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Bulls have stranglehold on Jazz
Chicago gains 3-1 advantage; look to close series out Friday
Posted: Thursday June 11, 1998 12:38 AM
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And the band played on: Jordan (23) scored 34 points on 12-for-27 shooting from the field and added eight boards for good measure (AP) |
CHICAGO (AP) -- At least this time, the Utah Jazz made it close.
Routed in the most lopsided loss in NBA Finals history two days earlier,
the Jazz lost to Chicago again in Game 4 Wednesday night, despite a
dramatic fourth-quarter comeback.
Trailing by as many as seven points twice in the fourth quarter, the Jazz
scrapped back to take the lead with less than five minutes to play.
But with their inconsistent offense still missing in action for much of
the night and unable to deal with Chicago's stifling defense at the end,
the Jazz lost 86-82 and now are just one game away from elimination.
Utah could not cope with Dennis Rodman
's rebounding as time after time the tattooed man gave the Bulls
second-chance opportunities and hit four crucial foul shots that doomed
Utah.
After Chris
Morris missed a wide-open 3-pointer that would have tied the game, it
seemed the Jazz were done. But Jeff Hornacek,
quiet most of the game, drew the Jazz within a point with one minute to
play.
Utah simply could not complete the comeback, especially with Karl Malone held
to just one basket and three rebounds in the final 12 minutes.
Malone scored 21 but vanished in the second, when he was scoreless, and in
the fourth, when his only basket came with nine seconds left and the
outcome decided. The Bulls rattled him when Rodman was added to the mix on
defense.
On one rebound in the final minute, Rodman and Malone were wrapped up and
Rodman drew the foul, nailing the free throws.
For the third straight game, 36-year-old John Stockton,
Malone's longtime running mate, was almost a non-factor for Utah. He scored
just seven points after being limited to nine and two in Games 2 and 3.
The Jazz slump, which began at the end of Game 2, extended on Wednesday
night. They went seven straight periods scoring less than 20 points until
they reached that number in the third quarter Wednesday.
Pippen (left) scored 28 points on 5-for-10 shooting from 3-point range (AP) | |
Utah's desperation was obvious early when, before there were four minutes
gone in the second period, coach Jerry Sloan had already used 11 players.
The Bulls ignored the shuffling of bodies and stayed in front almost from
the start.
Still, the Jazz briefly grabbed the lead with less than five minutes to
play in the game when Stockton fed Chris Morris for a basket. But Stockton
missed two layups and two 3-pointers and had a turnover in the crucial
final minutes.
The Jazz were 1-for-14 from beyond the 3-point line and their long-range
failures were vital in a game that was there to win.
Now Utah faces the most difficult of circumstances, trailing 3-1 in the
best-of-7 series against a team that is shooting for its third straight
championship and sixth in eight years.
It may be an impossible task.
Utah actually lost this one over the final three minutes.
After showing some life when it looked like they were dead by coming back
from a seven-point deficit and tying the game, the Jazz couldn't sustain
the run and make the big plays when they most mattered.
Just like in Game 2, the Jazz allowed Chicago to grab nearly every
important offensive rebound, including seven by Rodman and five by Pippen.
Jordan had two late spin moves on Shandon
Anderson. The first gave the Bulls the lead for good; the second gave
Chicago a three-point lead with 1:38 left.
Jordan shot an airball with 48 seconds left, but Malone was called for a
loose ball foul when he got tangled with Rodman. The Worm calmly sank both
shots, making it 81-77 with 43.8 seconds left, and Utah couldn't recover.
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Malone led the Jazz with 21 points and 14 rebounds (AP) |
John Stockton drove for a reverse layup and missed, and the ball was
batted around by four players until Ron Harper grabbed
it. Toni Kukoc
was fouled and made both shots with 26.6 second left, upping the lead to
six.
The Jazz didn't reach 54 points -- their infamous total from Sunday
night's record-setting loss -- until Howard Eisley
made a free throw with 38.4 seconds left in the third.
Eisley's second free throw pulled Utah to 58-55, but Pippen responded with
a 3-pointer -- his fifth of the night -- to help give the Bulls a 61-57
lead entering the fourth.
A pair of foul shots by Luc Longley gave
the Bulls another seven-point lead early in the fourth. Shandon Anderson's
three-point play cut it to four, and Stockton's jumper with 6:45 left made
it 68-66.
A minute and a half later, Anderson drove for a layup, pulling Utah within
one, and Stockton fed Chris Morris for a fast break layup with five minutes
left that gave the Jazz their first lead since the first quarter, 70-69.
Hornacek's layup off a missed jumper by Jordan made it 72-72 with 3:12
left.
Rodman rolled in two free throws -- the first one bounced on the rim five
times -- to make it 74-72, and Morris made one of two with 2:35 left.
Jordan and Morris traded baskets before Jordan scored on another spin
move. Morris missed a 3 and Hornacek committed a loose ball foul, leading
to a free throw by Pippen that made it 79-75 with 1:21 left.
Hornacek's corner jumper with his foot on 3-point line with 1:05 left made
it a two-point game again, but that was as close as Utah would get.
Pippen made three 3-pointers in the first quarter when he and Jordan
combined to score 19 of Chicago's 21 points. Malone had 11 for the Jazz,
who trailed 21-19 at the end of the quarter.
Jordan scored six more points in the second quarter, including a
finger-roll layup at the buzzer that gave Chicago a 39-37 halftime lead.
Notes: Adam
Keefe started at center for Utah as coach Jerry Sloan tried another
shakeup. Greg
Ostertag started Game 3 after Greg Foster
started Games 1 and 2. Keefe had six points and seven rebounds in 20
minutes. Ostertag played only five minutes and Foster nine. ... Morris was
shaken up when Rodman accidentally hit him in the face while going for a
rebound in the second quarter. ... The game featured 15 lead changes and
eight ties. The Bulls never led by more than seven.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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NBA Finals
