Knicks Outlast Jordan

NEW YORK — Imagine what he would have done if he had been healthy.

Bad back and all, Michael Jordan scored 46 points Saturday--10 in the last 2:21 of regulation as the Chicago Bulls stormed from behind--but his supporting cast is in another of its funks, so even that wasn’t enough. The New York Knicks, reviled after two fourth-quarter collapses, blew a 13-point lead late in this one but rallied in overtime to win, 102-99.

The Bulls, 5-1 in postseason play and up 2-1 in this best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series, are nonetheless looking vulnerable after their 72-win season and they took this with less grace than usual.

Coach Phil Jackson, the noted liberal philosopher, confined his postgame remarks to a 62-second announcement, dropping his usual hints (the Knicks may have shot their bolt, may not be able to recover for today’s Game 4, and he’s upset at the local media for reporting Knick Coach Jeff Van Gundy’s jibes at him) before making a tidy exit.

Jackson: “That was an exceptional game, I thought, that the Knicks played today. They played as well as they can and we floundered around, it seemed like, for three quarters before we got ourselves together. . . .

“Expended a lot of energy--it’s going to be real interesting to see which team can step up and resuscitate itself. . . .

“Other than that, I don’t think I’ll accept any questions. There’s nothing to ask. It’s pretty well stated in our stat sheet, and I don’t want to fuel any fires that might be created by some of the reporting that’s going on here in this series.

“Just suffice it to say, we feel the Knicks played a great game and shot the ball real well. We had our opportunities to win this game and couldn’t complete it.

“Thank you.”

Actually, the Bulls have been floundering all week. Scottie Pippen, who admits he played hurt chasing 70 wins--which was when he went into a slump that hasn’t ended--started this game shooting 31% in the series.

Saturday he went 10 for 29. With Toni Kukoc out because of a bad back, that left it up to you-know-whom.

Jordan had 11 points in the first quarter--outscoring the rest of his teammates put together by five. At that moment in the series, he had 83 and they had 106.

The Knicks, awash in a sea of scorn and sneered at by the press, their fan base eroding (Saturday’s game was announced as a sellout, but patches of empty seats were spotted), jumped into what looked like a commanding lead, 82-69, with 5:30 left in regulation.

But, as the Bulls like to say, Jordan happens.

In the last 2:21, he scored 10 points, making two three-point baskets and two twos, each shot harder than the last.

With the Bulls down, 88-83, and 1:17 left, he made a three-pointer.

With 45 seconds left, he faked a Knick off his feet, jumped inside him, twisted his body in the air to square up and make a 13-footer.

With 19 seconds left and Derek Harper, a crack defensive guard, on him and aware that he needed a three-point basket, Jordan line-drived in a 25-footer to tie it.

With 2.6 seconds left, the Bulls got a chance to win in regulation, but Jackson set up a difficult cross-court lob to Jordan, who couldn’t handle it cleanly and had to try a halfcourt hook shot. In a surprise, he missed.

Jordan was asked about his run later.

“We were only eight points down,” he said. “That’s just two threes and a two.”

Maybe for him. He made two more baskets in the first three minutes of overtime as the Bulls went up, 97-94, but the Knicks kept coming back. Patrick Ewing, who caught the brunt of the local criticism, scored six points in a row and blocked Jordan’s layup. With the Bulls down, 98-97, Charles Oakley, a former Bull and Jordan’s good friend, stripped the ball away from Jordan.

At game’s end, needing another three-pointer to tie, Jordan was double-teamed and tossed the ball to Pippen. Pippen’s shot clattered off, his 19th miss.

Pippen said later that he wasn’t concerned about his shooting.

Jordan said he was.

“I’m a little concerned it doesn’t become such a mental block for him [Pippen] that he starts fighting against himself,” Jordan said.

“I think he’s pressing just a little bit. And we’ve all done that. I’ve done it, he’s done it, other great players have done it too. It’s a matter of realizing and trying to relax and let the game come to you instead of you chasing the game. You know, right now he’s chasing the game.”

Right now, Jordan is resting his back. They were getting only 24 hours off and he may have to carry an entire franchise on it.