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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Riley Irked At Double Standard

From Wire Reports

Can the Bulls beat a team with a winning record on the road?

They’ve done so only once this season, winning in New Jersey on Dec. 20. But they get two chances this week, in Miami and New York, and after the beating the Heat took in Chicago on Christmas Day, you know Miami is waiting.

And Heat coach Pat Riley already is working on the referees after Alonzo Mourning’s foul trouble in the Christmas Day game.

“We’re not even near them (in playing physically),” Riley said. “(But) there’s already a preconceived idea on the officials’ part that we’re banging the heck out of them. So we get all the cheap little fouls. ‘Mash’ (Jamal Mashburn) isn’t a physical player. Voshon (Lenard) is not a physical player. Timmy (Hardaway) is not that kind of player. P.J. (Brown) is not physical. He’s a string bean.

“When I was in New York, we had those kinds of (physical) guys. Zo is the only physical presence we have, but they allow that guy (Dennis Rodman) to abuse him, and it’s a joke.”

Riley reserved his sharpest taunt for Michael Jordan. “His Majesty had no fouls in 38 minutes where he’s hammering people. There’s really a double standard.”

On the courts

Michael Jordan scored 34 points and Dennis Rodman grabbed 18 rebounds as the Chicago Bulls beat the Detroit Pistons 105-96 at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Rodman now has 10,822 career rebounds, 20th on the NBA’s career rebounding list.

At Houston, Brian Grant rebounded his own miss and sank a 5-foot jumper with 8 seconds left, giving the Portland Trail Blazers a 97-95 win over the Houston Rockets.

At Cleveland, Shawn Kemp had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 95-81 victory over the New Jersey Nets.

At Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett got his first NBA triple-double as the Minnesota Timberwolves handed the Denver Nuggets their 13th straight loss, 109-87. Garnett had 18 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.

Williamson admits mistake

Sacramento’s Corliss Williamson lost his temper and went after Philadelphia’s Derrick Coleman in last week’s game against the 76ers.

The league’s response was strong and swift. Williamson was suspended for three games and fined $15,000. Coleman wound up with a two-game suspension and a $10,000 fine.

The penalty was warranted. But Williamson deserves credit for admitting what he did was wrong.

“As soon as I started walking off the court, I knew I’d made a bad decision,” Williamson said. “I heard the crowd kind of cheering me, but I don’t want kids out there to think I did the right thing. I just lost it. It was the wrong reaction.”

What upset him even more was that his mother was in the stands.

“My mom has never seen me act like that before,” he said. “It was an embarrassment to her and me.”