Emotional Scottie Pippen salutes Bulls, fans

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Scottie Pippen got as much of his due as a sidekick to Michael Jordan could get — he was named one of the NBA’s Top 50 players in 1996 and his jersey number hangs from the rafters at the United Center. But Thursday night was a crowning moment for the former Bulls star and current team ambassador.

At a halftime ceremony during the Bulls-Celtics game, the Bulls unveiled an impressive-looking bust of Pippen that will stand outside Gate 7 at the United Center. The sellout crowd gave Pippen a standing ovation as the bust was unveiled. The former Central Arkansas star was clearly moved by the gesture by both the fans and the Bulls.

‘‘Without the push from [the fans], none of this would have happened,’’ Pippen said in a post-unveiling speech. ‘‘From the bottom of my heart, I really want to thank the Bulls organization, Mr. Jerry Reinsdorf, for this. This is truly special.’’

Pippen got a rise out of the crowd when he gave special thanks to former teammate and current Bulls vice president John Paxson, ‘‘who was here when I came here and he‘s still here.’’ And he added a timely kicker: ‘‘And the way the team is going right now, it looks like he’s going to be here for a while. Thank you John.’’

M-V-P

Endorsements of Derrick Rose are getting monotonous, but the one he received from Celtics coach Glenn “Doc” Rivers was more heartfelt than most.

Like Rose, Rivers was a prep superstar in Chicago — a McDonald’s All-American rated the No. 1 guard prospect in the country as a senior at Proviso East in 1980.

‘‘In my opinion, he’s the most valuable player, but for me, being a Chicago player, I’m far more impressed with how he carries himself,’’ said Rivers, who played three seasons at Marquette and 13 seasons in the NBA, with one All-Star Game appearance.

‘‘I don’t think you could have picked a better player from this city to represent this team in the way he carries himself at a time when kids I think need great role models, they have one.’’

Regrets only

Bulls chairman Reinsdorf talked to Grant Hill’s mother, Janet Hill, to express his regrets about the incident after the Bulls-Suns game on Tuesday when Hill claimed a fan cursed and spit at him as he left the court after the Bulls’ 97-94 victory at the United Center. Reinsdorf also left a message for Hill regarding the incident.

Don’t count them out

The Celtics have gone 8-9 in their last 17 games to fall four behind the Bulls in the race for the No. 1 seed in the East. But Rivers expects to get Shaquille O’Neal back for the playoffs and playing close to full strength for the first time all season.

‘‘When we’re at full strength I think we’re good,’’ Rivers said. ‘‘We feel that if right, we can win. I really believe that. This year we have a pretty good record and we’ve had as many injuries as anyone. We’ve yet to play one second with our bench this entire season. We believe that will happen once the playoffs start. We believe we’re going to be OK.’’