European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 16, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Tuesday june 16, 1992 the stars and stripes b Page 25porter claims Trail blazers gave it away by Mike Nadel Chicago apr the Portland Trail blazers lost the game and any Chance for the Aba title. Terry Porter Wasny to about to give the Chicago bulls credit for taking that from them. A we definitely gave it away. Definitely a Porter said after the blazers blew a 15-Point fourth Quarter Lead and fell 97-93 sunday night losing the finals 4-2. A they did a Good Job but a lot of it had to do with our turnovers in key situations a the Point guard said. A we did no to get any Calls especially any close Calls. We did no to make any shots anytime we Porter even admit that the bulls who won their second successive title after a 67-win regular season Are a great team. A i think they have a great player a he said. A i done to know if id consider them a great made his comments despite the fact that the bulls began the fourth Quarter with a 14-2 run without their great player a Michael Jordan a on the court. Jordan was resting As the bulls Cut a 79-64 deficit to Start the fourth period to 8178 with 8 39 to play. Aside from Scottie Pippen the bulls played that Span entirely with reserves including Little used Bobby Hansen and Stacey King. Other blazers were More complimentary than Porter. A we did a Good Job for three quarters a Forward Cliff Robinson said. A but their Bench came in and outplayed us. They did a Good Job moving the Ball getting shots and playing defense. We expected them to make runs Here in their own building. We just did no to do a Good Job the game was the exact opposite of games 2 and 4, which the bulls lost after taking big leads. Chicago coaches and players angered Portland by saying they gave those games away instead of by noting the Trail blazers efforts. A i disapproved of the Way they handled the series in terms of the derogatory remarks they made a Forward Buck Williams said. A a in a tempted to use the words Chicago has been using the whole series and say we gave it away. A but in a not going to take the easy Way out like they did. They deserve credit. They re an arrogant team and i see Why. They executed better than we did. They had Chicago controlled most of the series. Portland rarely led in the first five games but played its Best in the fourth quarters. This time that period provided the setting for the blazers failure a the biggest collapse in Aba finals history. Non championship Trail blazers Terry Porter drives against the bulls John Paxson in the first Quarter of game 6 sunday. They shot 29 percent committed seven turnovers that the bulls turned into 16 Points allowed Chicago to shoot 68 percent and after controlling the boards the whole Way were out rebounded 11-6. A we never put a full game together a Danny Ainge said. A today we played like Chicago did in games 2 and 4 when they let us get away with wins. They got the crowd going. They had momentum. They got the right bounces and the right Calls. Scottie Pippen came up Portland coach Rick Adelman did everything he could to thwart the hulls rally. He called timeouts with 10 21, 9 31, 8 36, 5 57 and 1 39 to play. A a Chicago a defensive intensity picked up and we did no to handle the Ball Well Quot Adelman said. A your Guys just ran out of Gas. When the game was on the line the bulls turned the intensity up and took unlike Porter Ainge played for championship clubs with Boston and knows great teams when he sees them. A a in a satisfied that we gave a Good Effort a Ainge said. A they outplayed us the last two weeks. The Best team Calls bulls season an Odyssey by Jim Litke Chicago a it came so soon that he Hadnot had the Chance to stare into the trophy and savor the picture of his own Golden reflection smiling Back. Three peat a you Guys a Michael Jordan said lugging the Bill of a baseball Cap Down to cover All of his face save the twisted Grin. A you Guys never give hardly Ever anyway. Anytime they come in a Row championship teams invite comparisons. With other teams that have repeated. With great teams of the past. With the team that won the first one. A last year was a honeymoon a said coach Phil Jackson tackling one of those comparisons with typical Candor after the bulls had slapped the Portland Trail blazers 97-93 in game 6 on sunday night to end the Aba finals. A this year was an a of Dossev. A these players did it themselves last year but this season we had to dig it out of repeating certain things like championships is supposed to be harder and this one was certainly no exception. With rising expectations came increased scrutiny. To no ones Surprise Jordan was As superhuman As Ever on the court leading the bulls to a 67-15 regular season Mark the third Best in Aba history and winning his sixth straight scoring championship and second straight map award in the bargain. But to almost everyone a Surprise he was revealed to have a number of human failings off the court most of them incredibly enough growing out of his passion for playing Golf. On one occasion Jordan snubbed the presidents traditional Rose Garden photo of parly to tee it up and then Sev eral months later was found to have been teeing it up with assorted gamblers and con men. Pippen was plagued by a meteoric Rise in his reputation a an olympic team berth and shoe and soda commercials a followed by a concomitant drop in his Stock because of an inconsistent performance throughout the playoffs. Last year the hulls were a pleasant Surprise a team with a great player. This year amid rising expectations after Pip pen stepped Forward and Horace Grant and John Paxson followed to a lesser degree they were supposed to be a great team. Did they measure up Quot ill let other people decide that Quot 1 my general manager Jerry Krause harangued the past for failing to provide Jordan with an appropriate support my cast. A we just put it 1 he team they put together was with out argument a successful one considering that besides their glowing regular season record the bulls became Only the fourth franchise Ever to repeat. The chore of repeating in the Aba now seems easier if Only because both of the bulls immediate predecessors As champions a the los Angeles lakers and the Detroit pistons a turned the trick. A what it Means a Paxson said referring to the High stakes game the Media and fun had made of the quest a is now everybody can go Home and our critics can write about when someone asked Jordan to differentiate Between the two championships he replied Quot a think its similar in terms of gratification. Quot last year it was More for the City and die organization and the tans. This year ids a Little More Sci wish. This one a Jordan said a is for my teammates and
