Bulls Find Old Rhythm
NBA playoffs
The evening began with a thunderous roar, which rolled through the United Center and sounded like the days of back-to-back-to-back championships across the street at Chicago Stadium.
As the night went on, there was Michael Jordan’s finger-waving and logo-posing dunk, Dennis Rodman celebrating his 36th birthday with his usual theatrics and a spurt of 3-point shooting, and thoroughly entertaining play by the Bulls’ bench.
When it all ended, the Bulls had prevailed, moving on to the Eastern Conference final for the seventh time in nine years with a 107-92 victory over the Atlanta Hawks to take the second-round series 4-1.
The Bulls will next face the winner of the other Eastern Conference semifinal, in which the New York Knicks lead the Miami Heat 3-1 with Game 5 in Miami tonight.
The Hawks, despite trailing 3-1, were within 10 points at 100-90 when Rodman and Dikembe Mutombo got tangled up under the Hawks’ basket. The resulting double technical fouls led to Rodman’s ejection.
But Steve Smith missed the technical foul shot, and after two additional Hawks misses, Steve Kerr buried a 3-pointer to give the Bulls an insurmountable 103-90 lead.
Bulls 107, Hawks 92
Atlanta (92) - Laettner 6-14 10-12 23, Corbin 8-11 0-0 19, Mutombo 4-8 3-3 11, Smith 5-14 1-2 13, Blaylock 8-17 1-1 20, Recasner 1-2 0-0 2, Henderson 1-1 2-2 4. Totals 33-67 17-20 92.
Chicago (107) - Pippen 6-19 3-3 15, Caffey 1-3 0-0 2, Longley 3-8 0-0 6, Harper 4-9 1-1 11, Jordan 9-23 5-5 24, Rodman 4-10 2-2 12, Williams 5-11 2-3 12, Kerr 5-6 2-2 15, Kukoc 2-5 2-4 7, Buechler 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 40-96 17-20 107.
Atlanta 27 17 24 24 - 92
Chicago 33 27 19 28 - 107
3-Point goals-Atlanta 9-25 (Corbin 3-5, Blaylock 3-8, Smith 2-8, Laettner 1-3, Recasner 0-1), Chicago 10-29 (Kerr 3-4, Rodman 2-3, Harper 2-7, Buechler 1-1, Kukoc 1-3, Jordan 1-5, Pippen 0-6). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Atlanta 36 (Mutombo 12), Chicago 60 (Williams, Longley 10). Assists-Atlanta 19 (Blaylock 8), Chicago 31 (Jordan, Pippen 7). Total fouls-Atlanta 22, Chicago 18. Technicals-Jordan, Mutombo, Rodman 2. Ejections-Rodman. A-24,544 (24,544).