Sports - Chicago Bulls vs. San Antonio Spurs - 11/3/97

CHICAGO 87, SAN ANTONIO 83 (2OT)
(Box Score)

CHICAGO -- Michael Jordan scored 29 points and made the finalbasket of regulation, overtime and double overtime, lifting theChicago Bulls to an 87-83 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.Jordan shot just 12-of-39 from the field, including some awfulmisses. But he made his shots when they counted, burying hisfirst 3-pointer of the season as time expired in regulation and atying jumper with 22 seconds to go in the first extra session.

"We were lucky to win that game," Jordan said. "Nobody could geta shot off. San Antonio shut down the inside completely and Icould never find my jump shot. I shot almost 40 times and I waslucky to make, I think, 12 of them."

With the Bulls clinging to an 83-82 lead in the final minute,Jordan sprung for a 15-footer from the left corner with 32seconds left. The teams traded free throws thereafter as Chicagoheld on for its second straight win. Former Spur Dennis Rodmangrabbed 22 rebounds before fouling out and Jordan added 13 forthe Bulls, who overcame a 16-point second-quarter deficit and 31percent shooting (33-of-108).

Said Chicago coach Phil Jackson: "It's very rare when you takeover 100 shots and make less than one-third of them that you wina game. I credit our tenacious defense and Dennis' reboundingwith the victory."

David Robinson collected 21 points and 12 rebounds and rookie TimDuncan added 19 and 22 for the Spurs, who managed just 54 pointsover the final 46 minutes. San Antonio, which shot 40 percent(34-of-85), had won its first two games.

"I thought it was a hell of a defensive struggle for both sides,"San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "When you hold anotherteam to 30 percent from the floor, you know you've done a greatjob, especially when they're the world champions. I give themcredit, they found a way to win. That's why they are the best."

Two free throws by Avery Johnson gave the Spurs a 73-70 lead with16 seconds left in regulation. Jordan and Toni Kukoc missed3-pointers before Jordan corralled a loose ball on the left wingand drilled the tying 3-pointer as the horn sounded.

Jordan tied it at 79-79 with 22 seconds left in the firstovertime, sending Chicago to its first double-overtime game sinceApril 1994 against Boston.

The Spurs had 24 turnovers and were 0-for-7 from 3-point range.

CHICAGO BULLS 87, San Antonio Spurs 83 (2OT)
(Recap)

SAN ANTONIO (83)                      fg    ft    rb               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tpDuncan          46  8-14   3-6  6-22  0  4   19Elliott         43  2-10   0-1   0-2  1  3    4Robinson        48  8-20   5-6  1-12  6  5   21Del Negro       24   4-7   0-0   1-4  3  2    8Johnson         45  5-13   2-2   1-4  5  3   12M Williams      23   2-6   0-1   1-6  3  6    4Alexander       13   0-2   0-0   0-1  4  1    0W Perdue        15   3-5   1-2   2-5  0  2    7Herrera          7   1-1   0-0   0-0  0  1    2Jackson         25   1-7   4-5   0-0  1  4    6Geary            1   0-0   0-0   0-0  0  0    0Rose           DNP - coach's decision_______________________________________________TOTALS         290 34-85 15-23 12-56 23 31   83_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.400, FT-.652. 3-Point Goals:0-7, .000 (Duncan 0-1, Elliott 0-3, Alexander0-1, Jackson 0-2). Team rebounds: 14. Blockedshots: 6 (Robinson 4, Duncan, Johnson).Turnovers: 24 (Robinson 6, Elliott 5, Duncan 4,Johnson 3, Alexander 2, Del Negro, Herrera,Jackson). Steals: 6 (Jackson 2, Del Negro,Johnson, M Williams, W Perdue).
CHICAGO (87)                      fg    ft    rb               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tpCaffey          12   0-1   1-2   1-2  1  4    1Harper          36   2-9   1-2   2-5  4  3    5Longley         46  5-12   7-8   4-9  2  6   17Jordan          48 12-39   4-6  4-13  4  0   29Brown           18   0-5   0-0   2-2  2  1    0Rodman          46  1-10   1-4 10-22  1  6    3Kerr            42  4-12   0-0   1-1  3  2   10Kleine          10   2-4   1-2   0-1  1  2    5Kukoc           19  5-13   0-0   2-3  0  1   11Buechler        13   2-3   0-0   0-2  3  2    6Burrell        DNP - coach's decisionWennington     DNP - coach's decision_______________________________________________TOTALS         29033-108 15-24 26-60 21 27   87_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.306, FT-.625. 3-Point Goals:6-17, .353 (Harper 0-3, Jordan 1-4, Kerr 2-5,Kukoc 1-3, Buechler 2-2). Team rebounds: 13.Blocked shots: 9 (Longley 6, Jordan 2, Harper).Turnovers: 14 (Longley 5, Jordan 3, Rodman 2,Brown, Buechler, Kukoc). Steals: 12 (Jordan 5,Brown 2, Buechler 2, Harper, Kerr, Rodman).______________________________________________________San Antonio        29   16   12   16    6    4  -   83Chicago            15   20   18   20    6    8  -   87______________________________________________________Technical fouls: Chicago 2 (Kukoc, 12:00 4th;Rodman, 2:14 2nd OT). Flagrant fouls: None.  A:23,868. T: 2:53. Officials: Hue Hollins, DerrickStafford, Scott Wall.