Derrick Rose helps Chicago Bulls beat Miami Heat 98-89
Derrick Rose scored a game-high 26 points, six assists and five rebounds, to help the Chicago Bulls to a 93-89 victory over the Miami Heat at the United Centre on Thursday night.
Luol Deng continued his strong play off the bench with 20 points and 10 rebounds for Chicago, who won their 26th home game of the 2010-11 season. The 29-year-old forward, Carlos Boozer played scored 16 points for the Bulls, who are now 39-17 during
this season.
Dwyane Wade did all he could as he registered a game-high 34 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the losing effort. LeBron aka King James continued his mid-range shooting display, finishing with 29 points and 10 rebounds for Miami, who saw their three-game
winning streak snapped. Mario Chalmers posted 12 points, four assists and four rebounds for the Heat, who lost their 11th road game of the season.
Match Analysis
The Bulls came into the game with a firm determination to win, as they have the third-best record in the Eastern Conference, and are in a close race with the Boston Celtics and Miami. It did not take long for Chicago to reacquire their defensive mod at home
court and trounce their opponents.
Miami looked athletic, enthusiastic and competitive on defence, as they came strong in the opening quarter, and kept on playing with the same focus and intensity. The Bulls on the other hand played sloppy basketball and were flat-footed on defence for most
of the quarter. However, Miami was more aggressive until the end of the opening quarter, taking a 31-23 lead into the second.
Both teams started the second quarter ice cold but the Heat once again managed to make it to the free throw line midway through. However, Rose made a three-pointer as time expired in the first half, to trim Miami’s lead to 53-44 at the break.
The Bulls got their shooting touch back and came out strongly in the third quarter. Midway through the third, Deng made a rebound basket to cut Miami's lead to 63-60. He then stole the ball from King James and made a fast-break layup to cut the lead to one
(63-62) with three minutes to go in the quarter. Chicago got some nice lifts from Rose and managed to convert the nine-point half time deficit into a 71-67 lead at the end of three quarters.
Miami continued to play their attacking style of basketball during the final stanza, which frustrated Chicago as they managed to tie the contest at 89-89 with 36 seconds remaining. The phenomenal Deng then broke the deadlock with a fantastic three-pointer
with 16 seconds left to seal the victory.
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