It was late in the third quarter of a game that inexplicably began slipping away from the Bulls.
They had led by 11 late in the second quarter, but saw a seven-point burst in the last minute by Byron Scott cut that lead to 46-42. Then the Lakers went big, their principal weapon that shut down the Bulls in Chicago in December, and rode a 12-0 burst and Michael Jordan`s fourth foul into a 66-63 lead. The crowd was up, the band was thumping and Jack Haley was waving his towel.
Enter Jordan. No. Enter Bill Cartwright.
”Bill kept us in the ballgame,” agreed Bulls coach Phil Jackson.
Although Cartwright`s contribution would be lost in the brilliance of Jordan`s fourth-quarter heroics, it was not lost on his teammates.
”The difference was that we had steady Bill in there today,” said Scottie Pippen. ”He gave us that physical presence, banging inside and playing down low.”
And that, perhaps, was the big difference between Sunday`s win and last December`s 13-point home loss to the Lakers, when Cartwright was out with a broken hand.
”I got some opportunities,” said Cartwright, who hit eight of 10 shots for 17 points, which equaled his season high.
Cartwright is now averaging 14.7 points and shooting 57 percent in the last three games on the comeback from that broken hand which started at the end of December. In his first 12 games, Cartwright failed to shoot better than 50 percent in any game, but has shot at least 50 percent in seven of the last eight and has began to resume his physical role inside.
In that late third-quarter stretch, he drove and was fouled, making one of two free throws, then drove and scored again after the Bulls went down 71-64 and tipped in a Jordan miss at the buzzer to keep the Bulls within 75-72. Cartwright then slammed on a pass from Jordan early in the fourth quarter and took a court-length baseball pass from Jordan for a clinching basket with the Bulls holding onto a 98-95 lead late.
”We felt that we could attack them inside,” said Cartwright. ”They were switching well and handling most of our stuff, so the initial postup was where we were able to attack.
”It was good being in there that long,” said Cartwright, whose 40 minutes were a season high. ”Phil asked me if I wanted to come out about four times, but I kept saying, `No, leave me in there.`
”But I think he also felt I could guard (Sam) Perkins, at least in the post. I`m moving around better. I`m a lot more comfortable. I`ve got my wind back and my shot`s coming around. I`m feeling good.”
