Bulls Short, and Houston Rockets on Past

HOUSTON — Where have you gone, Dennis Rodman? A dynasty turns its lonely eyes to you.

What you schedule isn’t always what you get. NBC had a glamour matchup between the winners of the last six NBA titles Sunday, but a threadbare group of Chicago Bulls showed up.

Injury had taken Ron Harper. David Stern had taken Rodman. Scottie Pippen, perhaps confusing the playoff atmosphere for a playoff game, shot two for 14. Toni Kukoc was one for 10. Michael Jordan flamed out in the second half when he went two for 13.

That left . . . nothing. The Houston Rockets, trailing by a point with 7:12 left, scored the next 19 and won, 102-86, without a star of their own, Charles Barkley, who sat out because of a sprained ankle.

The Bulls, still on a 71-win pace, are showing the strain of the past week. On the floor afterward, Coach Phil Jackson snarled at an NBC cameraman, “Get that out of my face” and it went out over the air. All in all, it wasn’t a good day for the network either.

The Bulls missed 11 shots down the stretch (Jordan and Pippen had three each), saw one blocked (Jordan’s) and turned the ball over twice (Pippen and Luc Longley). In the second half, Pippen made one shot and Kukoc none.

“Each individual tested the waters and they couldn’t find any confidence in them,” said Jordan. “From that point on, there wasn’t too much confidence in anyone’s offensive capabilities. That goes for myself to Scottie to Toni. . . .”

The Rockets, thin enough with Barkley, have been in better shape themselves. Can you imagine NBC’s delight when, at one point, Rudy Tomjanovich fielded a unit of Othella Harrington, Randy Livingston, Sam Mack, Mario Elie and Kevin Willis?

The remaining superstar, Hakeem Olajuwon, a devout Moslem, fasts from sun up until sundown during Ramadan, meaning he had risen before dawn and eaten a meal of chicken and rice before the game and wouldn’t drink water during it. He told his coach he would cut corners to conserve energy, such as not running on the fast break.

Conservation didn’t go much further than that. Olajuwon scored 32 points, took 16 rebounds, blocked five shots, had four assists and made four steals. Once, he dived on the floor twice on the same play to force a 24-second violation.

“You guys didn’t solve Hakeem,” someone said to Jordan.

“He’s unsolvable,” said Jordan.

The teams fought through the first 41 minutes, the Rockets going ahead by 10 points twice, the Bulls catching up. With 7:12 to play, Jordan, soaring to the hoop on a fast break, collided with Mack, who was called for a blocking foul. Tomjanovich screamed and was hit with a technical foul. Jordan made three free throws and the Bulls led, 84-83.

After that, it was Rockets 19, Bulls 2, the lone Chicago hoop, Randy Brown’s dunk, coming with nine seconds to play and the Rockets standing around, waiting for the clock to run out.

Tomjanovich later said he doesn’t gets technicals on purpose--”I’m not that smart”--but may reconsider after he sees the game tape.

Jackson was in his usual effusive mood.

“I felt good about the game going into the fourth quarter,” he said. “Even though Toni and Scottie were struggling from the field, they did a wonderful job. When we got the crowd upset and the technicals happened, I think everything stopped. . . . Great performances tonight from Willis and Olajuwon, they beat us up pretty good inside tonight. Other than that, I have no further comments to make.”

Jackson is taking losing hard these days. He’s taking winning hard too. Perhaps concerned his “falsetto” joke about the cameraman kicked by Rodman--prompting his suspension--sullied his liberal credentials, he took no questions after the last game either, a 27-point rout of the Bucks.

For the record, Jordan, who had 14 rebounds, denied the effort wore him down, but he’s about to turn 34 and the Bulls have nine more games before the All-Star break, seven on the road.

Rodman has been gone four days but in Chicago, it seems longer than that.