What could David Wesley have been thinking?
It was a year to the day since he was racing with friend and teammate, Bobby Phills, who died in the subsequent auto crash. All week there had been the questions, the memorial service and the games, in which Wesley was having a problem.
He went 3-for-20 Thursday night in the loss to Portland. Friday night he had no field goals through the first three quarters as the Bulls opened a 10-point lead over his Charlotte Hornets early in the fourth quarter at the United Center.
But Hornets coach Paul Silas never lost confidence, never hesitated. With the Hornets within one point with 9.5 seconds left, Silas knew what he was going to do.
“[Wesley] came back to the bench and I smiled at him and he said, `About time.’ We were going to win it or lose it,” Silas said. “I told him, `Dribble, hand off, make the three and let’s get out of here.'”
Wesley did make it–a 26-footer on a handoff and screen from Baron Davis with 3.5 seconds left that gave the Hornets a stunning 86-85 victory over the Bulls after Elton Brand missed a potential game-winner at the buzzer.
After his shot went through, Wesley, who declined to talk about Phills and the one-year anniversary of the accident, fell to the floor and thrust both his hands to the sky.
“Maybe he was looking to the clouds,” Silas said.
In any case, it was an astounding victory for the Hornets. They had trailed 81-71 with 4:36 remaining in the game after former Hornet Brad Miller put in a layup on some slick Bulls passing. That basket capped a run of nine Miller points.
Miller finished with a season-high 16 points to complement Ron Mercer’s 21. Brand had 16 points and 11 rebounds. In the end, however, this wasn’t enough to overcome 21 points from Davis, 15 off the bench from Lee Nailon and Wesley’s game-winning shot that gave the Hornets a 23-15 record.
The Bulls fell to 6-29.
“That was a back-breaker,” said Bulls coach Tim Floyd, whose team plays 10 of the next 13 on the road until the All-Star break.
Although outrebounded all game, and victimized by second shots, the Bulls pulled ahead 67-58 after three quarters. They seemed to be in control as Miller shot-putted in a long three early in the fourth quarter for a 70-60 lead and the Bulls maintained the margin for most of the quarter.
It looked like the Bulls might erase the memories of blowing a 19-point lead and losing in triple overtime to the Hornets earlier this week in Charlotte.
But second-chance baskets hurt again as Wesley hit a three after a Hornets missed free throw and Nailon followed his own miss to put Charlotte within 83-81 with 1:45 left. Ron Artest, who had 14 points, blew by Nailon for a left-handed slam after Davis tied the game 83-83 with two free throws. But after Brand missed a jumper from the corner, Wesley hit the three.
“I just got it to go in,” Wesley said. “I haven’t shot the ball well the last few games. I was just enjoying it.”
