Loss Just Shows Bulls Are Human

The numbers say they aren't human. The historic quest says theyaren't human. But on a heartbreak Monday night on the West Side, theweary minds and pudding legs of the Bulls confirmed they really arelike the rest of us, that they do lose in life from time to time,even in the sanctity of home.

"We never said we were invincible," said Scottie Pippen, anunlit victory cigar tucked in his suit pocket.

So much for this glossy page of history. Like every NBA teambefore them, they won't play an entire season undefeated in theirhome office. Wheezing through their fifth game in seven nights infour cities, the Bulls died in the second half against the sameCharlotte Hornets they throttled three evenings earlier. The streakis over at 44. The United Center is not some sacred religioustemple. Give Gene Siskel a Kleenex to wipe his tears.But do not fret for your heroes. Maybe this hurts the legacy awee bit, in that they could have one-upped the record 40-1 home markof the 1985-86 Boston Celtics. Yet, looking around the locker roomafter they missed four chances to win on their final excruciatingpossession, you didn't see many sad faces. They would have liked therecord, but there also was a sneaking suspicion the 98-97 loss wasgood for them, as Phil Jackson told them during a lengthy locker-roomcooldown."It's probably OK to go through this kind of thing," said theZenmaster, looking ahead to the playoffs. "If you're undefeated, youthink you're impervious on your home court. It's good to get a doseof reality in our building."The players agreed. It is in these delicate moments that wediscover the relationship between Jackson and his players, and if hiswish is a taste of humility before they win 70 games and set out fora fourth championship, it was granted."We've got to look at it as a positive. You don't sit here andmope about one loss," Michael Jordan said. "It tells us we can bemore focused at home instead of overconfident. It puts us in acompletely different frame of mind about playing here, and I thinkthat'll do us some good down the road.""I'm not going to tell you it doesn't hurt. Sure, it hurts,"said Pippen, upset after missing two uncontested tips in the finalfruitless flurry. "But we're human. Life goes on."The loss-before-the-real-season theory has worked of late.Kentucky lost to Mississippi State in its conference tournamentchampionship, then swept to the NCAA basketball title. The Bullsdrove home afterward and no doubt saw the story played dramaticallyon local and national newscasts. They saw the final sequence: ToniKukoc, brilliant of late, driving the lane but missing . . . the ballcoming off the rim . . . Pippen tipping it . . . then Jordan tippingit . . . then Pippen tipping it again . . . and the buzzer sounding .. . and the crowd exhaling in shock.And they'll put it in the back of their minds."I've forgotten it already," Steve Kerr said. "I don't careabout the end of the streak. It's something for the historians.Makes no difference to me.""Rather lose now than in the playoffs," Bill Wennington said.The sweater crowd had been sitting in a stoned trance, silentand still, as if watching gods who couldn't possibly lose. Now thetown knows a championship won't be as easy as showing up.But please don't let it smudge the significance of 70 wins.Tough loss aside, the record, which now can be set in Milwaukee aweek from tonight, will further elevate the scope of Jordan and histeam in sports lore. Before this mesmerizing season, the Bullsweren't considered among the NBA's precious elite, judged beneathsuch dynasties as Magic's Lakers, Bird's Celtics and the Boston teamsof yesteryear. But by winning 70, and enhancing it with a fourthtitle, the legacy of MJ and the Bulls will belong with the others.What the defeat should do is make you appreciate the meaning of70. There will be those who say the accomplishment of the '71-72 LosAngeles Lakers, who won 69 games, is more impressive than theimpending 70 of the Bulls. And they will be right. The Lakersplayed in a league with only 17 teams. They often played three gamesin three nights and, during a two-month stretch, had to travel to theEast Coast four times. Instead of flying on sleek jets immediatelyafter games, as the Bulls do, they had to take the first commercialflight out the next morning.In one crazy stretch, they played five games in six nights:home game, at Phoenix, home game, travel day, at Buffalo, atBaltimore. In another crazy stretch, they won in Baltimore onenight, traveled cross-country to play in Golden State the next night,then flew to L.A. to play the following night. They won all three,beginning a record streak of 33 straight victories. If there is anyquestion who had it tougher, let it be answered by Bulls assistantJim Cleamons, who played on that Lakers team."Everything is different today," he said. "The guys have itmuch easier today." Which means, don't cry about how fatigued theBulls were in their brutal stretch, how they missed so many freethrows.In a perverse sort of way, the drama was more fascinating inthis game than in any of the previous 74. You can watch the Bullswin most any night. To see them naked, on the wrong side of thescore, in their shiny living room, was compelling stuff.Have no fear, they're still going to win a championship."We're still very confident. You don't get to your goal without somebumps," said Pippen, his cigar still unsmoked as he walked off intothe quiet Chicago night.Jay Mariotti's column appears Sunday, Monday, Tuesday andThursday.