Sonics Left Speechless Jordan Torches Seattle For 45, Shows Karl Why He Rarely Drives

Michael Jordan had the Seattle SuperSonics handled all day, so maybe it was fitting he had a handle on them afterward as well.

Jordan scored 45 points as Chicago beat the Sonics, 91-84, in front of 17,072 in KeyArena to turn a rematch of the 1996 NBA Finals into another day of coronation for the greatest player of our time.

Evidently, Jordan was inspired by some seemingly innocuous comments by Sonics coach George Karl that Jordan “looks like he’s trying not to get hurt” by not driving the lane as much. Seasoned Bulls observers acknowledge what Karl said appears true.

The Sonics, meanwhile, were supposedly motivated to turn around a season-long lack of success against the few other elite teams in the NBA. Instead, the loss Sunday seemed to only confirm that the Sonics this season, despite a 32-14 record that is gaudy by NBA standards, have a ways to go before they can even be compared to their squad last year, let alone be considered a contender for an NBA title this season.

“I think they are going through a period where they have to deal with expectations and the rhythm doesn’t seem to be the same as last year,” Jordan said.

Most out of rhythm was forward Shawn Kemp, who finished with 16 points - five off his average - six of which were scored in the final 4:37 when the game no longer was in doubt. Kemp, who didn’t talk to reporters after the game, also had six turnovers and now has 13 in the past two games.

“Shawn didn’t play the same type of game he did in the playoffs last year,” Jordan said.

And as much as what Jordan did to hurt the Sonics, it was what Kemp didn’t or couldn’t do that killed them.

Despite Jordan’s performance, the Sonics felt if they had been able to score more on Chicago’s defense they could have won the game. But Seattle posted a season-low in points and shot a season-low 36.2 percent (25 of 69), in large part because their inside game was shut off.

“We felt we had to score inside, and once we didn’t, we got that inside frustration and we went to the outside and we are not going to outshoot them,” Karl said. “They are a better shooting team than we are.”

Particularly when Jordan is doing most of the shooting.

Jordan hit 6 of 10 in the first quarter as the Bulls (41-5) rallied from an early four-point deficit to take a 27-15 lead. Jordan capped the quarter by making a 44-foot shot at the buzzer over Hersey Hawkins.

The Sonics now are 2-8 against the teams generally acknowledged as the cream of the NBA (Miami, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Utah, the Los Angeles Lakers).

“We keep saying ‘We have time, we have time,”’ said the Sonics’ Detlef Schrempf. “But we are halfway through the season and we are not there yet. We have to pick it up.”

Bulls 91, SuperSonics 84

FG FT Reb CHICAGO Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Kukoc 39 3-12 1-2 1-6 9 2 8 Pippen 43 2-14 3-4 1-4 3 4 7 Longley 21 3-5 0-0 3-5 3 5 6 Harper 19 1-2 0-0 0-4 1 4 2 Jordan 45 19-28 5-6 3-7 3 2 45 Brown 11 1-3 0-0 0-1 2 2 2 Caffey 17 2-2 2-2 1-5 1 3 6 Simpkins 14 0-0 2-2 0-0 0 3 2 Kerr 22 3-5 0-0 0-2 1 2 8 Wennington 8 1-2 3-3 0-0 0 2 5 Buechler 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Totals 240 35-73 16-19 9-34 23 29 91

Percentages: FG .479, FT .842. 3-Point Goals: 5-15, .333 (Jordan 2-3, Kerr 2-3, Kukoc 1-3, Harper 0-1, Pippen 0-5). Team Rebounds: 10. Blocked shots: 3 (Pippen 2, Wennington). Turnovers: 14 (Pippen 4, Kukoc 3, Longley 2, Jordan, Brown, Caffey, Simpkins, team). Steals: 9 (Pippen 3, Kerr 2, Kukoc, Harper, Jordan, Simpkins). Technical fouls: None. Illegal defense: None.

FG FT Reb SEATTLE Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Kemp 41 5-11 6-6 5-8 2 5 16 Schrempf 39 5-14 4-4 1-5 1 2 14 McIlvaine 14 1-3 0-0 1-5 0 2 2 Hawkins 38 2-7 6-6 4-6 4 2 11 Payton 41 10-19 0-0 1-6 5 2 24 Perkins 25 1-5 8-9 0-3 1 0 11 Wingate 9 0-4 0-0 1-1 0 2 0 Ehlo 8 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 2 0 Cummings 13 0-4 0-2 0-2 0 3 0 Snow 12 1-1 4-5 0-0 2 2 6 Totals 240 25-69 28-32 13-37 15 22 84

Percentages: FG .362, FT .875. 3-Point Goals: 6-22, .273 (Payton 4-8, Perkins 1-3, Hawkins 1-4, Wingate 0-1, Ehlo 0-1, Kemp 0-2, Schrempf 0-3). Team Rebounds: 8. Blocked shots: 5 (Payton 2, Kemp, McIlvaine, Perkins). Turnovers: 17 (Kemp 6, Payton 4, Schrempf 3, Perkins 2, Hawkins, Wingate). Steals: 9 (Payton 3, Hawkins 3, Schrempf, Perkins, Snow). Technical fouls: None. Illegal defense: None.

Chicago 27 23 20 21 - 91

Seattle 15 24 23 22 - 84

A-17,072 (17,072). T-2:26.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: UNBEATA-BULL After last season’s NBA-record 72-10 mark in the regular season (.878), Chicago is 41-5 (.891).