Derrick Rose takes over as Chicago Bulls defeat Los Angeles Clippers 114-101: NBA Recap
Chicago Bulls defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 114 – 101 at the Staples Centre to give a reality check to the high flying supporters of “lob city”. The Clippers have strengthened greatly this off season especially with the inclusion
of super star point guard Chris Paul, but Derrick Rose showed tonight that he was still the top dog.
The Bulls sensation racked up 29 points in a terrific display that also included an amazing 16 assists and 8 rebounds. Joakim Noah and Luol Deng both scored 19 points for a Chicago side that had all 5 starters in double figures.
The same was true for the Los Angeles Clippers who put on a solid display behind exciting power forward Blake Griffin. The sophomore star scored a game high 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for his double-double. Chris Paul complemented
him with 15 points and 14 assists while Caron Butler also knocked down 16 points.
The game was a high flying, up tempo, affair that started out with Blake Griffin and company racing to a 9 – 2 advantage. Chicago though had the best record in the NBA last season and showed why as they clawed back into the game
with some stellar offence of their own and finished the quarter on top at 29 – 28.
The Clippers kept on producing some exciting plays but found it difficult to dislodge the battle hardened Bulls who kept their advantage heading into the second half at 57 – 52.
The Clippers came out of the interval all guns blazing and set about the task of wrestling the lead back from Chicago in the third quarter. After toiling hard, Los Angeles pulled to within a point of Chicago on 3 occasions in the
closing stages and a Blake Griffin free throw finally got them level with the Bulls at 77 – 77. Chicago though restored their advantage by ending the quarter on a 6 – 0 run.
The final period only showed that the Bulls were a more organized, more synchronized unit that knew how to fend off talented teams. Clippers were simply not able to haul them back and as time kept slipping away, they became resigned
to an inevitable defeat.
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