Rodman Ejected; Bulls Win

NBA

Michael Jordan overcame the absence of Scottie Pippen and ejection of Dennis Rodman, totaling 37 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 97-93 win over the New Jersey Nets on Saturday at East Rutherford, N.J.

The game was highlighted by Rodman’s ejection for a second technical foul late in the first period.

Referee Paul Mihalak made the call on the foul. Rodman stood still for a couple of seconds and then put both his hands down the front of his pants.

Ted Bernhardt, who was standing near the top of the key, saw the gesture and called a technical foul immediately.

Before leaving the court, Rodman had a heated argument with Bernhardt and appeared to butt heads with the official. He then pulled off and threw his Bulls jersey and knocked over a water cooler before running to the locker room.

Rodman insisted he was being singled out by officials at every game for special treatment, noting Charles Barkley can “cuss out” a referee and never be called for a technical.

“But if I do anything, just look at a referee, he thinks I’m cussing him out,” Rodman said.

Bulls 97, Nets 93

Chicago (97) - Kukoc 5-16 8-10 18, Rodman 0-0 0-0 0, Longley 1-9 0-0 2, Jordan 14-29 7-7 37, Harper 4-8 1-2 9, Buechler 4-7 0-0 11, Kerr 4-7 0-0 10, Salley 1-3 0-0 2, J.Edwards 0-0 0-0 0, Wennington 4-10 0-0 8, R.Brown 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37-89 16-19 97.

New Jersey (93) - P.Brown 6-11 3-3 15, Gilliam 7-16 7-8 21, Bradley 4-15 9-11 17, O’Bannon 2-5 3-5 7, Childs 6-17 4-5 18, Mahorn 0-4 0-0 0, Fleming 5-10 0-1 10, Williams 2-5 1-4 5, Graham 0-1 0-0 0, Reeves 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-84 27-37 93.

Chicago 26 20 25 26 - 97

New Jersey 26 26 18 23 - 93

3-Point goals-Chicago 7-19 (Buechler 3-5, Kerr 2-4, Jordan 2-5, Kukoc 0-5), New Jersey 2-5 (Childs 2-5). Fouled out- None. Rebounds-Chicago 52 (Jordan 16), New Jersey 65 (J.Williams 13). Assists-Chicago 20 (Jordan 5), New Jersey 21 (Childs 14). Total fouls-Chicago 25, New Jersey 24. Technicals-Rodman 2, Chicago illegal defense. Ejections- Rodman. A-20,049 (19,763).

Bullets 120, Jazz 115 (OT)

Landover, Md.

Gheorghe Muresan had 28 points and 15 rebounds and Washington outscored Utah 10-0 during the final 1:59 of overtime.

Utah (115) - Benoit 5-15 4-4 15, Malone 12-18 8-9 32, Spencer 2-5 2-4 6, Hornacek 5-10 5-5 16, Stockton 9-17 1-2 19, Eisley 0-0 2-2 2, Ostertag 6-9 1-1 13, Morris 1-4 0-0 3, Keefe 3-4 1-2 7, Carr 1-8 0-0 2. Totals 44-90 24-29 115.

Washington (120) - Howard 11-20 4-4 26, Wallace 7-11 2-3 17, Muresan 9-18 10-15 28, Cheaney 5-11 0-1 10, B.Price 8-14 2-3 23, McCann 2-2 1-4 5, Whitney 1-3 0-0 2, McIlvaine 0-0 0-0 0, Legler 3-5 0-0 7, Eackles 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 47-87 19-30 120.

Utah 25 26 31 24 9 - 115

Washington 26 22 28 30 14 - 120

3-Point goals-Utah 3-16 (Morris 1-2, Hornacek 1-3, Benoit 1-7, Carr 0-1, Stockton 0-3), Washington 7-17 (B.Price 5-9, Wallace 1-1, Legler 1-3, Whitney 0-1, Eackles 0-1, Cheaney 0-2). Fouled out-Ostertag, Wallace. Rebounds-Utah 48 (Malone 11), Washington 54 (Muresan 15). Assists-Utah 25 (Malone 8), Washington 25 (B.Price 10). Total fouls-Utah 23, Washington 28. Technicals- Malone, Stockton, Utah illegal defense, Washington illegal defense. Flagrant foul-Howard. A-18,756 (19,763).

Heat 121, Rockets 97

Houston

Tim Hardaway had 28 points and 15 assists and Walt Williams scored 27, including five 3-pointers, leading Miami over Houston.

Miami (121) - Williams 8-19 6-8 27, Thomas 6-13 5-5 17, Mourning 2-3 1-2 5, Chapman 6-11 1-1 16, Hardaway 10-19 5-6 28, Askins 1-4 0-0 2, Gatling 9-16 4-4 22, T.Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Lenard 1-1 2-2 4. Totals 43-87 24-28 121.

Houston (97) - Horry 2-10 0-0 5, Brown 6-12 3-4 15, Olajuwon 10-18 6-8 26, Mack 3-6 2-2 8, Recasner 2-4 0-0 6, K.Smith 4-10 3-4 13, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Chilcutt 3-7 0-1 7, Breaux 2-3 0-0 5, Moore 4-6 2-2 12, Booker 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 36-80 16-21 97.

