For a short while, this had the makings of a competitive and intense playoff series. No way did it look as if the Bulls would have a cakewalk through their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Charlotte Hornets.
The Hornets, with only one day off after taking their first-round series from Atlanta in four games, were energized. They were primed to steal a game at the United Center, where the Bulls have lost only three postseason games in five years.
And the Bulls, who had three days to ponder their eventual matchup with the Hornets after sweeping their first-round series with New Jersey, appeared ripe for the taking.
But then reality intruded in the form of an impressive 16-0 second-quarter run by the Bulls, who went on to turn the game–and possibly the series–into a yawner with an 83-70 victory Sunday in Game 1.
The Bulls, now 4-0 in the postseason, still aren’t implying that what coach Phil Jackson has dubbed the team’s “Last Dance” will be easy.
“This is a seven-game series,” Jackson said, “and the animosity between the players will grow as the series goes on. Game 2 will pick up, as will 3 and 4.”
NBC, TNT and TBS certainly hope so. Except for Michael Jordan’s 35 points (on 11-of-26 shooting) and Scottie Pippen’s quiet 25, Jackson’s 100th career playoff victory wasn’t very entertaining.
The Bulls shot just 41.4 percent, which turned out to be just fine, because the Hornets shot a miserable 36 percent. Even the much-anticipated matchup between “bad boys” Dennis Rodman and Anthony Mason didn’t live up to expectations–Rodman dominated Mason.
Mason, coming off a playoff career-high 29 points in Charlotte’s series-clinching victory over Atlanta, was held to one basket, five shots, six points and seven rebounds. Rodman finished with seven points and 14 rebounds.
And the two had nary a skirmish, combining for just five fouls, one by Mason. Luc Longley, playing in his first game in more than a month, and Charlotte’s J.R. Reid generated more fireworks than Rodman and Mason when they had to be separated with 3 minutes and change left in the third quarter and the Bulls nursing what became a comfortable 10-point lead.
That was as lively as things got for most of the 48 minutes.
“We just didn’t respond with the energy and force we needed,” Mason said, and he may well have been talking about himself.
The Hornets displayed some energy early. They jumped on the Bulls at the start, shooting 56 percent (10 of 18) in the first quarter in building a 10-point lead. The Bulls, who shot just 29 percent in the opening period, closed to 23-15 when the quarter ended, but the Hornets jumped on them again early in the second and took took their biggest lead of the game, 32-17, on a Mason jump shot with 8 minutes left before halftime.
The Bulls, for wont of a better explanation, looked rusty.
“The difference was that Charlotte had a game (on Friday),” Jordan said. “They were in game shape. They came in with a lot more intensity than we did. We had a couple of days off, so we had to bring our intensity level up to theirs. They got tired and we did that.”
With Jordan scoring 11 points in the second quarter, the Bulls used that 16-0 run to take their first lead, 33-32, on Jordan’s bank shot with 2 minutes 38 seconds left in the half. Charlotte went back on top 38-37 at the halftime break, but the Bulls delivered the knockout blow with a 19-7 run to open the third quarter. Charlotte never recovered, despite pulling within five points early in the fourth quarter.
The Bulls, who led by as many as 15 points, never felt threatened. In fact, they felt pretty good about themselves.
“I don’t think this team suffers from overconfidence,” Jackson said. “But if I was one sitting on the sideline, I would have said that they looked like they were confident that they could come back and win this game, regardless.”
The Bulls took advantage of 19 Charlotte turnovers, turning them into 30 points. They also made the defensive adjustments to cover Charlotte’s perimeter shooting, which cooled off dramatically after the Hornets used it to build their big, albeit short-lived, early lead.
Now the Hornets, who lost three out of four to the Bulls during the regular season, have to be wondering how they blew a chance to knock off the Bulls on one of their worst days.
“We’re trying to win,” Charlotte coach Dave Cowens said. “We just have to figure out how to win.”
