Forget the 2001 draft-day trade involving Elton Brand and Tyson Chandler.
The Clippers and Bulls have become are linked for a different reason: When these teams play, expect a postgame tirade from coach Bill Cartwright.
Thirty-nine days ago in Los Angeles, Cartwright used profanity to describe Marcus Fizer’s performance in particular and his team’s play in general after a dismal loss.
Cartwright dropped the profanity Saturday night–at least in public. But he cut short a postgame news conference by storming off after hearing the mere mention of the word “offense” following the Clippers’ 103-97 victory before a sellout United Center crowd of 22,303.
“This had nothing to do with our offense–period,” Cartwright said. “Turn around and put your body on somebody. Play some defense. Dive on a loose ball. Take a charge. Block a shot. We’re averaging 93 points a game. It’s plenty. All this [garbage] about offense. Guard somebody.”
Perhaps he meant Corey Maggette and Quentin Richardson.
The two former local high school stars scored 25 and 21 points, respectively, to help the Clippers snap an eight-game skid and hand new coach Dennis Johnson his first NBA win.
That the Clippers were playing their second road game in as many nights and were without Brand and Michael Olowokandi galled Cartwright even more.
“And you guys heard the clean version,” Eddy Curry said after tying his career high with 26 points.
By the way, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant come to town Tuesday night with the Lakers.
Early the Bulls used their new big lineup–it checks in with averages of 6 feet 9 inches and 230 pounds–to dominate inside. Curry scored the Bulls’ first 10 points and single-handedly forced the undermanned Clippers to switch to a zone defense.
Then the wheels fell off.
Richardson scored 10 of his 14 second-quarter points in a 23-4 run as the Clippers took a 59-47 halftime lead. After shooting 58 percent in the first quarter, the Bulls shot only 25 percent in the second, too often settling for jump shots.
“We’ll look at this [box score] and guys got their points,” Cartwright said. “But that’s not what we’re all about.”
With the Bulls down by as many as 15, Jay Williams’ two late three-pointers cut the deficit to 97-93 with 54 seconds left.
But Jalen Rose’s pass to Curry in traffic was broken up by Andre Miller, who had 12 points and 10 assists. He sank two free throws with 21.8 seconds left.
Led by Richardson, the Clippers’ bench outscored Bulls reserves 51-14. Rookie Chris Wilcox, a teammate of Lonny Baxter’s for NCAA champion Maryland last season, added a career-high 12 points.
Rose led the Bulls with 30 points and 11 assists. He also set a career high for points in a season with 1,484.
