Atlanta Hawks even series, win at home against the Chicago Bulls – Part 1
After losing two games in a row, the Atlanta Hawks came back strong with a 100-88 win over the Chicago Bulls. The Hawks were solid throughout the game and took over in the final quarter, much to the delight of the Philips Arena
crowd. The Eastern Conference semi-final series is now finely poised at 2 – 2, however the Bulls will now have the home court advantage, heading into game-5 at the United Center.
The end also saw a controversial decision by referee Bennett Salvatore, who later admitted he made the wrong decision. With a little over two minutes to go in the game and the Hawks leading by six, Rose attempted a trey and was
apparently fouled by Jamal Crawford. The referee blew the whistle but immediately said that it was inadvertent.
"I blew my whistle and didn't mean to. I didn't think it was a foul. Having watched replay after the game, it was a foul and I should have called it. I made a mistake. I was wrong."
The resulting jump-ball was won by Josh Smith and Atlanta gained possession.
Josh Smith was the star of the night for the Hawks. He came back with a vengeance and silenced all his critics with a stunning performance of 23 points, 16 rebounds and 8 assists. Joe Johnson put up team high 24 points while Al
Horford had 20.
Atlanta had five players who reached double figures while Chicago only had three. One of them was league MVP Derrick Rose, who had a double-double. Rose followed his 44 point game-3 performance with 34 points and 10 assists in
game-4. However his effort resembled that of the first two games in the series when he struggled from the field. Rose shot 12-of-32 and his wastefulness was a factor in Chicago’s loss.
Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng were the other 2 players in double figures for the Bulls, with 18 and 13 points respectively.
After the loss Chicago’s head coach Tom Thibodeau said the team did not defend as well as they could have. He also refused to condemn Derrick Rose’s wasteful play,
"I didn't like our defence in the fourth quarter. We drove the ball hard, but didn't get a call and that's the way it goes. They got the ball in the paint with far too much ease. I didn't have any problem with the way Derrick [Rose]
played. He was aggressive. I thought there were times he was getting fouled."
The game started on an even note as both teams matched each other’s play in the first quarter. Derrick Rose shooting troubles started early as well as he went 1-of-5 from the field. His display was perhaps down to the Hawks strategy
of rushing him on every possession with two or even three men. Atlanta had largely backed off Rose and dared him to shoot from the outside in the first three games. The first period saw the lead change hands 7 times and it ended with Atlanta leading 26 – 28.
Atlanta tried to pull away in the second quarter. They went on an 8 – 0 run that gave them a 7 point lead, the highest in the first half, with 7:46 left. However, Chicago fought back with a 9-2 run of their own near the end, taking
a 3 point lead in the 10th minute of the quarter. The topsy-turvy half ended with Atlanta back in the lead at 47 – 46.
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