lane for dunks. He dished out wondrous passes. He shut down Atlanta’s top scorer.

The fourth quarter, though, belonged to Michael Jordan.

Carrying the Bulls almost single-handedly when they seemed on the verge of blowing a huge lead, Jordan scored 10 of his 27 points in the final 12 minutes Sunday and Chicago held off the Hawks for an 89-80 victory and a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals at Atlanta.

“Scottie set the tone,” Jordan said. “I like to finish it up.”

This was the Jordan of old - not the Jordan who was starting to look old earlier in the series. He floated through the air on a couple of improbable shots that brought a wide grin to the face of His Airness, as if he’s still amazed at himself after all these years.

“Atlanta made a run for it in the fourth quarter, but we were just able to hold them off,” Jordan said. “I wanted to conserve my energy to have something left for the final minutes.”

Pippen scored 26 points and played a superb all-around game as the Bulls took command of the best-of-7 series with victories on consecutive days against one of the best home teams in the league. Chicago can wrap it up when the teams return to the United Center on Tuesday night for Game 5.

Trailing by as many as 24 points in the second half, the Hawks made a serious run at the Bulls in the fourth quarter. A 16-2 spurt brought Atlanta within 83-80 in the final minute, but Jordan hit two free throws, Ron Harper made two more and Jordan closed it with a steal and dunk.

Bulls 89, Hawks 80

Chicago (89) - Pippen 8-17 6-8 26, Caffey 4-6 0-0 8, Longley 3-3 0-0 6, Jordan 12-22 3-5 27, Harper 0-3 2-2 2, Kerr 2-6 0-0 4, Williams 3-3 1-2 7, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Kukoc 2-5 5-5 9, Buechler 0-1 0-0 0, Rodman 0-1 0-2 0, Parish 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 34-70 17-24 89.

Atlanta (80) - Corbin 0-5 0-0 0, Laettner 8-25 4-6 21, Mutombo 2-3 3-6 7, Smith 2-13 10-11 16, Blaylock 7-19 0-0 16, Hancock 0-1 0-0 0, Henderson 2-5 2-2 6, James 1-3 0-0 3, Recasner 3-7 3-4 11. Totals 25-81 22-29 80.

Chicago 33 22 20 14 - 89

Atlanta 19 23 11 27 - 80

3-Point goals-Chicago 4-15 (Pippen 4-7, Kerr 0-1, Buechler 0-1, Jordan 0-2, Harper 0-2, Kukoc 0-2), Atlanta 8-23 (Recasner 2-3, Smith 2-5, Blaylock 2-8, James 1-2, Laettner 1-4, Corbin 0-1). Fouled out-Williams. Rebounds-Chicago 52 (Pippen, Jordan 8), Atlanta 54 (Laettner 12). Assists-Chicago 17 (Pippen, Jordan, Harper), Atlanta 11 (Blaylock 4). Total fouls-Chicago 27, Atlanta 24. Technicals-Rodman, Chicago illegal defense 3, Mutombo. A-16,378 (16,378).

Knicks 77, Heat 73

New York

Both offenses were ugly, both defenses were suffocating. And when Game 3 of the Miami-New York series came down to one final shot, it was appropriate that the biggest play was a blocked shot.

Patrick Ewing blocked Tim Hardaway’s 3-point attempt with 3 seconds left to preserve the Knicks’ victory, giving them a 2-1 lead heading into Game 4 tonight in New York.

The Knicks made only five field goals in the fourth quarter and none in the final 6:20, but they also held Miami to just two baskets over the final 12 minutes and zero points in the final 2:50.

Ewing led New York with 25 points and 11 rebounds and outplayed his counterpart, Alonzo Mourning, for the third straight game. Mourning had 14 points and seven rebounds and was not a factor in the fourth quarter.

Miami (73) - Mashburn 3-9 0-0 8, Brown 3-7 3-4 9, Mourning 7-13 0-2 14, Lenard 7-15 3-4 22, Hardaway 6-22 2-3 17, Austin 0-2 1-2 1, Crotty 0-1 0-0 0, Majerle 0-3 2-2 2. Totals 26-72 11-17 73.

New York (77) - Johnson 2-5 4-6 8, Oakley 3-13 4-5 10, Ewing 12-21 1-2 25, Houston 4-13 4-4 13, Childs 1-2 4-4 6, Starks 3-9 5-5 11, B.Williams 1-2 0-2 2, Ward 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 27-67 22-28 77.

Miami 24 18 17 14 - 73

New York 16 18 24 19 - 77

3-Point goals-Miami 10-26 (Lenard 5-9, Hardaway 3-9, Mashburn 2-4, Mourning 0-1, Majerle 0-3), New York 1-6 (Houston 1-4, Starks 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds- Miami 54 (Brown 10), New York 44 (Oakley, Ewing 11). Assists-Miami 16 (Hardaway 8), New York 15 (Starks, Ward 4). Total fouls-Miami 26, New York 17. Technicals- Mourning, Oakley, Childs, Johnson, B.Williams. A-19,763 (19,763).