Find the recycling bin. Go to the bird cage, the cat’s litter box or the pile on the bedroom floor.
Wherever old newspapers are kept, that’s where this story is found.
Change the names, the cities and the arenas. The rest is the same. Like a bad rerun, the Bulls keep holding interest long enough to see the bitter end, and that end is an unfulfilling one.
At least Wednesday night at the First Union Center, the Bulls didn’t blow a fourth-quarter lead. They just blew the fourth quarter.
After hanging tough for three quarters with the league’s best team, the Bulls let Philadelphia turn a three-point edge into an easy 99-88 victory. Allen Iverson led the way with 43 points.
The Bulls missed their first 14 shots in the fourth quarter and failed to score for the first 6 minutes 37 seconds. Philadelphia took advantage with a 12-0 run. Ballgame.
“That’s been the story for five games,” said guard Bryce Drew, who scored a career-high 24 points. “We have to figure out how to get one down the stretch.”
The Bulls were playing their third game in four nights and lost the services of their best defender, Ron Artest, who sat out with tendinitis in his right foot. Coach Tim Floyd used the bench sparingly in the first three quarters, and the Bulls played as if they ran out of gas in the fourth. Ron Mercer hit just six of 21 shots.
The bench will get shorter. Forward Michael Ruffin fractured the fourth metacarpal on his right hand. Ruffin continued to play with the injury, but a similar injury sidelined center Brad Miller for 20 games earlier this season. Further evaluation will determine how long Ruffin is out.
“Maybe fatigue is a factor,” said Elton Brand, who rebounded from a poor first half to score 24 points for the game and grab a career-high 19 rebounds. Twelve of them were offensive, another career high.
