Sonics kick off Bob Hill-era in Chicago

(Basketball News) - The Seattle SuperSonics take the court for the first time under new head coach Bob Hill, as they play the second contest of a five- game road trip tonight against the struggling Chicago Bulls at the United Center.

The SuperSonics fired Bob Weiss on Tuesday and replaced him with Hill. Weiss, who will remain with the team in an advisory role, was in his first season as the club’s general. The 63-year-old Weiss initially joined the Sonics staff as an assistant coach in 1994 and took over for the departed Nate McMillan this past offseason. McMillan’s contract ran out with the Sonics and he is now head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Hill brings 30-plus years of basketball coaching experience, posting a 257-212 record in 10 seasons as an NBA head coach. His best job on the bench came with the San Antonio Spurs from 1994-96, compiling a 124-58 mark with a pair of division crowns. Hill has also coached the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks.

Seattle started its current road trip off on the wrong foot. On Monday, Fred Jones connected on 10-of-16 shots and scored a season-high 26 points, as the Indiana Pacers defeated the SuperSonics, 115-96, at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Ray Allen led the Sonics with 24 points in the loss to the Pacers, while Ronald Murray finished with 18 points for Seattle, which has dropped two in a row and three of its last four overall.

The Sonics are 5-8 on the road this season. They will also visit Detroit, New York and Philadelphia on the current swing.

Chicago, which plays the finale of a three-game homestand, enters tonight’s contest on a season-worst seven-game losing streak. On Monday, Michael Redd netted 29 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks over the Bulls, 93-92, at the United Center.

Ben Gordon tied his season-high with 28 points in the loss to Milwaukee for Chicago, while Othella Harrington contributed 19 points for the Bulls, who have lost nine of their last 11 overall.

The Bulls are just 5-9 as the host this season. They have lost four straight and eight of their last nine at the United Center.

This is the second and final meeting of the campaign between the clubs. On November 18th, Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis each scored 27 points to lead the SuperSonics over the Bulls, 98-84, at KeyArena.

The road team has won seven of the last 10 meetings in this series.