Humbled Bulls know it's time to step up game

Some humbler defending champion Bulls awoke Saturday morning witha nervous 1-0 lead over the New Jersey Nets in their best-of-five,first-round playoff series.

Despite their superior wealth of experience, wisdom andtime-honored talent, the Bulls were pressed to their limits Fridaynight by coach John Calipari's injury-decimated Nets, who wereoutmanned but barely outgunned.

And although they finally eked out a 96-93 victory in overtime,thanks to two spectacular defensive plays by veteran All-Defensiveplayers Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen and to Jordan scoring fiveof his game-high 39 points in the extra session, the Bulls did notleave the United Center too proud of what they had done.Rather, they left with thanksgiving.``We are thankful to the New Jersey Nets for sticking the gameto us and making us have to bring our game up another notch,'' Bullscoach Phil Jackson said.They also left, according to Jordan, feeling pretty darn luckyto escape with a victory.``We'll probably have to play better on Sunday,'' Jackson said.Probably?Hey, the Bulls must play better or they might end up sufferingwhat Nets star center Jayson Williams calls ``the greatest upset inmy lifetime . . . maybe the greatest in history.''So let's tip our hats to Calipari's young pups. They look likethey just may succeed the Bulls soon as the new big dogs of theEastern Conference.``I'm proud of my team,'' Calipari said. ``Every guy playedwell. There are sad men in that locker room right now. I huggedeach guy. Each came here expecting to win, and they played likeit.''The Bulls had a 14-point lead early in the fourth quarter.And it didn't last. But it should have been 24 when you consider:Rookie sensation Keith Van Horn, the Nets' leading scorer, playedonly the first half before the stomach flu that forced him to sit outpractice Thursday forced him to sit out the second half.Veteran playmaker Sam Cassell, the team's second-leading scorer andstarting point guard, was limited to 17 minutes before aggravatinghis pulled left groin muscle early in the third quarter.Williams played with a broken right thumb encased in a soft cast.Center Rony Seikaly played only 10 minutes because of his injuredankle, and Michael Cage, another veteran backup center, didn't playbecause of his pulled hamstring.Still, Williams grabbed a game-high 21 rebounds to pace the Netsto a 53-39 edge. And reserve forward-center Chris Gatling scored ateam-high 24 points in a starter's role.We'll just have to accept Williams' word that his thumb isbroken. But if he could grab 21 rebounds while Dennis Rodman grabbedonly eight before fouling out, it scares me how many Williams couldhave grabbed with two healthy hands.``We have a lot of respect for New Jersey,'' Jackson said.``They are athletic. They are young and aggressive. They play ahard defense. They're fun to watch and fun to play against. Theygot away with a few things that surprised us that we will be readyfor on Sunday.''The Bulls had better be. Or instead of them winning in four asI predicted, the Nets just might win in four.