Atlanta Hawks fly high at United Center and beat the Chicago Bulls 103-95 (Part 2)
The third quarter saw some intense action as both teams went for it and refused to back down. Chicago was looking for the lead after trailing in the first two quarters. Derrick Rose finally found some sort of rhythm as Chicago tied the game at 53 with a
Joakim Noah free throw and took the lead with the next one. They stretched their lead to six points at 66-60 with 4:11 remaining in the quarter. However, the Hawks refused to go down without a fight.
They went on a 12-5 run to end the quarter. The lead changed hands thrice during that time. It ended when Zaza Pachulia converted from the line to regain the lead for the Hawks, after Rose’s jumper had put Chicago ahead with just 12 seconds remaining.
The final quarter started with a Joe Johnson 3-pointer as the Hawks went on a 10-2 run, taking their lead to nine points. Rose made a jumper to reduce the lead but Pachulia’s layup followed by another big three from Johnson killed off the Bulls’ resistance.
They toiled a little but the players and the crowd knew that the game was out of their reach. Atlanta continued to hit shots down the stretch as the famed Chicago defence tried and failed to stem the tide.
After a Derrick Rose jumper brought the scores to 95-103 with 13 seconds remaining, Jamal Crawford ran out the clock. The night ended on a sore note for the already beaten Bulls as Rose twisted his ankle after stepping on Jamal’s foot. Rose had twisted the
same ankle in the previous series.
The player played down his injury, "I should be OK," he said. "I'll probably get treatment right now, go home, get some more treatment and be ready to go for Wednesday."
The Chicago Bulls were the number defencive team in the regular season but struggled tonight. Joe Johnson was especially lethal with Ronnie Brewer and Keith Bogans, renowned for their tenacity on defence, failing to stop the Atlanta guard.
Chicago’s head coach, Tom Thibodeau, who received the Coach of the Year trophy before the game, was visibly displeased with his team’s play,
"The intensity wasn't right” Thibodeau said. "The start of the game was poor in terms of ball direction, in terms of challenging shots, in terms of showing help. There wasn't one aspect of the defence that was good. They're too good of a team to play like
that."
The Hawks simply carried on from the Orlando series. They were all over the Bulls on defence and spread the floor well on offense. A feature throughout the previous series was their ability to knock down shots when it mattered. It was more of the same as
they shot 51.3 percent from the field and an outstanding 53.8 from beyond the arc.
The mood in their camp was one of defiance after the game, with forward Josh Smith saying,
"Nobody gave us a shot in this series, We're here now up 1-0."
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