Joe Johnson, Dirk Nowitzki, Derrick Rose:
Top Performers from the NBA Conference semi-finals Game 2
Atlanta Hawks vs. Chicago Bulls
Joe Johnson
Atlanta Hawks guard Joe Johnson posted a game-winning performance and slowed down the Chicago Bulls’ surge in the play-offs. Johnson racked up 34 points and clutched 4 rebounds to spearhead the Atlanta Hawks for a tremendous 103-95
victory over the Bulls. Joe was flawless from beyond the arc and buried five sizzling 3-pointers out of 5 attempts to crush the streaking Bulls.
Before the series started there was a common notion that Hawks would be rolled over by the mighty Bulls. However Joe picked had other ideas as he helped Atlanta draw level in the series.
"As long as we've got each other's backs in the locker room, we don't care about the criticism." Johnson said after the game.
The Bulls were trailing by 1 point in the start of the fourth quarter when Johnson smashed them with 10 points to set the stage for a victory.
Jamal Crawford
Jamal Crawford powered the Hawks down the stretch by scoring 22 points and retorted against the powerful assault of the Bulls. Crawford scored 11 points in the final 12 minutes including two blistering blows from downtown as the
Hawks took 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven game series.
Derrick Rose
Derrick Rose was the frontrunner in the Bulls line-up once again as he racked up a team-high 24 points and dished out 10 assists. However, the cream of the crop Rose lacked support from the bench player as Chicago lost game 1 in
the second round of the play-offs
Rose said on whether the game 1 defeat was a wakeup call, "I just hope we don't wake up too late and that we are ready for the next game."
Rose is looking forward to fire up the energy down the stretch as there is not much room left for errors as the NBA finals approaches.
Dallas Mavericks vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Dirk Nowitzki
The veteran power forward Dirk Nowitzki was incredibly instrumental all over the court as he notched up 28 points and clutched 14 rebounds to overshadow the Los Angeles Lakers for a breathtaking 96-94 victory. The Lakers were leading
with 16 points in the preliminary moments of the third quarter when the star of the night Dirk took the charge impressively and smashed the opposition with 16 points to clinch a thrilling win.
Pau Gasol said on Lakers dramatic downfall after halftime, "It was a really bad ending...we should have won that game...to me that call was very questionable. At that particular moment even more. We didn't seem to get the same
on the other end."
Nowitzki also handed out significant opportunities to his teammates down the stretch that powered the Mavericks for an exciting pull off.
Kobe Bryant
The legendary Kobe Bryant had a dominating night with the ball and landed a game-high 36 points. Despite of Bryant’s outstanding play that included four scorching blows from downtown, the Lakers failed to uphold the extensive lead
that was constructed by the superstar.
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