Bulls Cut Down Nets - Sweep Series

April 30, 1998 / 12:31 AM EDT / CBS/AP

Bring on the next victim. Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls are back in championship form.

Jordan and the Bulls made sure the New Jersey Nets ended their first playoff appearance in four years with nothing more than a little respect by posting yet another first-round sweep.

Jordan hit 15 of his first 18 shots and scored 38 points Wednesday night as the Bulls ended the best-of-5 series with a 116-101 victory over the upstart but injured Nets.

"When I am in that kind of rhythm it really doesn't matter. And I felt that early on in the game," Jordan said. "When I took my first 3, I knew I was on."

The first-round sweep was the third straight for the two-time defending NBA champions and it gave them a 24-1 record in the opening round since 1991.

"We knew their backs were to the wall and we just took it to them," Jordan said. "It's important to get it over with quick. It gives us a chance to get ready."

The Bulls will play either Charlotte or Atlanta in the second round. The Hornets lead the series 2-1 with Game 4 at Atlanta on Thursday night.

"We ain't going nowhere, no time soon," Bulls guard Ron Harper said. "Everybody is saying how old we are, and that we ain't going nowhere. We're here until June. That's our goal. To be here till June, not to leave early."
Scott Burrell supported Jordan by hitting 9 of 11 shots from the field and scoring 23 points, including 11 in the third quarter when Chicago opened a 93-76 lead. Dennis Rodman added 17 rebounds as Chicago outrebounded New Jersey 35-21, limiting New Jersey to 10 boards in the first 36 minutes.

Rodman also put an exclamation point on the win, hitting a 3-pointer on a pass from Jordan in the waning seconds. He then raised his arms over his head, drawing catcalls from the sellout crowd.

"We competed, we played hard. We can walk away from this with our heads high," Nets forward Chris Gatling said. "We lost to the better team."

Sherman Douglas, again filling in for the injured Sam Cassell, led the Nets with 19 points. Gatling and Keith Van Horn each had 18 and Kendall Gill 17 for New Jersey, which lost despite outshooting Chicago from the field, 60 percent to 56 percent.

Despite getting swept by Chicago, the young Nets won 17 more games than in coach John Calipari's first season.

"Next year, if we can improve like we did this year, then we'll be on a three-year plan to contend for a championship," said All-Star center Jayson Williams, who will be a free agent in the offseason.

The Nets had rallied from big deficits and made the Bulls struggle in the first two games in Chicago, and they thought that playing before a home crowd would make a difference.

It didn't, even though the fans booed Jordan anCo. more than they had in the past.

On the court, nothing changed and the Nets problems were compounded by Jordan's sizzling shooting. He opened with a 3-point basket and then proceeded to sink one jumper after another, most of the time with a defender not too far away. He finished 16-of-22 from the field.

"He makes hard shots," Harper said. "You all see it in the basketball game. We see it every day. I go against him every day and you see some of the shots he hits. All you can say is: `Damn, did that shot go in?"'

Both teams shots about 65 percent in the opening half, but the Bulls opened a 61-52 lead. Chicago broke the game open midway through the third quarter with a 14-6 spurt that included nine straight by Burrell.

The Nets made one desperate run in the fourth quarter, closing to 97-85.

However, Jordan make several fakes on Kerry Kittles on the left wing and hit another jumper. As the crowd groaned, Jordan put his finger to his lips and mouthed "shhhhh."

"Michael Jordan was on fire and whenever we made a run he seemed to make a 3 or hit a couple of big baskets," Van Horn said. "He was in a zone. It didn't matter who we threw at him. He was going to score."

Jordan scored 109 points in the three games, a 36.3 average.
Cassell, who played 23 minutes in the first two games, reinjured his groin after three minutes and two points. He watched the end of the game in street clothes. Jayson Williams, who returned to action after missing the final month with a broken thumb, had three points and 10 rebounds.

Notes: The Nets' first playoff game since 1994 brought out a celebrity crowd that included New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, entertainers Bill Cosby, Bill Murray and Danny Aiello, television anchor Tom Brokaw and NBA commissioner David Stern. ... More than 400 media credentials were issued, almost 250 more than a regular-season game. ... Fight announcer Michael Buffer introduced the Nets. ... Rodman had a new hairdo for Game 3, red and yellow with back chevrons.