Recalling Pippen's final night as NBA star

News that Bulls legend Scottie Pippen was chosen for enshrinement in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday brought forth many championship-era memories of great defense and incredible versatility.

A more recent memory in my mind was Pippen’s last hurrah in the NBA. It happened on Jan. 31, 2004 in Portland, an otherwise mundane matchup between a horrible Bulls team and mediocre Trail Blazers squad.

Pippen’s comeback with the Bulls seemed like a great idea at the time, but turned out to be mostly pointless. His knees were just about shot and the Bulls were a big disappointment, replacing coach Bill Cartwright with Scott Skiles just before Thanksgiving.

This night in Portland was different, though. For one last game, Pippen transformed himself back into the intimidating defense stopper he’d been a decade earlier. He finished with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and a block, while nearly leading the Bulls to a rare road win. (He averaged just 5.9 points overall that season).

The first thing noticeable that night was Pippen loved Portland. He was beaming in the locker room when the local news crews surrounded him.

Most Bulls fans will recall that Pippen was first traded to Houston before the 1999 lockout season, had an ugly falling out with Charles Barkley and basically forced another trade, which sent him to the Pacific Northwest.

The first season with the Blazers was the best. Portland reached the Western Conference finals against the Lakers, built a 17-point lead early in the fourth quarter of Game 7 at Staples Center, then let it all slip away.

Pippen spent three more years in Oregon, but never won another playoff series as the team slipped into the “Jail Blazers” era. Still, he must have had plenty of positive vibes from a small town that always embraced it’s only professional team.

When that Bulls-Blazers game began, Pippen looked to score and locked down on defense. It was amazing to see him stretch out those long arms and guard both the passer and intended target at the same time.

The Bulls led most of the way and with the score tied, had a chance to win at the end of regulation. This was the perfect time to put the ball in Pippen’s hands to see what he could do.

Instead, Skiles ran a play to get veteran power forward Antonio Davis a foul-line jump shot. The play worked at one level, because Davis was wide open. Then again, he was always a poor shooter and bricked this attempt.

The Bulls were dominated in overtime and Portland ended up winning. Pippen played eight minutes two days later in Seattle, then shut it down. He never played another game in the NBA.

I always wondered if playing 35 minutes that night in Portland drove his knees over the edge or if Pippen stopped playing, in part, because he was mad at Skiles for not giving him the final shot against the Blazers.

Knowing Pippen, he’d probably blame Skiles even if that version of the story wasn’t true.

TORONTO LOSES; BOSH WILL MISS BULLS
The Raptors lost to Boston on Wednesday and received word that all-star forward Chris Bosh isn’t likely to play again this season because of facial fractures incurred when he took an elbow from Cleveland’s Antawn Jamison on Tuesday.

In the chase for the final playoff spot in the East, the Bulls moved within a half-game of Toronto, which has another tough test coming Friday in Atlanta.

The Bulls have to finish ahead of Toronto in the final standings, since the Raptors already clinched the season series and therefore, own the tiebreaker. The two teams meet Sunday at the Air Canada Centre.

After hosting Cleveland on Thursday, the Bulls visit New Jersey on Friday. Their final two contests are Boston at home and Charlotte on the road.

Toronto finishes with Detroit on the road and New York at home.

To have a realistic chance of facing Cleveland in the first round of the playoffs, the Bulls need to beat Toronto and probably win three of the other four games.

--In other news, Charlotte clinched the first playoff berth in franchise history by beating New Orleans on Wednesday. The Bulls could still finish seventh if they win their final five games and the Bobcats lose their last four.

Boston and Atlanta are tied for third in the East, while Milwaukee and Miami are even for 5th -- both 10 games above .500.