Sunday, Dec. 5, 2010
Updated 12:13 AM
By Aggrey Sam
CSNChicago.com
It wasnt always pretty, but in the Bulls (10-8) 119-116 overtime triumph Saturday evening over the Rockets (7-13), the long-anticipated dynamic duo of Derrick Rose and Carlos Boozer was finally more than just a tease.
Bouncing back from two disappointing losses after Boozers return from injury, Chicagos energy level, defensive intensity and offensive cohesion were all evident in the win, even though the Rockets late comeback threw a scare into the United Center crowd before Roses end-of-regulation heroics.
Concluded Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau: In the end, I think we did what we had to do to win.
From the games outset, the Bulls appeared to be much more in sync. New addition Boozer (25 points, nine rebounds) got off to an active and aggressive start, showcasing the interior scoring and rebounding ability that elevated him to stardom in Utah.
With better ball movement facilitating quality shot opportunities, Chicago more closely resembled the surging squad that came off a successful circus trip than the abysmal team witnessed in the previous two contests.
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Because of our defense and rebounding, it allowed us to get into a quicker pace and some easy scoring opportunities. I also thought we had good ball movement in the first half, said Thibodeau. I also thought Carlos got more comfortable. Obviously 25 points in 30 minutes, hes a guy you can throw the ball into and get some good things off of that, too.
Each game, hes gotten better and better, more comfortable, and I thought offensively against Boston, he had several plays that were good basketball plays, where you could see his instincts taking over, he continued. Today, I thought his offense was very good again and I thought his rebounding was much better. I thought he really went after the ball today, so that part was good."
Every day is a little bit more comfortable. Every day Im getting in a little bit better shape. Every day Im more comfortable with my hand getting hit. Every day Im getting more comfortable on offense. Im still learning everything. This is kind of like my preseason for me because these are the first games Ive played in, said Boozer. Im learning on the fly, but hopefully we can keep winning.
If you worry about this, if you think about that, then youre a step behind. Youve just got to go out there and do it, make them react to what youre doing. Be more aggressivethats what Im trying to doand Im following my teammates. My teammates have been playing for two months, so Im trying to follow their lead, the two-time All-Star went on to say. I was happy. Im making steps in the right direction.
However, Houston power forward Luis Scola (27 points, eight rebounds) used his crafty scoring to keep the visiting Rockets in the game. Still, both Rose (25 points, 11 assists, six rebounds, five steals) and Luol Deng (15 points) seemed to find their respective groovesan important occurrence, with Boozer also playing welland with the defensive intensity back at a high level, the Bulls took a 25-23 advantage into the second quarter.
Chicagos second unit maintained and extended the home teams winning margin by virtue of sound play and, quite honestly, facing a M.A.S.H. crewalready down starters Aaron Brooks and Yao Ming for extended absences, backup guard Courtney Lee was felled by teammate and former Bull Brad Miller (20 points, four 3-pointers, three blocked shots)of Rockets reserves.
With the majority of Bulls regularsalong with reserves Kyle Korver (13 points) and Omer Asikback in the contest midway through the period, Chicagos lead further ballooned, with the Bulls transition game, opportunistic defense, inside-outside offense serving as catalysts.
Toward the end of the half, a trio of Rose plays illustrated the Bulls return to form. First, the All-Star toyed with his defender with a back-and-forth between-the-legs dribble before exploding around a screen to finish with a powerful southpaw dunk.
Then, the Chicago native made a nifty behind-the-back move to split two Rockets and subsequently threaded the needle to find Joakim Noah (13 points, 12 rebounds, four blocked shots, four assists) for a tough layup, plus the foul.
Lastly, following a steal, Rose would explode for whats becoming his signature slamhe cocks the ball behind his head, almost to the middle of his shoulder blades to rock the rim with two handsto give the Bulls a 56-44 lead at intermission.
Rose was terrific. I thought the first half, too, he set the tone for the defense with his ball pressure. He really competed hard, said Thibodeau about his point guard, who set a new career-high in steals in the contest. I thought he had a great edge to him today. He came out and it was right from the start of the game. The thing that I like is that I thought he was attacking on defense, too. A normal game, hes always attacking on offense, but when hes attacking on defense, it makes our defense totally different.
