By the time Jalen Rose finished showering Saturday night after the Bulls’ pulsating 114-112 victory over Houston in double overtime, the rumor already had reached the locker room that his buzzer-beating game-winner hadn’t actually beaten the buzzer.
“Hey, it looked good to me,” coach Bill Cartwright said smiling. “Wasn’t even close.”
The Bulls couldn’t have cared less that Rose’s 15-foot jumper from the left elbow, following a spin move on Walt Williams, came after the buzzer. All they knew was that officials counted it, an eight-game losing streak was history and the charter flight home would be that much faster and that much sweeter.
The basket came after a timeout with 2.5 seconds left and gave Rose, who also had a season-high 11 rebounds and six assists, a career-high 44 points. He scored the Bulls’ final six points and also had a stretch late in regulation where he scored 11 straight, silencing a Compaq Center crowd of 12,736.
“I didn’t think somebody could make the moves that he did in 2 1/2 seconds,” Williams said. “If you shoot after the buzzer, it’s hard to stop somebody.”
That the Bulls even lasted to a second overtime came courtesy of Travis Best, whose 19-foot baseline jumper barely beat the first-overtime buzzer and tied the score 106-106. Best, who scored 14, took an inbounds pass after Kenny Thomas missed the second of two free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining. “I knew 1.8 seconds was enough to put it on the floor and get a good look at it,” Best said. “I tried to take my time.”
Moochie Norris, who had 10 points and a career-high 17 assists, had given Houston a 105-104 lead with 12 seconds remaining in the first overtime when he drained a three-pointer with the Bulls draped all over Cuttino Mobley.
Mobley scored 37 to lead Houston, which played without Steve Francis. The guard owns career averages of 23.8 points and 63.2 percent shooting against the Bulls, but he succumbed to the headaches, dizziness and vision problems associated with Menieres disease, the rare ailment Francis has.
The Bulls had a chance to win in regulation. Marcus Fizer, with 20 points and eight rebounds off the bench, was fouled with 8.2 seconds remaining and the Bulls down one. But Fizer only hit the second of two free throws, and Norris missed a shot at the regulation buzzer.
This game again showed the difficult position that Cartwright finds himself. He continues to start three rookies because development is a priority. But Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry again played listlessly in combining to score eight points.
Charles Oakley played 34 minutes and finished with six points and 10 rebounds. Chandler didn’t play after halftime because of an upset stomach.
The Bulls’ best moments came when veterans Oakley and Fred Hoiberg came off the bench to complement veteran starters Rose and Best. Chandler finished with two points and one rebound in 11 minutes. Curry contributed six points and two rebounds in 20 minutes.
“I tell Eddy Curry to go and get a couple of flagrant fouls,” Oakley said. “Then everybody will know he’s on the court. The only time people know now is when he checks in the game.”
Oakley offered proof when he separated guard Tierre Brown from the ball and his senses after the whistle had blown, drawing a technical foul.
Youngsters Trenton Hassell and Jamal Crawford played well. Hassell contributed nine points, eight rebounds and five assists, while Crawford, in one of his more solid games since returning from knee surgery, had eight points in 16 minutes.
The Bulls and Rockets combined to win eight straight NBA titles in the 1990s. Now they’re merely playing out the string.
“Just two teams going nowhere, the battle of the bottom,” Oakley said.
And, finally, the Bulls came out on top.
“Early in the streak, I was asked how long it could go on and what I might do to stop it,” Rose said. “I joked about trying to have a big night to get it done.”
Rose’s performance Saturday night was no joke.
