Chicago Bulls vs. Philadelphia 76ers: NBA Preview
The Chicago Bulls are all set to take on the Philadelphia 76ers at United Centre on Monday night.
The Bulls are flying high nowadays as they are at the top of the Eastern Conference standings with 53 victories in the 2010-11 season. Chicago lead the sizzling Boston Celtics by two victories. In addition to that, they have won four of their last five games.
Chicago defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 95-87 on Saturday night at the Bradley Centre after a tightly contested game. Both teams fought hard until the last three minutes of the final stanza, before the Bulls went on a 12-0 run to walk away with another home
victory.
Derrick Rose once again rocked the Chicago fans with a game-high 30 points and a career-high 17 assists in the victory. He scored eight of his points in the last two minutes.
While talking about the close finish in the fourth quarter, Rose said, "When the chance is there, I just try. Like I have said, if it were not for my team-mates I would not be able to do what I am doing. I am just trying to take the correct shot, and tonight
it was me driving the ball."
Rose's performance in his last three games against the Sixers was fantastic, averaging 24.0 points per game. The Bulls’ small forward, Luol Deng, has also been in great form as he is averaging 16.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists this season.
The Sixers on the other hand, are struggling in sixth place in the East with 37 victories this season. The 76ers have to maintain their current position to get to the play-offs. They have lost three of their previous four games.
In their last game, the kings overpowered the Sixers 114-111 on Sunday night. Philadelphia lost the match even though all of the five starters scored in double-figures. Guard Jrue Holiday contributed a team-high 28 points while centre Spencer Hawes added
16 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the defeat.
After the narrow loss to the Kings, Sixers coach Doug Collins said, "We played with fire today. We got burned."
Philadelphia knocked out the Bulls 105-99 in their last matchup on 7 January, at the Wells Fargo Centre. However, this time they will face a Chicago side, which has recorded 14 consecutive home wins. The Bulls go into the game with a terrific 32-4 home record
in the 2010-11 season, and Derrick Rose also been in brilliant form.
Rose told reporters, “The worst thing you can do is give me confidence no matter what I am doing. If I get any type of confidence, it's going to be hard to stop me."
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