Chicago Bulls stun the Miami Heat 103-82 at the United Center - Part 1
The Chicago Bulls charged to a 1 – 0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals tonight as they beat the Miami Heat at the United Center. After a close first half, Chicago soared ahead and won by a blowout margin, 103 – 82.
Derrick Rose showed why he dethroned LeBron James as the MVP this year with a solid performance in game-1. Rose scored a team high 28 points and dished out six assists as he led the Bulls to victory. Luol Deng was a big difference
maker for Chicago as he pretty much marked LeBron James out of the game and also provided 21 points on the offensive end. Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah dominated on the boards, grabbing 9 and 14 respectively. Boozer also had 14 points.
The defence was where Chicago won the game, keeping James and Dwyane Wade quite. It was no easy task and Derrick Rose praised his team’s effort on D after the game,
"They've got great players on their team. You have to make sure they don't get open shots, contest all their shots, make sure they don't get to the lane. We did a good job to make sure they saw bodies when they went to the lane."
Chris Bosh took the lead role for Miami tonight. With LeBron James and Dwyane Wade struggling to make an impact, Bosh stepped up to carry the team. He had a game high 30 points and hauled down 9 rebounds. Wade scored 18 and LeBron
had 15 as they both failed to impose themselves on the Bulls.
There was a lot of pressure on Derrick Rose before the game, as he was considered the main hope for the Chicago Bulls against the star studded Miami Heat team. The reigning MVP was expectedly nervy early on and turned the ball
over three times in the first quarter. However a three calmed him down and he grew in the game from there on.
The first quarter also presented a microcosm of the game, with Rose leading his side’s charge, and Chris Bosh being the main threat from Miami, rather than Wade and James. The quarter was fairly even, and although the Heat led
by 8 points with 5:06 remaining, thanks to a 10-2 run, the teams went into the second quarter at 20 – 23, advantage Heat.
The second quarter was an extremely tight affair. Chicago started with a 6 -2 sprint and then followed it with a 5 -2 spurt, the two runs separated by two free throws from Dwyane Wade. Afterwards the team’s matched each other almost
on every possession. The lead changed hands 7 times and the scores were tied for another 8, before the first half closed at 48 – 48.
The highlight of the half came early in the second quarter when Taj Gibson dunked, two handed, over Dwyane Wade despite getting fouled. The play really charged up the Bulls and even Dwyane Wade applauded after seeing the replay.
Carlos Boozer was still thinking about Gibson’s dunk when the game ended, "Did you see the dunks that (Gibson) had? That inspired us. I wish was 22 (years old) again. I felt that, when he did it, we all did it, you know?"
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