Bulls manage to squander 35-point lead as Kings win 102-98
Anyone who turned off the Bulls-Kings game in the third quarter is in for a bigger surprise today than anything that will turn up under the tree on Christmas morning.
What started as a feel-good story about the Bulls finally giving the scoreboard a workout, ended with the most embarrassing result in franchise history.
The Bulls led by 35 points with 8:49 remaining in the third quarter and coughed it all up during an inconceivable late-game malfunction.
Sacramento outscored the Bulls 23-4 during the final 71/2 minutes and danced off the court at the United Center with a shocking 102-98 victory.
There were no visible signs of property damage in the Bulls' locker room, and coach Vinny Del Negro was composed when he stood at the podium for his postgame news conference.
"It happens. It's frustrating; it's difficult," Del Negro said. "But what are you going to do? Put your head down and feel sorry for yourself? You've got to go play.
"This is the NBA. These are pros. Everyone thinks they have all the different schemes and stuff. When someone gets on a roll, it makes it difficult. You get confidence. That's how that happened."
Early word from the statistical bureaus was this game either matched the greatest comeback in NBA history or fell 1-point short. The other challenger was a Utah victory over Denver on Nov. 27, 1996. The Jazz trailed by 34 at halftime of that contest, but it wasn't clear right away what exactly was the largest deficit.
After the final horn sounded, Kings owner Gavin Maloof walked off the court with both arms in the air, making the No. 1 signal. Evans heaved the ball the length of the court and it struck an unfortunate ballboy in the head, though he seemed to shake off the beaning without any problem.
"I'm not sure I understand what happened, nor am I sure I believe it," Sacramento coach Paul Westphal said. "Momentum is an amazing thing."
The Bulls (10-16) took control of this game right from the start and scored a season-high 67 points in the first half. They opened the third quarter with a 12-1 run to open the fateful 79-44 advantage.
At that point, the Bulls seemed to shut down and start thinking how many points they were going to score instead of doing the same things that built the lead.
"You tell them you want to attack and you want to share the ball and move it, run our sets," Del Negro said. "We got in a little time frame there where we were just making one pass and not making them guard.
"When we got a stop, we kind of were walking it up instead of keep attacking like the first half. I think that changed the momentum as well."
Sacramento (13-14) finished the game with rookie Tyreke Evans, second-year forward Jason Thompson and three subs who hustled the Bulls into submission.
The Kings whittled down the lead late in the third quarter, but the gap still was 15 points with 7:45 left in the fourth.
That's when the Bulls delivered an amazing stretch of incompetence. In a span of seven possessions, they committed 6 turnovers but still led by 10 with just more than three minutes remaining.
That's when the Bulls decided to stand and watch Sacramento's Ime Udoka drop in 2 uncontested 3-point shots that pulled the visitors within 95-91. On the next trip, Derrick Rose drove to the basket, missed a short bank shot and complained vehemently about the lack of a foul call.
Evans (23 points) finished a driving bank and completed a 3-point play on the other end to make it 95-94. After a Luol Deng free throw, Evans dropped in another driving basket to tie the score with 1:44 remaining.
Following another Bulls turnover, Evans hit the first of 2 free throws, the Kings rebounded the second shot and Evans tossed in a high-arching 20-footer over Deng as the shot clock expired.
The Bulls had a chance to tie the score, but Rose (24 points) missed a one-handed turnaround in the lane with about eight seconds on the clock.
"I guess there's a first time for everything," Rose said. "We were just nonchalant, I guess. We'll be OK. We play again tomorrow. That's the great thing about the NBA - if we could just take this anger out on New York."
• Before Monday's game, Del Negro mentioned that Deng has been playing with a small fracture in his left thumb, which occurred last week in practice. The digit was wrapped in tape against the Kings.
<p class="factboxheadblack">Bulls game day</p> <p class="News">New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, 6:30 p.m.</p> <p class="News"><b>TV:</b> Comcast SportsNet</p> <p class="News"><b>Radio:</b> WMVP 1000-AM</p> <p class="News"><b>Update:</b> Since losing to the Bulls on Thursday, New York (10-17) won home games over the Los Angeles Clippers and Charlotte, improving to 7-3 in its last 10 games. Former Pacers first-round draft pick Jonathan Bender returned to the NBA for the first time in four years and scored 20 points in his first two games for the Knicks, going 4-for-4 from 3-point range. Ex-Bull Larry Hughes has missed the last three games with a groin injury. The Bulls are 5-4 at MSG since the 2004-05 season.</p> <p class="News"><b>Next:</b> New Orleans Hornets at the United Center, 7 p.m. Saturday</p>