With the return of Scottie Pippen, the swagger returned to the Bulls. They had always retained a certain air of confidence; after a slow 8-7 start they persistently improved to 24-11 before Pippen’s return a week ago last Saturday. Yet with Pippen that natural confidence took on an added dimension, sort of puffed out its chest–and that is entirely his contribution. Michael Jordan is a supremely confident athlete, but like a panther he seems to be slouching, even when he’s just strolling out to center court for the tip-off. Pippen, by contrast, stiffens his backbone and struts like an alderman when he takes the floor. Opponents report that he is the one most likely to recite the Bulls’ accomplishments–their five rings and five championships–at a critical juncture. With Pippen, the intimidation factor returned to Bulls basketball.
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Pippen’s panache was clear every time he joined them as they came off the sideline, but never more so than at the beginning of the Rockets game at the United Center. Jordan stepped out to center court, tapped fists all around, and exchanged a quick but businesslike greeting with his good friend Charles Barkley. Pippen, who likewise has a friendly but competitive relationship with Barkley, followed Jordan onto the court and gently held Barkley by the waist and said something into his ear that made him laugh out loud. Later on, with the Rockets scrambling to get back in the game, Pippen dribbled the ball up against what he knew was a trapping defense. He quickly gestured to Scott Burrell to move into the far corner, then put his head down and dribbled forward like a man going through a revolving door into a blizzard. As he crossed the center-court stripe three Rockets closed on him–Barkley included. Pippen kept coming. Waiting until the last moment, he made a bounce pass to Burrell, who cruised down the baseline unmolested for a slam dunk. Pippen, who had seen the whole play in advance, turned and clapped his hands in Barkley’s face.
“You know Charles is going to come in and try to be the bully with a nationally televised game,” Pippen said smiling afterward. “We just try to keep him in his place.”
That was when Jordan answered. Kukoc stole the ball from the Rockets and dished ahead to Jordan, who pulled up, popped, and bumped chests with Barkley. Jordan then drained the last shot of the quarter over a Houston double-team to make it 82-70. Pippen opened the final quarter with a finger roll down the lane and through traffic to make it 84-70. From there, the Rockets whittled away at the lead, with Barkley doing much of the damage, though he had some costly struggles at the free-throw line (missing 5 of 16 shots for the game). The Rockets got to within three points, but then Jordan hit a three–the situation seemed to call for it–for a 93-87 lead. He added the piece de resistance a few minutes later, taking a lead pass from Longley off a steal. He pushed the ball ahead into a three-on-two against the retreating Rockets, with Pippen and Scott Burrell on the wings. Jordan waited, waited, then dished left to Pippen, who went in with a pile driver of a dunk to reinstate a double-digit lead at 102-91 with three and a half minutes left. Pippen sealed the game a minute later with his pass to Burrell to beat the triple-team trap and make it 104-94. The Bulls cruised home 106-100. Barkley turned in a courageous performance, scoring 35 points on 11-of-14 shooting with 14 rebounds, but Jordan had 45 and Pippen added 23, with 10 assists. It was, he said, the best, most well-rounded game of his comeback.
