CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Not even the presence of Michael Jordan could spark the Chicago Bulls - or deter the Seattle SuperSonics.
Rashard Lewis scored 27 points and Ronald Murray added 26 as the SuperSonics completed a successful road trip with a 98-90 victory over the Bulls, who fell to 1-6 at home.
"It's discouraging," Bulls forward Donyell Marshall said. "These games are important. We have to take advantage of them."
Jordan, perhaps the greatest player in NBA history and the unequivocal emperor of the Bulls' dynasty that claimed six championships in the 1990s, sat in the third row near midcourt in his first appearance at the United Center since retiring after last season.
With the Bulls rallying in the third quarter, Jordan was shown on the scoreboard, prompting a roar from the crowd. But that did not rattle the SuperSonics, who did not relinquish the lead and finished off a 3-1 trip.
"We wanted to get this win on this last game of the road trip," Murray said. "We didn't want to go home 2-2."
Murray made sure of that by making three straight 3-pointers in the third quarter to build a one-point lead to 71-64. He scored 15 points in the period.
"He did what he does for us all season," Sonics coach Nate McMillan said. "If he's cold, he continues to put his shot up. He got hot there and hit three or four in a row."
"He came off those screen-and-rolls and hit his shot," Lewis said. "That's been his patented move for us all year."
Chicago again pulled within a point at 85-84 with 5:57 left on a jumper by Jalen Rose, who scored 19 points. But Seattle rattled off nine in a row, with baskets by Murray and Lewis making it 94-84 with four minutes left.
The Bulls heard boos as time ran down in their fifth straight home setback. On Tuesday, they begin a western swing of five games in nine days, all against playoff teams.
"We're shocked we're not playing better," said Chicago forward Tyson Chandler, who had 15 points and 11 rebounds. "I thought this season we would be a lot better at home."
"We're going out to play the best teams in the West right now," Marshall said. "We're not going out there to play cupcakes."
Vladimir Radmanovic added 19 points for Seattle, which has won six straight visits to Chicago since January 13, 1998 - when Jordan scored 40 points in a 101-91 win.
Murray, a second-year guard who scored just 27 points all of last season, has scored at least 20 in all but one game this year. He made five 3-pointers as Seattle sank 13-of-27 from the arc.
"In training camp, we decided we wanted to be an up-tempo team," Murray said. "We have not been mentioned in the league because the West is loaded up, so we're the shocker right now."
