NBA Playoffs 2010-11: Chicago Bulls in perfect position to rout Indiana Pacers (part 1)
The red-hot Chicago Bulls ended the regular season with the league’s best record at 61-20. The Indiana Pacers, on the other hand, closed the season at 37-45, as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.
According to rules of the National Basket Association (NBA), the top-seeded team of the conference had to play the eighth-seeded in the playoffs. Therefore, the Bulls take on the Pacers in the best-of-seven quarterfinal series.
Chicago got a home-court advantage in their first-round series, as they wrapped the season with the best NBA record.
The Bulls-Pacers best-of-seven series officially kicked off on Wednesday, April 13, 2011. The MVP favourite, Derrick Rose, has led Chicago to a 2-0 lead in their opening-round playoff series heading into the game at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Although the Bulls are heading this season, the Pacers have tackled them extremely well in the first two games of the series.
In Game 1, Indiana gave Chicago a tough time on the court, heading the first three quarters behind a combined team effort. Forward Tyler Hansbrough played one of the best games of the season and paced the Pacers with 22 points, hitting 15- to 17-foot jump
shots.
Danny Granger joined hands with him and played out of his mind in the second half. Carlos Boozer had a tough time in guarding Granger. In addition to that, Indiana shot 10-of-20 on three-pointers.
Everything eventually changed in the fourth quarter when the Bulls outscored the Pacers 33-20 and the late surge allowed Chicago to escape on a day when they were at less than their best. The Bulls won 104-99.
Rose, Chicago’s 22-year-old point guard and a leading candidate for Most Valuable Player (MVP), played a vital role in the victory, as he scored a game-high 39 points, grabbed six assists, and six rebounds.
The Pacers’ guard, Darren Collison, appreciated the sizzling performance of Rose and said, "We know (Rose) will take the majority of their shots. He is their primary scorer, and we have to lock in on him. We have to make it as hard on him as possible. The
main thing is to attack him, and for the most part, we did that today".
Game 2 was more or less the same, as the Bulls continued to play sloppy basketball, missing some open jump shots in the three quarters.
The positive thing in the second game that stole the night was the outstanding play of Rose. He was aggressive throughout the night, shooting 13 more free throws and scoring a breath-taking 36 points. He scored 14 of his points in the final stanza, as Chicago
outplayed the Pacers 29-23 to seal victory with a six-point margin, 96-90.
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