Miami 30 30 30 31 - 121

Houston 25 30 22 20 - 97

3-Point goals-Miami 11-25 (Williams 5-9, Hardaway 3-6, Chapman 3-7, T.Smith 0-1, Askins 0-2), Houston 9-23 (K.Smith 2-3, Recasner 2-3, Moore 2-3, Breaux 1-2, Horry 1-4, Chilcutt 1-5, Booker 0-1, Mack 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Miami 58 (Gatling 18), Houston 39 (Olajuwon 12). Assists-Miami 25 (Hardaway 15), Houston 26 (Mack, Recasner, K.Smith 5). Total fouls-Miami 21, Houston 20. Technicals-Olajuwon. A-16,285 (16,285).

Spurs 119, Hawks 92

San Antonio

Sean Elliott led six San Antonio players in double figures with 24 points, and the Spurs rolled to their ninth straight victory, defeating Atlanta.

Atlanta (92) - Augmon 6-14 2-2 14, Long 7-12 0-1 14, Laettner 6-12 0-0 12, S.Smith 3-11 2-3 9, Blaylock 4-11 0-0 8, Rooks 3-4 6-11 12, Ehlo 1-3 2-2 5, Henderson 0-7 1-2 1, Jordan 4-8 3-5 11, Bullard 0-0 0-0 0, Boyce 2-2 1-2 6. Totals 36-84 17-28 92.

San Antonio (119) - Elliott 8-14 5-6 24, C.Smith 7-13 0-2 14, Robinson 8-14 3-4 19, Del Negro 6-12 0-0 13, Johnson 6-7 5-6 17, Person 0-5 0-0 0, Perdue 6-8 0-0 12, Rivers 2-5 2-4 7, Anderson 2-7 0-0 5, Herrera 0-2 0-0 0, Williams 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 48-90 17-24 119.

Atlanta 28 26 17 21 - 92

San Antonio 30 31 30 28 - 119

3-Point goals-Atlanta 3-10 (Ehlo 1-1, Boyce 1-1, S.Smith 1-4, Laettner 0-1, Blaylock 0-3), San Antonio 6-19 (Elliott 3-4, Del Negro 1-2, Rivers 1-3, Alexander 1-5, Person 0-5). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Atlanta 46 (Rooks 9), San Antonio 62 (Robinson 14). Assists-Atlanta 16 (Blaylock 7), San Antonio 37 (Johnson 9). Total fouls-Atlanta 26, San Antonio 23. A-20,262 (20,662).

Warriors 99, Bucks 94

Oakland, Calif.

Latrell Sprewell scored 31, and his midcourt steal and dunk with 1:28 to play sealed Golden State’s win over Milwaukee.

Milwaukee (94) - Baker 8-18 9-12 25, Robinson 10-17 1-1 24, Benjamin 2-6 0-0 4, Douglas 3-8 3-4 11, Newman 3-6 3-3 9, Cummings 4-7 0-0 8, Mayberry 1-4 0-0 3, Conlon 4-7 2-2 10, Keys 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 35-75 18-22 94.

Golden State (99) - Kersey 3-9 9-12 15, Smith 3-7 4-4 10, Willis 0-8 0-0 0, Armstrong 6-17 5-5 20, Sprewell 14-23 0-1 31, Marshall 1-3 0-0 2, Rozier 1-1 0-0 2, Coles 4-9 0-0 11, Barry 3-8 0-0 8. Totals 35-83 18-22 99.

Milwaukee 37 18 19 20 - 94

Golden State 24 28 23 24 - 99

3-Point goals-Milwaukee 6-16 (Robinson 3-4, Douglas 2-4, Mayberry 1-3, Baker 0-1, Newman 0-1, Keys 0-1, Conlon 0-2), Golden State 11-28 (Sprewell 3-5, Armstrong 3-6, Coles 3-7, Barry 2-6, Kersey 0-1, Willis 0-1, Marshall 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Milwaukee 46 (Baker 14), Golden State 50 (Kersey, Willis 11). Assists-Milwaukee 20 (Douglas 6), Golden State 22 (Coles 8). Total fouls-Milwaukee 21, Golden State 22. Technicals-Robinson, Baker, Douglas, Kersey, Willis, Marshall. Flagrant fouls-Keys, Willis, Coles. A-15,025 (15,025).

Knicks 94, 76ers 88

New York

New York reversed its only loss under Jeff Van Gundy by defeating Philadelphia for its third victory in a row.

Philadelphia (88) - Weatherspoon 5-10 5-6 15, Alston 2-3 1-1 5, Pinckney 1-3 3-3 5, Stackhouse 6-11 8-9 20, Maxwell 5-9 2-2 13, Ruffin 0-2 1-2 1, Massenburg 5-10 0-0 10, Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Higgins 2-3 0-0 5, Sutton 6-8 0-0 14. Totals 32-59 20-23 88.

New York (94) - Reid 2-2 0-1 4, Mason 7-12 4-4 18, Ewing 11-21 4-6 26, Starks 8-20 1-3 20, Harper 7-15 3-5 18, Anderson 0-6 0-0 0, Ward 1-4 0-0 3, Williams 1-3 0-0 2, Grandison 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 38-85 13-21 94.

Philadelphia 23 16 23 26 - 88

New York 32 15 17 30 - 94

3-Point goals-Philadelphia 4-13 (Sutton 2-4, Higgins 1-1, Maxwell 1-4, Massenburg 0-1, Ruffin 0-1, Stackhouse 0-2), New York 5-25 (Starks 3-11, Ward 1-3, Harper 1-8, Anderson 0-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Philadelphia 47 (Weatherspoon 15), New York 38 (Mason 10). Assists- Philadelphia 13 (Stackhouse 4), New York 27 (Harper 7). Total fouls-Philadelphia 22, New York 21. A-19,763 (19,763).