Derrick Rose stars as the Bulls knock down the Grizzlies – (Part 2)
Continued from Part 1
On a chilly night in Oakland, the Memphis Grizzlies offence froze against a shored up and hustling Bulls defence. Shooting at 35 percent from the floor in the first half, the Grizzlies hit rock bottom in the third quarter making just 4 of 17 shots (23.5
percent), as the Bulls' lead swelled to 79-60 heading into the final quarter. From there the home team never stood a chance, as they fell to the Chicago Bulls in their own back yard.
Although the match generally hung in balance in the opening 10 minutes of the game, the Bulls eventually started to assert their dominance as they closed the opening quarter with an 8-2 spurt. The visitors headed into the second stanza with a 26-17 advantage.
The onslaught though had just begun.
Kyle Korver drilled two from downtown to spark a 10-point uncontested run within a span of two minutes, which he eventually capped with a running bank shot. His long-range exploits ensured that the Bulls’ lead swelled to 38-21 midway through the second quarter.
The Grizzlies however, bounced back with a ferocious 16-6 spurt to pull back within seven points, with less than three minutes to go until the break. Korver though, was again the thorn in the side of the Grizzlies. The Bulls forward, who has finally bid
adieu to a miserable and prolonged shooting slump, struck with two from long-range to peg the Grizzlies back.
Korver scored all 14 of his first-half points in the second quarter, sinking 4 of 5 from behind the arc as the Bulls combined for a 56 percent shooting from the field, and 7-of-9 from downtown.
Korver said after the game, "I felt good the last week or so shooting the ball in practice, just haven't gotten good looks in the games. Sometimes, you just have to see the ball go in."
Zach Randolph led the Grizzlies with 16 points in the first half, including a staggering 12 points in the second quarter. The rest of the Memphis line-up though, was finding it hard to find the target, as they fell behind by 53-42 heading into the second
half.
Chicago continued in the second half from where they left off in the first. Their consistently probing front-line roped in one shot after another, and built a 66-51 lead after a lay-up by Derrick Rose, with less than seven minutes left in the third quarter.
Loul Deng followed suit with two straight shots of his own, as the Bulls sprinted to an 18-point lead with over four and a half minutes left in the third. He then hit a three in the dying seconds of the frame to put the Bulls ahead by 22 points; their largest
lead of the game.
However, a three point play by Greivis Vasquez ensured that Grizzlies made it to the fourth quarter trailing by 79-60.
The Grizzlies finally hit the ground running in the fourth stanza and rattled off an 8-0 run to slash their deficit to less than 10 points with less than nine minutes left on the clock. However, a barrage of triple pointers from Chicago ensured that they
maintained a decent cushion midway through the quarter.
The Bulls were never threatened after that as they breezed to a 96-84 win.
The home team rattled a reasonable comeback in the fourth quarter, but falling behind by as many as 22 points in the third quarter eventually proved to be insurmountable. O.J. Mayo, who played a major role in giving the Grizzlies some semblance of hope in
the final quarter, admitted that the last ditch effort was too little too late
A disappointed Mayo said, "We put forth a hard comeback but I think it was just a little too late."
The Grizzlies next take on the high flying New Orleans Hornets in an away game, while the red hot Bulls who are just two games behind the mighty Miami Heat in the race for second spot in the Eastern Conference, will take on the Charlotte Bobcats in back-to-back
games.
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