While on the surface, the Bulls didnt do anything to take away from their first-half momentum in the third quarter, the teams general level of intensity fluctuated. They still held a rebounding advantage and shot the ball more proficiently than their opponents, but the Rockets in turn, picked up their play and gradually closed on Chicago.
Houston stopped settling for contested perimeter shots (shooting guard Kevin Martin, in particular, was highly effective, along with Scola), got better looks and didnt allow the Bulls defense to pressure them into as many unforced errors, while Chicagos slippage was marked by a less flowing halfcourt offensedespite solid starts to the half by Boozer and Deng.
Korver and Taj Gibson (eight points, six rebounds) provided important sparks for the home team and although the Bulls played with more urgency to close the period, a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Rockets point guard Kyle Lowry (16 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals) made it 81-79, in Chicagos favor, heading into the final stanza.
Ragged play marked the early portion of the fourth quarter, but the insertion of Rose gave the Bulls life, as the point guard blended scoring and playmaking to aid his team in maintaining its slight cushion. Houston, however, just wouldnt go away, as timely buckets from the likes of Miller kept the contest close.
Chicago would continually go to Boozer, who displayed an ability to draw contact and get to the foul line, even if he didnt always convert.
Stated Boozer: I was trying to draw contact the whole game, but they do a great job of collapsing.
I think the more minutes that they play together, theyre learning a lot about each other and where he wants to get the ball and how he likes to get it, things like that, the pick-and-roll game. I think the more hes out there, particularly with Derrick, to get a feel of what he likes to do, added Thibodeau. I think theyre Boozers teammates searching him out without getting away from what were trying to do offensively, too. Each game, I think youre going to see more and more from him. Once he knocked down a couple shotsyou could see how aggressive he was to start the game todayyou knew he was going to attack.
But the Rockets kept pushing and after a 3-pointer, then a conventional three-point playoff a Miller dish; Lee had long recovered from his first-half injuryHouston took its first lead since 8-6 in the first quarter.
They Houston can score the ball, acknowledged Thibodeau. That team has a lot of weapons.
Down the stretch, the pesky Lowry made several key plays for the Rockets, while Chicago struggled to convert opportunities, allowing the visitors to stretch their slim lead to two possessions with under a minute to play. But two Boozer put-backs sandwiched around a 1-for-2 Lowry trip to the line and Miller following suit allowed the Bulls one last chance with 10.7 seconds to play in regulation.
With the Bulls down 109-106 following Millers free throwhe missed the firstRose pushed the ball down the court and with no hesitation, drained a 3-pointer with no time remaining to send the game into an extra session.
They gave me a little bit of room, Ive been working on the shot and I just shot it, Rose explained to reporters afterwards. At first, they guarded it well. Thats why I had to throw it to Joakim and he handed back and I had a little bit of daylight.
I think thats the first time I celebrated after one of my shots all year. It just felt good knowing that in those situations Im capable of knocking down shots like that.
Added Boozer: Hes that guy. Hes proven that this entire season.
We just got him the ball, hit him with a couple screens, got out of the way, he came off and hit that three to put us into overtime, he continued. Hes been doing that all season. Hes been able to prove that he is that guy for us. We know if we need a basket, were going to D. Rose and hell get it for us.
In overtime, the contest became a back-and-forth affair, with the two teams alternating leads. Rose played the protagonist for the Bulls, as usual, mixing his brilliant drives and finishes at the rim with court awareness, passing and perimeter shooting.
But after an errant Rose pull-up jumper with the Bulls holding a two-point lead, the Rockets had another go at it, but Ronnie Brewer chased down a loose ball after Miller missed an open triple and hit the back end of his trip to the line to give Chicago a 119-116 advantage with 4.5 seconds on the clock.
We played hard in the first half. The second half we kind of eased up, they came back and we got in foul trouble in the third quarter. We were putting them on the line, giving them easy baskets, said Rose. But a win is a win.
We needed it bad. We lost two in a row, it was gonna be hard to lose three, but we just had enough finish it off, he continued. This was huge. If we would have lost this game, it would have hurt very bad. Were just grateful and blessed we won this game.
Added Boozer: I feel like it was ours to win. Aint no gimmes in the NBA. Teams dont let you win. Youve got to take winswe took this game tonight.
Aggrey Sam is CSNChicago.coms Bulls Insider. Follow him @CSNBullsInsider on Twitter for up-to-the-minute Bulls information and his take on the team, the NBA and much more.