The Basketball Diaries - FUGLY

Detroit Pistons 95 Chicago Bulls 69

Here's a question for you: what do 1990's Michael Jordan and the 2007 Chicago Bulls have in common? They both scored 69 points in one game. In a performance that virtually obliterated the memory of sweeping defending champion Miami, the Bulls were outrun, outgunned, out everythinged by the Pistons. It's as if the Bulls were undersized transfer students on the first day of school and the Pistons were rolling them for their lunch money. Poor Ben Wallace brought his B+ game to back to his old stomping grounds - 9 points, 8 rebounds and a block - but got no help from the youngsters. Chicago made only 32% its shots and turned the ball over 22 times. Hell, they only attempted 7 shots in the second quarter and were 1-12 in the fourth. Much of that was due to Ben Gordon, who seemed to be in foul trouble before the game started and ended with only 7 points. (Compare that to the 24 he made in each of the Miami games.) Oh yeah, and Detroit. They looked good. Too good. It wasn't the scoring - though Chauncy Billups and Richard Hamilton each posted 20 - that scared me, it was the relentless energy and focus. This team knew exactly what had to be done and did it. "I wasn't surprised with their energy at all," Wallace said. "They came out and attacked us early. It got us on our heels and we never recovered. We were a step slow." Step any slower and this'll be a four-game series.

Utah Jazz 103 Houston Rockets 99

Let this be a lesson to you kids: A Boozer can be a great athlete. Carlos had a helluva night for Utah with 35 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. Along with Deron Williams' 20 points and 14 assists - and Mehmet Okur's two 3-pointers with less than three minutes to play - they led the Jazz to a second-round appearance against Golden State starting this Monday. Meanwhile, from day one of that Stephen Smith interview, I was prepared to make fun of Tracy McGrady's "If we lose, this is on me" pronouncement. But watching him over the last couple weeks, I came to realize it was not bravado, rather a sense of responsibility publicly expressed. Unlike "Where in the World is Dirk?" Nowitski, McGrady played his heart out during the entire series, last night contributing 29 points and 13 assists. So when I saw Hakeem Olajuwon comforting him in the locker room and then watched him later on the podium post-game , dressed in his Sunday best, thoughtful, working so hard to answer the questions, fighting back tears as he mumbled, "I tried, man, I tried," he made me cry a little too. Good game, Tracy. (Though I distinctly heard a Russian voice from the back of the room yelling, "Who's crying now, bitch!")