Vlade Divac

No. 1 Chicago (62-20) vs. No. 4 Charlotte (51-31)Season series: Chicago won, 3-1.Key players: Chicago -- Michael Jordan (36.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg in playoffs); Scottie Pippen (18.0 ppg, 7.0 ppg, 6.0 apg); Dennis Rodman (13.7 rpg). Charlotte -- Glen Rice (23.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg); Anthony Mason (19.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg); Vlade Divac (12.0 ppg, 8.0 ppg).Key matchup: Dennis Rodman vs. Anthony Mason. Mason carried the Hornets against the Hawks, scoring 29 points in the clincher. Rodman is one of the best position defenders in the league.

Free-agent center Gheorghe Muresan, who missed all of last season with the Washington Wizards with a foot injury, took a physical with the Charlotte Hornets yesterday.The Hornets are looking for a center, having lost Vlade Divac (Sacramento Kings) and Matt Geiger (Philadelphia 76ers) to free agency. Charlotte last week signed power forward Derrick Coleman, who might be forced to play center.Standing 7 feet 7, Muresan is the tallest player in NBA history. Selected in the second round of the 1993 draft by the then-Washington Bullets mainly as a project, Muresan went on to win the NBA's Most Improved Player award after averaging 14.5 points and 9.6 rebounds during the 1995-96 season.

Free-agent center Gheorghe Muresan, who missed all of last season with the Washington Wizards with a foot injury, took a physical with the Charlotte Hornets yesterday.The Hornets are looking for a center, having lost Vlade Divac (Sacramento Kings) and Matt Geiger (Philadelphia 76ers) to free agency. Charlotte last week signed power forward Derrick Coleman, who might be forced to play center.Standing 7 feet 7, Muresan is the tallest player in NBA history. Selected in the second round of the 1993 draft by the then-Washington Bullets mainly as a project, Muresan went on to win the NBA's Most Improved Player award after averaging 14.5 points and 9.6 rebounds during the 1995-96 season.

No. 1 Chicago (62-20) vs. No. 4 Charlotte (51-31)Season series: Chicago won, 3-1.Key players: Chicago -- Michael Jordan (36.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg in playoffs); Scottie Pippen (18.0 ppg, 7.0 ppg, 6.0 apg); Dennis Rodman (13.7 rpg). Charlotte -- Glen Rice (23.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg); Anthony Mason (19.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg); Vlade Divac (12.0 ppg, 8.0 ppg).Key matchup: Dennis Rodman vs. Anthony Mason. Mason carried the Hornets against the Hawks, scoring 29 points in the clincher. Rodman is one of the best position defenders in the league.

When the Los Angeles Lakers lost four of their first five games this season -- their worst start in 12 years -- a lot of fingers were pointed at Mike Dunleavy.After winning 63 games the previous season and five NBA titles the previous decade, the Lakers were not accustomed to such problems.Their first-year coach was the logical excuse but not the right excuse."We had a rough start, but it was just an adjustment period," Dunleavy said before a recent game. "Everyone was getting used to each other.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- You know it's a hard-hat type of game when the chic Great Western Forum crowd chants, "A. C.!. . . A. C.!"Lakers forward A. C. Green -- who keeps his elbow wrapped because he throws it a lot -- adored last night's brutal inside play, but the Washington Bullets are ill-equipped to play roughhouse basketball and were easily defeated, 118-93."

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- The Washington Bullets couldn't seem to find the right time to get hot last night in a 106-99 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at the Great Western Forum.The Lakers, who started off slowly this season, have turned things around in the past month, winning nine of their past 11 games, including seven consecutive at home.The Bullets, who have lost two straight road games and dropped to 6-13 on the season, started fast against the Lakers, building a 15-12 lead with 4 minutes, 16 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Home to lick their wounds -- well, their wound -- the Los Angeles Lakers took their sweet time but finally dispatched the patsy proffered by the schedule, the Minnesota Timberwolves, starting another winning streak.This one is one game, after they left their 16-gamer in Phoenix.It took most of Tuesday night before a spectacular run by Vlade Divac, who was in turn whipped back into action once again by Magic Johnson, turned the game. Divac scored 18 points, took 13 rebounds, blocked six shots, made four steals and three flashy assists, got a standing ovation from the Forum crowd of 16,662 and led the Lakers to a 120-106 victory.

