[Comey]

March 1989

3.3.89: vs Indiana (26-33). Jack’s spotty play continued, and a key missed free throw late led to Albert Scott’s game-winning three, as the Pacers shocked the Bulls, 123-122, at Chicago Stadium. Josh Whitman made just one of two free throws with 13 seconds left, giving the Pacers one last chance. Andrew Edmiston, who scored 40 points on the night (40-10-5) drew a triple-team, freeing up Scott for the fateful three. He shot just 8-19 on the night, but he was 2-3 from long distance, scoring 22. Dewitt Gilpin added 15 for the Pacers. Jack scored 43-10-12-2-5, but had six turnovers, and felt shaky running the offense tonight. The Bulls shot 59% from the field, but had 20 turnovers. Josh Jones was the only other Bull in double figures; he had 33-13-7.
Record: 45-12

3.4.89: vs Atlanta (21-35). Another game against the Hawks gets the Bulls back on track. Jack shot poorly, 11-25…but had 26-17-11 to lead the way. Josh had 16-6-6, Gayle Cruz scored 11, and Josh Whitman had 10-9-8. Gregory Escalera and Nicky Lopez also scored 10 each. Jefferey Adam led Atlanta with 33-7-8, while Joe Johnson had 16-8-4, and Dwayne Padgett 15-6-3, but with five turnovers.
Record: 46-12

3.6.89: at Houston (30-30). The Rockets and rapidly improving behind fifth-year forward Douglas Leduc (21.2 ppg, 10.0 rpg) and top overall pick, Jimmy Matz (19.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg). Elder statesman Del Scholl is putting up 17.0 points and 8.6 rebounds a game, while former Jack teammate, Landon Creamer, is posting career-best numbers at 11.6 points, 6.1 assists, and 4.1 rebounds a game. That said, they couldn’t handle Jack and Josh. Jack scored 29 (9-14 FG, 11-12 FT), with 21 rebounds and 10 assists, and Josh put up 23 (on 24) shots, as Chicago whipped Houston, 100-85. Leduc scored 28, and Leland Mancini 14, for Houston. Creamer had 11-5-7, while Matz scored 12 in his first action against Jack. He shot 5-10 from the field, and committed four fouls.

3.8.89: vs Houtson (30-31). The two play the second of their two games, this time in Chicago. Chicago doubled their advantage on Houston from last time, winning 115-85. This time, Jack destroyed Matz, posting 37-16-6-2-2. Matz, meanwhile, had just six points and two assists, along with four turnovers. Josh added an efficient 21-5-3-2-1, while Escalera scored 12. Bye Felicien had nine off the bench. Douglas Leduc led the Rockets with 17 and five rebounds.
Record: 48-12

3.10.89: at Detroit (41-20). The Pistons, while having fallen off the pace of Chicago, is still deadly to their championship hopes. This time, though, Jack had an answer. His jumper at the buzzer tied the game at 116. While Brian Crawford sent the game to a second overtime, the Pistons could not last with the Bulls, falling 140-132 in double OT. Jack finished with 46-14-16 in 53 minutes, adding five steals and a pair of blocks. He had just two turnovers and one foul. Josh, who played 52 minutes, had 29-10-3. Cruz added 17, Escalera 15, and Whitman 12-6-6. Bye Felicien added 12 off the bench. Crawford had 37-8-5 for Detroit; Thomas Henderson registered 36-8-10 in fifty minutes, and Stevie Michaelson had 25 and 9 boards. Michaelson, Henderson, and Chance Magana all fouled out. Cruz and Josh each had five for Chicago, but nobody fouled out. Even in these situations, they are routinely unflappable.
Record: 49-12

3.11.89: at Golden State (31-29). The Bulls boarded a plane immediately for the Bay Area, for their annual visit to Golden State. The Warriors, having issues across the board, specifically with player discipline, fell apart in the second half against the visiting Bulls. Chicago won 113-105, with a pivotal technical from Elisha Simpson being instrumental to Chicago prevailing. After a hard foul on Jack, Simpson went on a tirade about the call, bumping an official. That was an immediate tech. Jack sank all three free throws, turning a two-point lead into a five. Golden State went into a funk, and the Bulls ran away with the win. Jack’s 37-10-5 with six blocks and three steals was the lynchpin, while Josh added 27-9-8 in his best game in weeks. Lionel Condon had 33-5-10, but was pressured into an uncharacteristic seven turnovers, mainly by Jack. Joey Deel added 23 for the Warriors.
Record: 50-12

3.15.89: at Milwaukee (17-46). The team was given two days off before their trip to Milwaukee, followed by a trip to Lakerland. The Bulls were caught looking ahead by the Bucks, who beat Chicago for the first time, I think, since Jack was drafted. I will have to look. Richie Russell is playing himself into solid free agency shape with 25 points and seven assists, while Emil Andrae added 23-8-6, and Ronnie Conn put up 20-12-5, as the Bucks beat the Bulls, 122-114. Jack had 39-11-13-3-2, but Josh had another uneven shooting night, going 5-17 from the field, for 15-7-8. Escalera added 17 for the Bulls, who were pretty ticked about the loss after.
Record: 50-13

