Perhaps Ron Harper best represents this Bulls team.
They’re not having much success, and they don’t look good very often, but they keep fighting.
Harper played Wednesday night after getting seven stitches above his right eye because of a cut suffered in Tuesday’s loss in Miami. Against Cleveland on Wednesday, he got his nose smashed and broken, with blood spewing in a puddle on the court, after an inadvertent Shawn Kemp elbow hit him midway through the fourth quarter of the Bulls’ 89-81 loss.
“He’s a bleeder,” said Randy Brown. “But if these young guys can take one thing from this team, that’s it. The guy keeps getting beat up and keeps getting up, keeps getting up fighting. He’ll keep going down, but he keeps coming up fighting.”
It was the Bulls’ sixth straight loss and 12th in their last 14, dropping their record to 10-29.
Kornel David led the Bulls with 20 points in his first NBA start. Kemp led the Cavs with 27 points.
David, who hit seven of his first eight shots, missing only on a dunk attempt, credited his teammates and coaches for giving him some confidence.
“I think I’m more comfortable now on the court,” he said. “(It was) a big surprise to start. Last game I didn’t play very well. I struggled.
“Coach said concentrate on defense, and if I’m open shoot the ball.”
David did and it kept the Bulls in the game most of the way.
Harper, who came out wearing a Band-Aid over his right eye with the Scooby Doo cartoon characters, added 10 points and Toni Kukoc had 15 points, despite a sore right elbow, as well as a game-high 10 rebounds.
Harper wasn’t joking when he was helped off the court.
The blow came with Harper coming across the lane with 5 minutes 52 seconds left to try to cut off a Kemp drive.
“I didn’t do it on purpose,” said Kemp, who even added his first three-pointer of the season to give the Cavaliers an 11-point lead with just over a minute left. “The Bulls are a team that likes to trap with the little guard coming from the baseline. It was unfortunate that he stuck his head in that way and got hurt.”
“I don’t know whether Ron will need surgery,” said Bulls coach Tim Floyd. “The guy’s been amazing. He’s played through things all year long. He’s the ultimate competitor and professional.”
And Floyd said he liked seeing David in the game.
“He’s a real effort guy,” said Floyd. “He helps you even if he’s not making shots. He goes after loose balls, he’s dancing every dance, competing hard every play.”
One would hardly have recognized these teams, two of the lowest scoring in the NBA with neither averaging 90 points. The Bulls hit nine of their first 12 shots and the Cavaliers eight of their first nine that led to a 26-26 tie after one quarter. Could one actually score 100 points? Nah.
The Bulls hit the brakes first, going six minutes in the second quarter without a point as the Cavaliers ran off 14 straight to take a 44-35 lead.
Then it was Cleveland’s turn, failing to score during a four-minute stretch in the third quarter that enabled the Bulls to pull into a tie at 57 with less than four minutes left.
But with Bob Sura and Mitchell Butler giving the Cavaliers unexpected contributions off the bench by driving the ball through the Bulls’ defense, the Cavaliers pulled ahead 67-60 after three and maintained a similar margin the rest of the game. The Bulls had no defense against Kemp, who had 11 in the fourth quarter as the Bulls never got closer than seven in the last six minutes.
