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Chicago stranglehold
Bulls take 3-1 series lead with 86-82 win over Utah
Posted: Monday July 20, 1998 01:04 PM
CHICAGO (CNN/SI) -- "Rodzilla" may have missed practice, but he didn't
miss his free throws.
Dennis
Rodman, who blew off Monday's practice for a wrestling gig,
surprisingly made four clutch free throws in the final three minutes and
shut down Karl
Malone in the fourth quarter as the Chicago Bulls edged the
Utah Jazz, 86-82, in
Game 4 of the NBA Finals and moved within one win of their sixth NBA title
in eight years.
Rodman missed Monday's practice and showed up that night on a wrestling
program as "Rodzilla," a green-haired sidekick of Hulk Hogan who hit an
opposing wrestler with a chair. He made $250,000 but drew a pair of $10,000
fines and a ton of media attention for his absence.
"I didn't do anything to embarrass the team," said Rodman, who has won
seven straight rebounding titles. "Hopefully they forgive me for what I did
Monday night."
"Much-maligned Dennis Rodman had a wonderful game for us," Bulls coach
Phil Jackson said. "As usual, he takes himself out of a hole and plays well
enough to redeem himself again."
Rodman was grappling again in the fourth quarter as he beat Malone to
position for defense and rebounds. After boasting that he could guard the
All-Star forward any day of the week, he held Malone scoreless until a
meaningless long jumper in the final seconds. Malone collected 21 points
and 14 rebounds, with most of his offense coming against Bulls 7-2 center
Luc Longley.
"Everybody is experts now," Malone said. "I have opportunities to score on
Dennis as well as Luc, and I just haven't. "It's no excuses. But in a
situation like this, you guys have all the answers."
Rodman finished with six points and 14 rebounds, seven on the offensive
end. Both pairs of his clutch free throws came after he pulled down
offensive boards and the Jazz fouled him. But the 55 percent free-throw
shooter foiled the strategy and may avoid a return trip to Utah, which he
dreaded.
"They put me on the line to shoot the basketball and I did," Rodman said.
"More than anything, his defense on Karl was great," Jackson said. "The
offensive rebounding was the key for us at the other end of the floor.
Finding some way to get rebounds and going to the line, and [he] really was
our most reliable foul shooter tonight."
Rodman was 5-for-6 from the line in the final period as part of a parade
to the line by Chicago. The Bulls made 17-of-24 foul shots in the fourth
quarter, while the Jazz were 2-of-3, with a crucial miss by Chris Morris.
Michael
Jordan scored 34 points and Scottie Pippen
continued his Finals MVP push with 28 for the Bulls, who can wrap up their
third straight championship with a win at home Friday. Chicago is gunning
for a "three-peat repeat," having won three consecutive titles from
1991-93.
Utah bounced back strongly from its record-setting 42-point loss in Game
Three, holding the lead with five minutes left. But the Jazz got nothing
from Malone and John Stockton
down the stretch and after winning the opener, have lost three in a row for
the first time this season. No team has ever rallied from a 3-1 deficit to
win the Finals.
"I think our players may be a little upset," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said.
"I think they would like to have played a little better. I told them the
most important thing is I hope you can learn something from how important
it is to play intelligently."
"You didn't go into the series thinking you would be down 3-1," Malone
said. "You'd like to think you're going to be up 3-1 and win the series.
But that hasn't happened. We haven't played well."
Malone got off to another quick start but finished 10-of-21 from the
field. Stockton finished with seven points and 13 assists, but shot 3-of-11
as he again was harassed by Pippen and Ron Harper.
"I am more mobile [than Longley]," Rodman said. "My agility is a lot
better."
"I can never figure this guy out, and I'm not about to start," Jordan
said. "One day he's wrestling, and the next day he's defending."
Rodman rebounded a missed three-pointer by Pippen and drew a foul with
2:53 to go. His first free throw hit the rim about four times before
dropping in and he calmly sank the second, giving Chicago the lead for
good.
Morris had seven of his nine points in the fourth quarter, but missed the
second of two foul shots that could have tied the game 18 seconds later.
Jordan, who made 12-of-27 shots, went around Shandon
Anderson for a pair of baskets to offset a jam by Morris for a 78-75
lead with 1:38 remaining.
Morris missed an open three-pointer and Pippen split a pair of free throws
before Jeff
Hornacek made a 19-footer to pull the Jazz within 79-77 with 1:05 left.
But "Rodzilla" struck again.
Jordan badly missed on a corner jumper and Rodman fended off the 256-pound
Malone with one arm while trying to corral the rebound with the other. Both
men crashed to the floor and a foul was called on Malone with 43 seconds to
go. Rodman again made both free throws for an 81-77 lead.
"They called a foul on Karl, didn't they?" Sloan asked. "What am I
supposed to think? They called a foul on Karl. I didn't see all the things
that happened."
