BULLS PUT LAKERS IN THEIR PLACE : CHICAGO 104 LAKERS 83.Byline: Howard Beck Daily News Staff Writer The record was set straight Wednesday night at the United Center, for all those trying too hard to forge reality out of the hype pile: No, Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant (born July 23 1978) is an American All-Star shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. is not yet Michael Jordan This article is about the former basketball player. For other uses, see Michael Jordan (disambiguation). Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player. , nor his equal. No, the Bulls are not frail, just another year older. And no, the Lakers are not wresting the Team of the '90s title away. At least, not just yet. These truths the Bulls hold to be self-evident. Witness the total domination of their 104-83 pounding of the young Lakers before a sellout home crowd. For now, the defending NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= champions remain the team of the present. The young Lakers will have to wait their turn. ``Not too many teams could have come in and beaten them tonight,'' Lakers coach Del Harris said of the Bulls. ``In fact, probably zero.'' The Bulls were at their best in every facet of the game. Michael Jordan scorched scorch v. scorched, scorch·ing, scorch·es v.tr. 1. To burn superficially so as to discolor or damage the texture of. See Synonyms at burn1. 2. the Lakers for 36 points, the most anyone has scored against them this season. Dennis Rodman grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Chicago to a 54-36 advantage in that department. The Bulls shot 50 percent to the Lakers' season-low 34.5. And they kept the young Lakers from ever establishing their dangerous running game. That resulted in the Lakers' lowest scoring output of the year. ``Tonight, they were just clicking on all cylinders,'' Nick Van Exel Nickey (Nick) Maxwell Van Exel (born November 27 1971 in Kenosha, Wisconsin) is a retired American professional basketball player in the NBA. Van Exel, a 6'1" left-handed point guard, was most well known for his flashy style of play and his ability to hit critical shots during said. ``Tonight is just an example of what they can do. You can imagine how tough they'll be when Scottie (Pippen) comes back.'' A scary thought indeed, though it's hard to see how the Bulls could look more dangerous than they did on this night. ``Yeah,'' agreed Robert Horry Robert Horry (born August 25, 1970 in Harford County, Maryland) is an American National Basketball Association basketball player. Currently playing for the San Antonio Spurs, Horry is is known for his ability to make clutch shots in big games. , ``they are scary.'' Chicago spotted the Lakers a 5-0 lead but erased it quickly and never let the visitors get close again. The Lakers' last lead was 7-5, with 10:02 left in the first quarter. A 20-4 Bull run, with 11 points from Jordan, followed, and the Lakers spent the rest of the night frantically trying to find themselves. They never did, trailing 32-20 at the end of the first and never pulling closer than 10 points the rest of the way. The best the Lakers could muster in the fourth quarter was a short-lived 17-point deficit, which quickly ballooned into the 20s to stay. Van Exel said he could see it coming in the first quarter, right around the time the Lakers got that 5-0 jump. ``Michael got the ball by the bench and you could just see it. He looked at everybody, told them to calm down and relax with his eyes and his motions,'' Van Exel said. Message received. Luc Longley Lucien James "Luc" Longley (born January 19 1969 in Melbourne, Victoria) is a retired Australian professional basketball player, who was the first Australian to play in the NBA. He attended college at the University of New Mexico. responded with a 23-point, 10-rebound performance, overpowering Elden Campbell Elden Jerome Campbell (born July 23, 1968 in Los Angeles, California) is an American former professional basketball player who played center in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Campbell played college basketball at Clemson University. , who finished with 15 points and five boards. The entire Lakers starting lineup For the line of action figures, see . A starting lineup in sports refers to the set of players actively participating in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes struggled. Van Exel scored 11 on 5-of-14 shooting and was the only other starter in double figures. Horry went scoreless, Rick Fox was 2 of 9 for four points, and Eddie Jones, matched up against His Airness, went 1 for 11 for three points. The only saving grace for the Lakers was the 19-year-old Bryant, who responded to his matchup with Jordan - the man he is ordained or·dain tr.v. or·dained, or·dain·ing, or·dains 1. a. To invest with ministerial or priestly authority; confer holy orders on. b. To authorize as a rabbi. 2. to succeed - with 33 points. Bryant's total, which included 16 points in the fourth quarter, established a new career high for the third time in four games. Jones, who has typically fared much better against Jordan, had no explanation for his off night, dismissing any notion that the Lakers were tired from back-to-back games. Jordan had a lot to do with Jones' struggles. He drew him in for two quick fouls and Jones couldn't establish anything the rest of the night. ``I just wanted to challenge him on every shot, don't give him a good look,'' Jones said. ``Everybody knows how good Jordan is. Some days you can be right in his mouth and he'll still make his shots.'' CAPTION(S): Photo, Box Photo: (Color) Michael Jordan, left, guarded by Kobe Bryant, and the Bulls were at their best on Wednesday in Chicago. They beat L.A. by 21 points. Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Box: GAME RECAP |
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