In the 1980s, when then Los Angeles Lakers coach Pat Riley and team leader Magic Johnson were winning conference and NBA titles with regularity, Riley cautioned, "When Magic Johnson retires, it's time for us all to go home."Riley, now coach of the New York Knicks, left Los Angeles two years before Johnson's retirement last month after testing HIV-positive. But it now appears that predictions of the Lakers' collapse were grossly exaggerated.These days, Riley's successor, Mike Dunleavy, is not only operating without Johnson, but also minus his starting center, Vlade Divac (out six to eight weeks with a herniated disk)

Kings coach suspended for 12 gamesTom Webster, coach of the Los Angeles Kings, was suspended yesterday for 12 games for throwing a stick at referee Kerry Fraser. In addition, the Kings were fined $10,000 for the incident during the Nov. 16 game against the Detroit Red Wings.Webster was ejected for throwing a hockey stick that landed at )) Fraser's feet. Webster was upset that Fraser had assessed a 10-minute misconduct penalty to Kings defenseman Larry Robinson for cross-checking.* Thanks to Bob Johnson, every day will be a great day for hockey in Pittsburgh this season.

LOS ANGELES -- Magic Johnson's agent says there's zero chance of his client coming back to play basketball in the NBA."He is absolutely, positively not coming back to play," Lon Rosen said.Hmmm. Why not? "In a perfect world, he would like to return . . .," Rosen explained, the suggestion being that we aren't living in one of those.But would Magic like to return to the Lakers? "Well, sure, he'd like to come back . . ."But there's absolutely no way? "None," Rosen added, with a strong sense of finality in his voice.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- You know it's a hard-hat type of game when the chic Great Western Forum crowd chants, "A. C.!. . . A. C.!"Lakers forward A. C. Green -- who keeps his elbow wrapped because he throws it a lot -- adored last night's brutal inside play, but the Washington Bullets are ill-equipped to play roughhouse basketball and were easily defeated, 118-93."

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Everything is different. And everything is the same.Welcome to the post-Magic era at the still Fabulous Forum where the Laker Girls remain spectacularly politically incorrect, and the glitterati gladly pay $500 for courtside seats. I saw Dyan there the other night. Jack left his condolences. The Lakers, a game out of first, were playing Portland, and the place was packed.It seemed the same. It was the same.And it wasn't. Nothing has been quite the same since Magic Johnson told the world he was HIV-positive.

In the 1980s, when then Los Angeles Lakers coach Pat Riley and team leader Magic Johnson were winning conference and NBA titles with regularity, Riley cautioned, "When Magic Johnson retires, it's time for us all to go home."Riley, now coach of the New York Knicks, left Los Angeles two years before Johnson's retirement last month after testing HIV-positive. But it now appears that predictions of the Lakers' collapse were grossly exaggerated.These days, Riley's successor, Mike Dunleavy, is not only operating without Johnson, but also minus his starting center, Vlade Divac (out six to eight weeks with a herniated disk)

Kings coach suspended for 12 gamesTom Webster, coach of the Los Angeles Kings, was suspended yesterday for 12 games for throwing a stick at referee Kerry Fraser. In addition, the Kings were fined $10,000 for the incident during the Nov. 16 game against the Detroit Red Wings.Webster was ejected for throwing a hockey stick that landed at )) Fraser's feet. Webster was upset that Fraser had assessed a 10-minute misconduct penalty to Kings defenseman Larry Robinson for cross-checking.* Thanks to Bob Johnson, every day will be a great day for hockey in Pittsburgh this season.

Soviets expect to do well at OlympicsThe top Soviet Olympic official yesterday dismissed fears that the Soviet sports machine is bankrupt and losing athletes in a "brawn drain" to the West, and predicted his athletes would dominate the Winter and the Summer Games next year."

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Everything is different. And everything is the same.Welcome to the post-Magic era at the still Fabulous Forum where the Laker Girls remain spectacularly politically incorrect, and the glitterati gladly pay $500 for courtside seats. I saw Dyan there the other night. Jack left his condolences. The Lakers, a game out of first, were playing Portland, and the place was packed.It seemed the same. It was the same.And it wasn't. Nothing has been quite the same since Magic Johnson told the world he was HIV-positive.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- It's the same, old story in the 1991 NBA Finals.The Chicago Bulls are simply too young, too quick, too athletic and too good for the Los Angeles Lakers, who find themselves on the brink of elimination after they took a 97-82 pounding at The Forum last night.This third straight victory gave the Bulls a chance to end the series and clinch their first title here Wednesday night. No team in NBA championship history has recovered from a 3-1 deficit.The pre-game focus was on how Bulls superstar Michael Jordan would respond after he jammed his big toe in Friday night's overtime victory.