Delta Doors Closed

The Delta Center and its raucous inhabitants closed for the summer Wednesday night, a strange ending considering it had been home to a dominating run of 23 consecutive victories.

That, of course, was before the Chicago Bulls claimed a 90-88 victory in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, sending the best-of-7 series back to the United Center for the final two games - if that many are needed, what with the defending champions having regained the momentum.

Disciplining Dennis

A suspension is unlikely but a fine very possible as the NBA is expected to discipline Dennis Rodman, possibly as early as today, for a series of anti-Mormon obscenities, especially since the series shifted to Utah.

For now, the league will only say “if the statements are as reported, they are obviously offensive and inexcusable.” The church, headquartered a few blocks from the Delta Center, had no comment, but the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has issued a statement condemning Rodman’s words.

“We must not allow double standards in the area of bigotry and ignorance,” said Jeanetta Williams, president of the Salt Lake City branch.

“Clearly the statements made by Mr. Rodman are considered as offensive against the Mormon church and its members as those made by Fuzzy Zoeller against African-Americans and should be treated as such. At a minimum, a public apology is in order before Dennis Rodman departs the state of Utah.”

The Bulls left late Wednesday night. There apparently was no apology.

Sorry Hannah

Houston Rockets star Charles Barkley apologized to NBC broadcaster Hannah Storm at halftime. During the Western Conference Finals, Barkley accused Storm of taking comments he made about his teammates out of context. Barkley also made joking remarks about women reporters.

Kukoc comes through

Jazz fans haven’t zinged Chicago Bulls sixth man Toni Kukoc with barbs about his NBA Finals disappearing act the way they’ve criticized Rodman. Yet Kukoc, who is bothered by a lingering left foot injury, has shot only 34.6 percent in the series and averaged just 7.5 points and 2.8 rebounds prior to Game 5.

But the man of minimal impact came through when it counted Wednesday.

In the last 2 minutes, he grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed free throw by teammate Scottie Pippen and deflected the rebound off a missed foul shot by Michael Jordan, enabling Jordan to secure the deflection.

The extended possession led to Jordan’s 3-pointer for an 88-85 lead with 25 seconds left - a lead the Jazz did not challenge.

“Second shots are always a killer to a defense after a defensive stand,” said Bulls coach Phil Jackson.

Kukoc finished with nine points, four rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.

Final thoughts

Malone on the loss and shooting 1 for 7 in the second half, said: “Games like this hurt. … God has a way of testing you again. You’ve gotta pick yourself up and brush yourself off.”

Jazz coach Jerry Sloan on the end of his team’s 23-game home win streak: “It’s tough to beat a team three times, that’s why they’re a championship team.”

Jackson on Malone’s subpar play: “We were fortunate Karl didn’t have one of his better games in the playoffs… . We had good help defense, we crowded him and didn’t let him get into a rhythm in the post.”

Jackson on his team’s attack of the basket: “We made a concerted effort to limit 3-point shooting. We were casting too many threes. We needed to go back inside, Scottie took tough shots inside and Michael went inside.”