| « WCR Bout 2 Results: Belles, Fury Rule the School | Blackhawks Need to Step Up Their Game » |
Bulls Wed Feb 16 2011
Bulls Hold Off Jordan's Bobcats
Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen enjoy an ovation. Tribune photo: Nuccio DiNuzzo
Nice win for the Bulls last night, handling a Charlotte Bobcats team that beat them twice this season and trounced the Lakers by 20 points the night before. Chicago has won three straight since stumbling briefly on the West Coast and will be looking to head into the all-star break on a real roll by beating the NBA's top team, the San Antonio Spurs, at home on Thursday.
A few notes from last night's game:
1. Derrick Rose
Chicago's lone all-star did not shoot particularly well, but it was another 100-point night for a Bulls offense that has hit triple digits in four of the past seven games after a long, cold January. Rose hit 5 of 14 shots but managed 18 points thanks to 8-of-9 shooting from the foul line -- and more important, contributed 13 assists.
2. Luol Deng
Plenty of those assists went to Deng, who scored a game-high 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting in his typical 44 minutes. There are two sides to this performance, and frankly, I don't care which one is the truth. Either Rose underperformed and Deng stepped up to fill the void, or Rose took advantage of the attention given him on offense and willingly gave up his shots to feed teammates all night. Either one means the Bulls are in good shape.
3. Bench points
The Bulls had five players score in double figures, but more importantly, two of those players came off the bench. Taj Gibson played well and hit 7 of 10 free throws en route to 11 points, while Kyle Korver had 15 points on 5-of-5 shooting, including three 3-pointers.
