1997 Chicago Bulls FULL Ring Ceremony HQ *Rare

NBA

In what is becoming an annual ritual, the Chicago Bulls received their NBA championship rings and trounced the Philadelphia 76ers, 94-74, in their home opener.

Ron Harper scored 17 points and Michael Jordan 16 for the Bulls, who led by as many as 31 points and bounced back from Friday's stunning loss at Boston.

Chicago has beaten Philadelphia 16 straight times since December 8th, 1993. Last season, the Bulls won at Boston and returned home to receive their rings and pound Philadelphia, 115-86.

In a pregame ceremony lasting 30 minutes, Bulls management and players received their rings before the championship banner was unfurled. General manager Jerry Krause, who has threatened to break up the team after this season, was loudly booed.

But coach Phil Jackson was introduced next and the crowd noise turned to cheers thereafter. The loudest cheers were for Jordan and injured All-Star forward Scottie Pippen, who cried and said, "It's been a great ride."

Pippen has feuded with Krause and is a free agent at the end of the season, when he said he is leaving the team.

"Scottie was very emotional after the ring ceremony," Jordan said. "We can all feel that way, because it can be a farewell speech for any of us, but we have a job to do and need to concentrate on it."

The Bulls also figured out a way to slow down 76ers guard Allen Iverson, who was making his season debut after sitting out a league suspension for Friday's opener. They started 6-1 Randy Brown, who matched up well with the lightning-quick Rookie of the Year.

Iverson, who averaged 37.7 points per game over his last three meetings with Chicago, was held to 13 points, shooting 5-of-15 from the field and committing eight turnovers.

"We had no offense at all tonight," Philadelphia coach Larry Brown said. "I thought we played three good minutes at the beginning of the game, and that's about it. Don't point the finger at Iverson, it was our whole offense that self-destructed."

"This is not a new Allen you're seeing," Iverson said. "I'm not changing my game a lot, I am just trying to keep everyone involved. We are just trying to adjust to each other. So far it doesn't look too good."

The Sixers (0-2) jumped to a 6-0 lead, but the Bulls responded with 10 straight points and never trailed thereafter. Jordan scored eight points and Harper six as Chicago opened a 27-15 lead after one quarter, and Harper's hoop boosted the lead to 33-15 with 10:10 left in the first half.

"This was a good game for us tonight," Jordan said. "With the ring ceremony, we were able to transfer that emotion onto the floor, and we were able to sustain it throughout the game."

A jumper by Jerry Stackhouse pulled Philadelphia within 52-39 with 9:15 left in the third quarter, but Jordan and Harper had four points each in an 8-0 burst. The Sixers responded with an 8-0 run of their own before the Bulls put away the game.

Jason Caffey scored eight of his 14 points as Chicago closed the quarter with a 19-2 spurt, opening a 79-49 lead. The Bulls' largest lead was 86-55 and Philadelphia got no closer than the final margin.

"We talked to the team a lot about the third-quarter breakdown in last night's game," Jackson said. "We told them to be prepared for a big push after the half, our people gave us a real good effort, and broke the game open."

Luc Longley had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Dennis Rodman had 13 boards for the Bulls, who shot 49 percent (40-of-81) from the field and forced 27 turnovers.

"Scoring will always be an issue with us until Scottie gets back," Jackson said. "Right now we're concentrating on getting our scoring from good defense, and using it for transition points."

Stackhouse scored 15 points and Jim Jackson 13 for the Sixers, who shot 37 percent (29-of-78). Eric Montross had 10 rebounds.

"We're not really what I consider a team right now. We're very confused," Larry Brown said.

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