Michael Jordan scored 40 points and Scott Burrell and Scottie Pippen led a fourth-quarter surge as the Chicago Bulls extended their winning streak to 12 games - the longest in the NBA this season - with a 109-94 victory Sunday over the Houston Rockets.
Jordan already had 30 points and was on the bench to start the fourth quarter when Burrell and Pippen heated up to combine for Chicago's next 22 points and give Chicago its seventh straight road win.Houston's Eddie Johnson opened the quarter with a basket to cut the Bulls' lead to 71-68. Burrell then scored 13 points, including three 3-pointers, and Pippen added nine as Chicago opened a 93-78 lead.
Jordan, who shot 18-of-31, returned with 6:01 to go and scored the next 10 Chicago points - including a one-handed alley-oop dunk off a 26-foot pass from Pippen to reach 40 with 1:56 left.
It was the 11th time this season Jordan scored 40 or more.
Houston lost its sixth straight, the Rockets' longest losing streak in 14 months.
The Rockets, despite showing an early intensity that had been lacking in recent weeks, committed 20 turnovers that led to 27 points for the Bulls, who had only eight turnovers of their own.
Pippen finished with 20 points, eight assists and five blocked shots and Burrell had 15 points as the Bulls stayed on track for the NBA's best regular-season record and homecourt advantage through the playoffs.
Dennis Rodman had 12 rebounds and Bill Wennington, making only his third start of the year because of a foot injury to Toni Kukoc, added 14.
Clyde Drexler led Houston with 20 points while Hakeem Olajuwon had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Jordan, showing a dazzling array of jumpers and fadeaways, scored 14 in the third quarter, including 10 of Chicago's first 12 points. With Houston trailing 54-53, he started a 9-2 run that gave the Bulls a 63-55 lead with 3:52 to go.
When the Rockets responded with 7-0 run, including five points from Drexler to pull to 65-64, Wennington and Burrell had baskets and Jordan hit a pair of free throws as the Bulls closed the period with a 6-2 burst and took a 71-66 lead into the final 12 minutes.
Chicago offset six Houston 3-pointers in the first half by turning 11 Houston turnovers into 13 points. The Bulls got 10 points from Jordan in the second quarter and used a 9-2 spurt near the end of the first half to lead 44-43 at the break.
WIZARDS 88, MAGIC 85: At Washington, Rod Strickland had his third triple-double of the season and Derek Harper missed a tying 3-pointer with six seconds left.
Strickland had 21 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for the Wizards (38-37), who moved into sole possession of ninth place in the Eastern Conference, one-half game behind the New Jersey Nets (38-36) in the battle for the eighth playoff berth.
The Wizards, who beat the Magic for the first time in four meetings this season, have won two in a row after a four-game losing streak. Orlando (37-38) has lost three straight.
LAKERS 105, PISTONS 103 : At Auburn Hills, Mich., Shaquille O'Neal scored 35 points and Nick Van Exel scored 11 of his 19 in the fourth quarter and overtime to lead the Lakers to a comeback victory.
Detroit lost its sixth straight despite Grant Hill's 27th career triple-double. Hill had 18 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists but shot just 4-for-17 from the floor.
Eddie Jones added 17 points and O'Neal grabbed several of his 12 rebounds at crucial moments for the Lakers, who came back from an 18-point, third-quarter deficit.
Los Angeles won its fifth straight, including four straight on the road for first 4-0 trip since February, 1987.
CAVALIERS 94, CLIPPERS 93: At Cleveland, Shawn Kemp, returning from a one-game suspension, scored 25 points and rescued the sluggish Cavaliers down the stretch as Cleveland escaped with a victory over Los Angeles.
The Clippers nearly came all the way back from a seven-point deficit in the final 30 seconds, but were unable to foul over the final eight seconds as Cleveland managed to run out the clock.
Kemp scored 10 of the Cavs' last 15 points and Wesley Person had 16 points for the Cavs, who have won six of seven and 10 of 12 as they try to build momentum heading into the playoffs.
James Robinson scored 26 points, Isaac Austin had 24 and Lamond Murray 23 for the Clippers.
PACERS 93, BUCKS 92: At Indianapolis, Indiana tied the franchise's NBA-era record with its 52nd victory of the season, beating Milwaukee when Michael Curry missed a last-second jumper.
The Pacers, who have won 52 games in three of the past four seasons, made 30 field goals and 30 free throws in a close game that featured 20 ties and 22 lead changes.
Reggie Miller led a balanced scoring attack with 18 points. Derrick McKey, Chris Millin and Antonio Davis added 16 points each as Indiana swept the four-game season series from Milwaukee for the first time ever.
TIMBERWOLVES 97, HAWKS 96: At Atlanta, Stephon Marbury, playing in the city where he dazzled as a collegian, flipped in a shot with 23.4 seconds remaining as Minnesota rallied to beat Atlanta.
The Hawks had a chance to win, but Dikembe Mutombo came up short on a 8-foot hook shot with three seconds left and the horn sounded while Blaylock and Minnesota's Kevin Garnett battled for the loose ball.
Marbury, who played at Georgia Tech in 1995-96 before moving on to the Timberwolves, scored only nine points but had 13 assists. Sam Mitchell led Minnesota with 22 points and Garnett added 18.
Atlanta dropped three games behind Charlotte in the race for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
76ERS 116, RAPTORS 104: At Philadelphia, Allen Iverson scored 36 points as Philadelphia recorded its highest point total of the season.
Iverson flirted with Philadelphia's first triple-double since 1995, chipping in nine rebounds and eight assists.
Derrick Coleman, who has averaged 23.4 points in seven games since returning from an ankle injury, scored 21, while Theo Ratliff had 16 points, eight rebounds and six blocks.