Kerr Returns, Spurs Top Bulls

Steve Kerr's emotions were flowing. He embraced his family for the first time in three weeks, got his third championship ring and received a warm standing ovation in an arena holding so many memories.

Then, fighting a heavy chest cold that had him wheezing on the bench, he took the floor at the United Center and helped beat what's left of his former team.

"It was a great day. To get the ovation I did was an absolute thrill," Kerr said after hitting back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to spark his new team, the San Antonio Spurs, to an 89-76 victory over the Chicago Bulls Sunday.

"It was fantastic to see my kids and all my friends here at the United Center -- the ushers, the security guards and other players. I loved my five years here."

But the Bulls dismantled after Michael Jordan's retirement and Kerr says team management, which signed and traded him to the Spurs and got rid of Scottie Pippen and Luc Longley, did the right thing.

Without Jordan, he said, there would be no championship, regardless of who else returned.

"Time to move on. You have to deal with that and we have to deal with that," Kerr said, adding that the transition has been tough without his family joining him yet in Texas.

He'd been uncomfortable, as well, in the Spurs' offense.

Before Sunday, when he hit all three of his 3-point attempts in scoring 11 points, he was just 3-of-13 from 3-point range.

"It felt good to have an influence on the game today," said Kerr, whose jumper in 1997 clinched the Bulls' second of three straight championships.

"I've been struggling and I was due to make a few. I was nervous, anxious and, to be honest, getting sick probably helped me out because it calmed me down. I was more worried abou battling my chest than I was any nerves."

The loss marked Chicago's first three-game losing streak at home in five years -- since Michael Jordan was off playing baseball.

The Spurs held a one-point lead when Kerr hit consecutive 3-pointers -- the second right in front of the Bulls bench -- to give San Antonio a 68-61 lead in the fourth.

"I was happy to see him play well. But I wasn't happy to see him play well," Bulls guard Ron Harper said.

"I think Steve's back-to-back 3's broke our back," Bulls coach Tim Floyd said.

Dunks by Brent Barry and Ron Harper were sandwiched around Mark Bryant's jump hook as the Bulls got within two in the fourth. But David Robinson, who led the Spurs with 22 points, tipped in a shot, sank a jumper and hit five free throws during a 16-4 run that put the victory away.

"At one point Tim Floyd yelled out at me, `Hey Steve, tell them what to do in the triangle,"' Kerr said. "I appreciated that comment. He got a good one in there."

The Bulls are still trying to figure out the offense.

Toni Kukoc led the Bulls with 27 points and 11 rebounds. Kukoc, who had shot 10-for-43 in two previous losses, made 11 of 24 but was the only Chicago player in double figures as the Bulls continued to struggle offensively. They scored only 68 points in a loss to New York on Thursday.

Tim Duncan had 14 points and 14 rebounds for San Antonio.

San Antonio, playing its fifth game in seven days, led by eight at the half, withstood a third-quarter rally that saw the Bulls tie the score and took a 62-59 lead into the fourth when Sean Elliott hit a jumper before the buzzer.

The Bulls, who shot 26 percent in the loss to the Knicks, missed 16 of their 20 first-quarter shots and scored only 11 points.

Notes

• Kerr received his 1998 title ring from general manager Jerry Krause at center court just before the game and waved to the crowd during a standing ovation. Kerr described going to the visitor's locker room at the United Center as "strange" and "weird." "I almost kept walking to the Bulls," he said. "I'm going to get some chills today. I've been looking forward to this day, getting the ring." Kerr worked out at the Bulls practice facility almost daily until he was signed and traded to the Spurs following the end of the NBA lockout last month.
• The Bulls have managed only 40 points total in the fourth quarter of their last three games.

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