"There's no understanding Dennis," Jordan admitted. "As long as he steps
on the basketball court and does his job, it's hard to argue with him. The
guy steps up and makes four free throws in the closing minutes. What else
can you say about him?"
Stockton missed a layup on the next possession and two free throws by Toni Kukoc sealed
it. Jordan added two more as this city began to sense what is becoming an
annual occurrence -- a victory parade followed by a celebration in Grant
Park.
"I don't want to jump ahead of myself," Jordan said. "But right now,
tonight was like an appetizer. Friday could be the entree. We have to
maintain a certain hunger. We can't fill ourselves up with just an
appetizer."
Pippen grabbed nine rebounds, Jordan had eight and Kukoc scored eight
points for Chicago, which overcame 37 percent shooting (27-of-73) by making
27-of-40 free throws. The Bulls made just four baskets in the fourth
quarter.
Bryon
Russell scored 10 points and Jeff Hornacek and Howard Eisley
added eight apiece for the Jazz, who shot 42 percent (33-of-78) but just
2-of-15 from three-point range. Utah got another strong effort from their
bench. Utah's reserves held a 30-8 scoring edge.
Malone opened the fourth quarter by missing two jumpers and two free
throws by Longley extended Chicago's lead to 68-61 before Utah surged to
the lead behind Morris and Anderson.
Anderson had a three-point play and a layup around a foul-line jumper by
Stockton, who found a streaking Morris for a layup and the lead at 70-69
with five minutes left. It was the first lead for the Jazz since the
three-minute mark of the second quarter.
Jordan, who missed two free throws during Utah's run, buried a jumper and
Stockton missed twice around a free throw by Harper before a transition
layup by Hornacek tied it for the last time at 72-72 with 3:15 to go.
After absorbing the worst loss in Finals history in Game Three, the Jazz
had to make some changes. Utah's adjustments began with Adam Keefe in the
starting lineup in place of the bigger Greg Ostertag,
preventing Pippen from drifting as much as he did in Game Three. But the
defensive demon hurt the Jazz on the offensive end, making three
three-pointers in the first quarter and scoring 11 points.
"I want to come out and be more aggressive in the series. That's my
mindset," Pippen said. "It's always been, attack them, go to the basket,
open up the lanes and find the shooters. Tonight they gave me a lot of open
looks at the basket. I was shooting well, and I continued to look for my
shot."
Malone started quickly again, making his first four shots. He scored nine
of his team's first 11 points as the Jazz came out aggressively, attacking
the boards and the officials. Keefe grabbed a pair of early rebounds and
coach Jerry Sloan picked up a technical foul with 7:08 to play in the
period, arguing that Pippen was roaming again.
"What we thought was an illegal defense probably wasn't," Sloan said. "It
cost me five hundred [dollars]."
Just over a minute later, the Bulls were whistled for an illegal defense.
Jordan missed four of his first five shots before he hit a jumper and he
made 1-of-2 from the line after taking a hard foul from Greg Foster.
Rodman entered for the first time with 1:33 left and Pippen made a
three-pointer at the end of the period, giving Chicago a 21-19 lead.
Despite his slow start, Jordan scored 10 points, while Malone had 11 for
the Jazz.
Jordan sat down to start the second period and Pippen carried the offense,
making a layup, a pull-up three-pointer and a jumper to extend the lead to
28-22. A free throw by Rodman with 7:09 left was Chicago's first point not
scored by Jordan, Pippen or Kukoc and gave the Bulls a 31-26 edge.
"I think Scottie has done a lot in terms of relieving some of the pressure
off of me," Jordan said.
Stockton, whose offensive game has been smothered by Pippen, took charge
against Steve
Kerr, scoring five points in an 8-0 surge that gave the Jazz a 34-31
lead with 3:20 remaining. Jordan had his shot swatted away by Anderson
before scoring Chicago's final three baskets of the half, including a
spinning scoop layup at the buzzer for a 39-37 lead.
Malone was scoreless in the second quarter, but Utah's bench was a factor,
holding a 10-1 edge. Rodman had Chicago's only bench point and also grabbed
six rebounds.
A jumper by Malone opened the third quarter and tied it, but the Jazz had
a sloppy sequence midway through the period and could not grab the lead.
After a miss by Malone, Kukoc went down the lane for a hoop and a 48-47
lead. Keefe scored inside and Russell drew a foul, but he missed both free
throws with 6:16 left.
Jordan answered with two foul shots and Malone missed a wide-open layup
before Pippen made a free throw, building the lead to 53-47 with 5:03
remaining. However, Eisley kept the Jazz close by scoring their last six
points of the period, making it 61-57.
Eisley's free throws with 38 seconds left allowed Utah to surpass its
record-setting low of Game Three. The Jazz scored 20 points in a period for
the first time since the third quarter of Game Two. Jordan and Pippen again
carried Chicago, combining for 15 points.
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NBA Finals
