Bulls rout Cavs

BULLS 120 CAVALIERS 85

RICHFIELD, Ohio You have to figure any NBA team with GeraldPaddio in its starting lineup is full of yawn furniture.

Ouch.

No bad pun can hurt as much as the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavshosted the Bulls Saturday night minus two key members of theirlineup.

The Bulls (10-6) won their fifth consecutive game 120-85 before asellout of 20,273 at the Coliseum. Michael Jordan led all scorerswith 32 points in just 30 minutes. Brad Daugherty led the Cavs with16.

The Cavs came to the dance without starting guard Mark Price, whotore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the thirdquarter of Friday's victory in Atlanta. After Saturday's loss theCavs announced Price and his 16.9 points per game would probably belost for the season. Price has the same kind of injury that shelvedthe '76ers Johnny Dawkins.

Cavs forward-center Hot Rod Williams is also out four to sixweeks with a sprained left foot.

"We wanted to get out on them because without Price they'replaying a young guard in Paddio," Bulls coach Phil Jackson said.

As they have in their last two victories, the Bulls did get outof the gate fast, jumping out to a 10-0 lead. The Bulls acceleratedtheir offense against the Cavs, successfully exploiting theirstarting backcourt of rookie Paddio and second-year guard JohnMorton.

John Paxson could have unfolded a lawn chair and lit a barbecuein the land the Cavs were giving him at the top of the key. He hiton 6-of-9 and finished with 13 points.

"These guys are jumping out to such great starts and it's evidentin the shooting of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen passing the balland bringing it up and down the court," Jackson said.

The Bulls' offense ran and spun around Bill Cartwright, who spenthis energy sharpening defensive chops against Daugherty, who was heldto 2-for-8 from the floor in the first half.

Jackson said of the speed-up, "We're knowing how to run together.We were outrunning ourselves the first week and a half or two of theseason."

Pippen helped Cartwright, crashing and scrubbing the defensiveboards. He helped establish the Bulls' running game with five keydefensive boards, all in the first half.

"I've been concentrating on going to the boards real hard,"Pippen said.

The Bulls shot 84 percent in the first quarter, hitting on16-of-19 shots, and led 37-20.

It was basically coast city the rest of the night. The fans weretreated to a few tricks such as a Jordan three-pointer set up on abehind-the-back bounce pass from Pippen. That put the Bulls up 44-20with 10:53 to go in the first half.

Jordan also used the flex time to fine tune his end around layup,which he resorted to when the middle was clogged with Daugherty androokie Danny Ferry.

"You don't come in and expect a win like that, but when ithappens, you take it and run," Jordan said. Summary, Page 26.

BULLS BITS: Horace Grant took a tumble over a BillCartwright-Brad Daugherty tie-up at 7:27 of the third quarter,twisting his ankle. He did not return. After the game Grant saidthe ankle was all right, albeit "a little sore." New Bulls guard Dennis Hopson hails from Toledo, just up the roadfrom the Coliseum. He has split differences about playing in hishome zone. "When I was in Columbus (at Ohio State) I had a chance tocome here and watch the Cavaliers," Hopson said. "But when I was inToledo . . . I basically was watching . . . the Pistons." After Saturday's blowout, the Bulls need 35 wins to reach the 1,000victory mark.