3.16.89: at LA Lakers (29-34). Another team that has been improving, the Lakers are kind of fighting for a playoff spot. They are in tenth place in the Western Conference, but only two games out of the eighth spot (held by Houston). The Bulls have tormented the Lakers since Jack was drafted. Joshua Berry (13.2 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 3.6 apg) hasn’t quite been the player the Lakers had hoped, and he’s been saddled with by fans as being the Jack Consolation Prize. On this night, though, it was another player drafted by the Lakers…here’s that theme again…POWER FORWARD, Brian Loeffler, who scored 44, along with ten boards and four assists, as the Lakers upset the reeling Bulls, 122-105. Berry added 18-5-6, and technically shot better than Jack (8-18 for Berry, 8-19 for Jack). Jack’s 31-9-10 led the Bulls, while Josh had 20-5-4, and Escalera 14. Whitman had 10-7-5 with six turnovers.
Record: 50-14. This was not a successful venture for the Bulls, and pundits are ready to jump all over them.

3.19.89: at Indiana (29-37). The Bulls pulled together and managed to outlast the Pacers…but it was dicey. The 131-129 final was met with a buzzer-beating three by Pacers’ center Chris Maya, who scored 44, a career-high. He also went 4-4 from three, also a career high, and shot 20-31 from the field. Amazingly…no free throws. Jack had 28-14-14 with four blocks, while Josh (24-5-3) and Nicky Lopez (22) helped out. Josh Whitman had 16-3-8. Fellow All-Stars Andrew Edmiston scored 28 with 12 rebounds, and Albert Scott had 23 and 7.
Record: 51-14

3.21.89: vs Cleveland. Jack had 34 points and 13 assists, leading the Bulls to the runaway win over the Cavs. Josh had a tidy 25 on 11-15 shooting, while Sheldon Maurer scored 15 on 6-7 shooting, and added seven rebounds, in 17 minutes. Christopher Blake scored 23 and offered nine boards in 29 minutes off the bench. Joe Baker (13 pts, 8 ast) and Douglas Toscano (13 pts) were the only other standouts.
Record: 52-14

3.23.89: at Detroit (45-23). The Pistons have not made up that much on the Bulls, despite their losing ways as of late. The lead is eight for the Bulls. That said, the Pistons cut it down to seven, beating Chicago 109-102. Brian Crawford had a 32-7-5 line, and Thomas Henderson scored 28. Stevie Michaelson shined with 24 points and 14 rebounds. Jack’s 32-5-10 also came with Jack’s second career foul out. Wow. Josh scored 25, while Cruz and Escalera each had 12. The Bulls shot just 2-10 from 3.
Record: 52-15

3.24.89: vs New Jersey (35-32). Oh, this hurt…for New Jersey. The Bulls rolled them, 114-73, in an utter laugher. Josh had 22 with eight boards, Jack had 18-9-10, Escalera 17-10-9, and Cruz 19 and 10 boards, to lead the way. Sheldon Maurer scored 18 in just 21 minutes. Luke Black led New Jersey with 18, but it took 22 shots to get there. He added 8 rebounds.
Record: 53-15.

3.26.89: vs Philadelphia (42-27). Jack’s 30-15-5 led the Bulls to a 107-79 pasting of the Sixers. Jack was just 10-22 from the field, but he got the job done. Escalera added 15, and Josh 13 with nine boards. Maurer, a hot hand lately, had 13 in 15 minutes. Whitman offered 10-8-7. The embattled Jesus Brawner scored 10 in seven minutes…on ten shots, in seven minutes.
Record: 54-15

3.28.89: at Sacramento (43-26). A very interesting matchup between these two in the capital of California went to the visitors, who outlasted the Kings, 109-100. Jack led with 30-17-11-3-5, while Josh scored 39. Whitman didn’t score, but added nine assists without a turnover. Grant Crites, who lost to Jack in the NCAA final their senior year, led the way with 33 and nine rebounds. Former Gerardo Sand scored 23, adding nine assists and seven rebounds.
Record: 55-15

3.30.89: at Indiana (32-40). The Pacers won two of their last three coming in; make that three of their last four, as they used a 30-21 fourth quarter to beat the Bulls, 109-104. Andrew Edmiston and Albert Scott each scored 23, with Edmiston adding 10 boards; Dewitt Gilpin put up a 20-11-7 line, his best against Chicago this year. Jack had 34-9-11, while Josh had 24-11-4 (23 shots), and Escalera 24-7-6. Whitman took just three shots, hitting two for six points. He added 11 more assists. The kid does a lot that goes unnoticed.
Record: 56-15