Chicago Bulls overcome the Dallas Mavericks 82-77
It was ugly, but a five-point win is exactly what the Bulls needed.
With neither team shooting more than 37 percent, the Chicago Bulls trounced the visiting Dallas Mavericks 82-77 at United Centre on Thursday night.
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said after the game, "Very physical. Everything was contested pretty much the whole night. It was an old fashioned Eastern Conference type of game."
Derrick Rose was able to provide the difference, as he was the only Bulls player in double figures with a game-high 26 points to go along with nine assists. He was one of the few Bulls who had a solid night offensively. However, he shot only 9-for-28.
Rose praised his team-mates performance in the game. He said, "It was just hard. We weren't making shots and we didn't have anything going. It was one of those games, we were just happy to get the win."
Kurt Thomas, starting at center in place of injured Joakim Noah, had 11 rebounds and 9 points for the Bulls; six of which came in the fourth quarter. The Bulls got 30 points from their bench. Kyle Korver had nine points, Ronnie Brewer and C.J. Watson posted eight points apiece while Omer Asik added five points and seven rebounds.
Dirk Nowitzki struggled to find his groove, as he scored a team-high 19 points for the Mavericks. However, he was 6-for-16 from the field. Tyson Chandler, DeShawn Stevenson, and Jason Terry each contributed 12 points in the defeat. Chandler was the only Dallas player to shoot 50 percent or better, going 5-for-9 from the field. He also contributed 12 rebounds and blocked three shots.
Match Analysis
Both teams struggled early from the field, but the Mavericks got enough of a rhythm to push the lead to four points early in the first quarter. Luol Deng of Chicago leads all scorers with seven points. The Bulls biggest lead of the quarter was six points, taking 20-19 lead into the second.
Both teams started the second quarter aggressively, but the Bulls bench led the way by scoring 18 of Chicago’s 25 points, as they took a 44-35 lead into half time.
The Mavericks got back into the game as they opened the third quarter with a 15-4 run, capped by a Stevenson three-pointer. The bulls tried hard to cut the lead but Dallas managed to take a 50-48 lead inside just seven minutes. Jason Kidd made a three-pointer as time expired in the third to extend the Mavericks’ lead to 60-56 at the end of the third.
The final stanza was the crucial one for both teams, but the Bulls’ dominance was complete and utter. Trailing by four points, Rose tied the game at 66 with a sizzling reverse lay-up with just inside nine minutes remaining. Watson then connected on a three-pointer to give Chicago a 69-66 lead for good.
Terry has been the key fourth-quarter contributor for the Mavericks. Unfortunately, he missed a three-pointer with 15 seconds to go and put the Bulls up by three. Kyle Korver of Chicago then made two foul shots to seal the game with 5.5 seconds remaining.
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