Craig Hodges ignited a third-quarter surge with 10 points, leading the Bulls to a 102-90 NBA exhibition victory over the Seattle SuperSonics on Tuesday night.
Hodges did not play in the first half but made his presence felt in the third quarter before a Kingdome crowd of 25,780.He made a pair of 3-pointers and two other baskets as the Bulls extended a 56-51 lead early in the quarter to a 75-55 advantage with 3:46 left in the period.
Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen added six points each during that spurt.
Besides Hodges' perimeter shooting, the Bulls' pressure defense against the Sonics' lineup turned the game into a runaway after three periods.
Pippen, who led Chicago with 21 points, and Jordan brought the crowd to its feet with some flashy dunks off fast breaks.
Pippen was 8-of-10 from the field and had 10 rebounds.
Jordan added 17 points. Four other Bulls scored in double figures.
Seattle's Derrick McKey and Dale Ellis sat out the game because of minor injuries.
The loss ended a two-game Seattle winning streak.
Xavier McDaniel led the Sonics with 21 and Sedale Threatt added 16. Olden Polynice had 12 points and 15 rebounds for Seattle.
Horace Grant's 11 points helped Chicago to a 48-44 halftime lead.
Pacers 139, Rockets 121
At Kitchener, Ontario, Detlef Schrempf had 29 points and 10 rebounds, and George McCloud keyed a late rally as the Indiana Pacers defeated the Houston Rockets in an NBA exhibition game.
McCloud scored six of his 14 points in the final 29 seconds of the third quarter, when the Pacers took the lead for good. Houston led 98-94 before McCloud hit a jumper and a free throw, then stole an inbounds pass and buried a 3-point shot with one second left in the period for a 100-98 lead.
McCloud added another basket as the Pacers ran off the first eight points of the fourth quarter, four by Schrempf. The Rockets never got closer than eight points in the final nine minutes.
Chuck Person added 18 points for Indiana (4-2), which went 3-0 on its Canadian tour. Reggie Miller had 17 points, and LaSalle Thompson and Rik Smits contributed 14 apiece.
Akeem Olajuwon led Houston (4-2) with 22 points, Mike Woodson had 21 and Adrian Caldwell 18.
Nets 112, Heat 101
At Syracuse, N.Y., Anthony Mason scored 18 points and Reggie Theus and Pete Myers added 16 each, carrying the New Jersery Nets to a NBA exhibition victory over the Miami Heat.
It's New Jersey's first preseason victory. Miami remains winless.
Sherman Douglas had 26 points, including 14 of 16 from the free throw line, and eight assists to lead Miami in his return to the Carrier Dome. Douglas set the all-time NCAA career assist record while playing at Syracuse.
The Nets (1-2) used a 13-6 spurt to finish the third period with an 86-73 lead after playing to a 55-55 halftime tie. Forward Jack Haley scored four points during the surge and guard Mookie Blaylock added a 3-pointer.
Miami (0-5) scored the first 10 points of the fourth quarter to cut New Jersey's lead to 87-83 with 8:09 to play. But Myers made four straight free throws and added a spinning layup to increase New Jersey's lead to 93-83 with 7:25 remaining.
Miami pulled within 100-94 with 4:57 left on Douglas' layup, but the Heat faded down the stretch.
Haley finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for New Jersey. Rookie Willie Burton added 17 points for Miami.
Suns 119, Cavaliers 114
At Richfield, Ohio, Mark West scored four points, blocked a shot and grabbed a rebound in the final 30 seconds as the unbeaten Phoenix Suns topped the winless Cleveland Cavaliers in an NBA exhibition game.
Phoenix (5-0) squandered an early 16-point lead and fell behind by as many as eight early in the fourth quarter. Cleveland (0-5) still led by four points after Chucky Brown made a 15-footer with 2:30 to play.
The Cavaliers did not score again. Jeff Hornacek got Phoenix within one when he made a 3-pointer with 2:05 remaining, and West got the ball back for the Suns by blocking John Williams' short jumper with 30 seconds to go.
West then took a pass from Kevin Johnson at the other end and made a layup for a 115-114 Phoenix lead. After Cleveland's Mark Price missed a layup, West rebounded and was fouled, sinking both free throws.
Hornacek closed the scoring with two foul shots.
Tom Chambers scored 23 points, Hornacek 22 and Johnson 20 for the Suns. Brad Daugherty led Cleveland with 34 points and 11 rebounds, and Brown scored 24 points.