December Doldrums Continue
They are the Pitiful Bulls against the rest of NBA America and the Raging Bulls against the Celtics . One wonders how they lose so many games (10-19) and what they'll be like when Michael Jordan returns.
On a night when the inside of Chicago Stadium was too cold for the Refrigerator (Bears idol William Perry couldn't make it), the Bulls put a big chill on the Celtics and came away with a hard-earned 116-108 victory.
Orlando Woolridge abused Larry Bird for 37 points, Jawaan Oldham had 12 rebounds and blocked five shots, Sid Green flew through the air, and Stan Albeck helped the cause by finally letting Woolridge play a fourth quarter.
Bird was stone cold in Chicago's Ice Water Mansion. He made only 5 of 17 shots and scored 12 points. "Larry just wasn't there tonight," said coach K.C. Jones. "He is not going to have too many nights like tonight."
It was a well-played game (15 total turnovers) and close all the way. The Celts trailed by seven early in the fourth but hoped for another big finish. Three days ago, Boston trailed Chicago by nine with five minutes left, then outscored Chicago, 15-1, down the stretch.
"We felt we should have won in Boston, but we didn't finish that game," said Woolridge, who tied his career scoring high. "That sour taste forced us to work as hard as we possibly could."
It had the makings of another fourth-quarter Boston comeback when the Celtics cut Chicago's lead to one on a jumper by Danny Ainge (17) with 1:48 left. Then Ainge was called for fouling Green, and El Sid hit two to make it 106-103 with 1:32 left.
The Celts were carried by Robert Parish (22 points, 15 rebounds), Kevin McHale (24 points) and Dennis Johnson (25), but again showed an alarming lack of depth. Every Boston starter went at least 37 minutes, and the vaunted bench scored only three baskets as Boston lost for the third time in six tries.
The Celts called time. After the pause, Bird missed and Parish stumbled out of bounds as he gathered the rebound. Woolridge came back and stuck a jumper. Then DJ missed and Boston had to foul Green. Two more free throws made it 110-103 with 33 seconds left and sent Chicago fans out of the icebox and into the deep freeze of the windy city.
Bird was disgusted with the Celts' failure to stop Woolridge. "I don't know what it was tonight; we just didn't have it. It was just like him against me all night. The other night, we played good team defense, but tonight we didn't."
The Bulls were presumably buoyed by the presence of Jordan, who sat on the bench with his cast ("Air cast?") wrapped in a designer sock. There's been some controversy involving Jordan's no-shows since he sustained his injury, but The Franchise was on hand for moral support last night.
It was clear from the start that Bird would have trouble guarding Woolridge. Chicago's Big O tap-danced to the tune of 14 points in the first quarter.
"They always ended up with two or three guys on me, and I found myself guarding my man on the other end one-on-one," moaned Bird.
Albeck saw it another way: "Orlando had the better of the duel with Bird."
Parish scored 10 in the first 12 minutes, but Woolridge paced the Bulls to a 29-28 lead.
Boston went ahead by three in the second, but Quintin Dailey exploded for 10 second-quarter points. Rookie Bull (and we mean BULL) Charles Oakley had seven rebounds in the period, and Chicago led, 57-56, at intermission.
The first three minutes of the second half provided some great hoop entertainment. The two teams made nine consecutive shots. Chicago came out ahead in this in-your-face exchange because the Bulls kept hitting when the Celtics started missing. When George Gervin (a quiet 19) converted a drive for Chicago to make it seven in a row, the Bulls led, 71-64, and the Celts called time.
The Celts outscored the Bulls, 18-8, over the next six minutes and led, 82-79, when DJ hit with 2:08 left in the third. Then Oldham started swatting shots and the Bulls got some confidence. Chicago led, 85-82, at the end of three and never trailed again.
"We gave them a lot of confidence (Sunday)," said Parish. "But tonight was different. They delivered down the stretch."
And how do the Bulls lose all those games?
"If they played us every night," said the Chief, "that might change."
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