For once, Michael Jordan let the Cleveland Cavaliers off the hook.
He fumbled the ball, dribbled to the wing and let the shot fly. Drifting to the left as the Cleveland crowd stood and roared and clicked their cameras, Jordan missed a game-tying 3-point attempt, and the Chicago Bulls lost to the Cavaliers for the first time in two years, 73-70 Thursday night."It was a busted play and I tried to get a good feel for the ball, but couldn't," Jordan said. "It just was an off night for us. There really is no other explanation for it."
The sellout crowd at Gund Arena waited until the last few seconds to get up and cheer. They have seen Jordan ruin too many of their seasons to get cocky.
It's as if Jordan holds some sort of curse over Cleveland. His career-high 69 points came against the Cavs in 1990. He and the Bulls knocked Cleveland out of the playoffs in 1988, '89, '92, '93 and '94.
Cleveland didn't get to face Chicago in the playoffs in 1995, when His Airness was playing baseball.
"It wouldn't have been justifiable if I had made that shot with the way that we played," said Jordan, booed by about half the fans during introductions, as is the custom in this town.
The Bulls, seeking to equal last year's historic 72-10 regular season record, added a bunch of dubious milestones instead. Chicago, which won 50 of its first 56 games last season, dropped to 49-7 and will now have to go 23-3 to equal last year's record.
A win tonight against Sacramento will give Chicago a 50-7 record, matching the 1982-83 Philadelphia 76ers' second-best record with 50 victories in NBA history. Last year's Bulls remain first.
Still, Dennis Rodman wasn't all that concerned about Chicago's first loss since Feb. 5.
"So we lost one. So?" Rodman said. "Now we have to try to get back on track. I think we have the ability to do that, don't you?"
The Bulls, who started the season with 12 straight wins, had a seven-game winning streak snapped.
Jordan's errant 3-pointer was Chicago's 13th miss in 14 tries from beyond the arc, one of several season lows induced by the swarming, ball-control Cavs.
Terrell Brandon had 23 points for the Cavs. Bobby Phills scored 13 and forced Jordan into a 7-for-25 shooting performance.
Jordan led the Bulls with 23 points. Rodman tied a season-high with 16 points and had 16 rebounds. Scottie Pippen had 14 points and 14 rebounds.
Lakers 122, Bullets 107
Elden Campbell scored 38 points and Nick Van Exel added 31 points and 12 assists as the visiting Lakers beat the Bullets, averting their first three-game losing streak of the season.
Juwan Howard's 26 points and 12 rebounds led the Bullets.
Hornets 106, Rockets 95
Glen Rice scored 12 of his 24 points in the third quarter, and Charlotte beat Houston for the first time at The Summit.
The Hornets came into the game 0-9 on the Rockets' home court, but used a 14-0 spurt over a 4:22 span of the third quarter to go from a 65-63 deficit to a 77-65 lead with 3:38 left in the period.
Jazz 118, Raptors 114
Karl Malone scored 32 points, including eight straight in the final 2:42, to help the Jazz beat the visiting Raptors (see story on Page D1).
Timberwolves 107, Mavericks 105
At Dallas, Tom Gugliotta's 17-foot jumper with 2.6 seconds left in the second overtime gave the Timberwolves their victory.
The Timberwolves, who moved two games over .500 for the first time in franchise history and matched their single-season victory record of 29, scored the final six points of the game, while the Mavs went scoreless for the final 2:33.