NBA Roundup 16th March: Chicago Bulls and Portland Trail Blazers win (Part-2)
Chicago Bulls 98 – Washington Wizards 79
On Tuesday night, at the United centre, the Chicago Bulls thrashed the lowly Washington Wizards 98-79 to relish a rank building victory that saw them eclipse the mighty Boston Celtics for the first spot in the top-heavy Eastern
Conference. Derrick Rose was once again the star of the show. Playing without the support of Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer, who were out due to injuries, the All-Star guard clinched 23 points and seven assists to spearhead Bulls for their seventh straight
victory.
Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said on procuring the top rank in East.
"We want to play as well as we can, get the best record that we can and have the highest seed possible. If we are preparing the way we are supposed to and doing the right thing, the results will take care of themselves."
Jordan Crawford landed a game-high 27 points to hold Wizards in the first half of the game. John Wall contributed his part to support Crawford with his 17 points but the bench fell short to earn any sort of momentum.
Loul Deng carried on his excellent run with 20 points and seven rebounds. Chicago’s bench though also failed to play a significant role in the outcome of the game.
The home team showed great aggression right from the beginning, landing four blistering 3-pointers to clutch a comprehensive 31-19 lead in the first quarter. Crawford lifted the momentum for Washington with three scorching land
from downtown, cutting down a huge deficit to 50-46 by the halftime.
The second half of the play was utterly subjugated by Chicago, leaving few options for the visiting team to strike back. The home team continued assailing beyond the arc and also restricted the Wizards to score as they cherished
a crucial win 98-79 to become East Leader.
Portland Trail Blazers 104 – Dallas Mavericks 101
LaMarcus Aldridge erupted with a game-high 30 points, wrapped with 8 rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers scorched the Dallas Mavericks in a confrontational meeting on Tuesday night. Three times All-Star Brandon Roy clinched
a crucial jumper in the finishing seconds and completed his 21 points off the bench to spearhead Trail Blazers for a sensational triumph over the Western Conference’s second placed team.
In January, Roy had arthroscopic surgery on both knees and is playing off the bench since as his condition is anticipated to snag him for his remaining career. His minutes on the court are closely monitored during the play.
Roy said after the game."It's a process. I try to stay even keel with everything going on. Tonight, I felt great."
Dirk Nowitzki procured a double-double with his 28 points and 11 rebounds to bring forward a sturdy contest. Shawn Marion and Rodrigue Beaubois also engaged a substantial support for Dallas by combining for 16 points. However,
the Mavs couldn’t hold their end down the stretch as their strapping efforts turned out to be insufficient.
Dallas roared into the Rose Garden and made good on their first ten possessions. The Trail Blazers however managed to keep pace with the sprinting Mavs and by the time Brian Cardinal drained a 3-point attempt with 3:25 left in
the first quarter, they were only staring at a23-26 deficit. The errant shot by Cardinal brought life back to a stunned crowd, which erupted with applause. Nevertheless, the Mavs shot 73 percent in the first quarter.
The parity ensued in the second frame and Portland briefly took the lead when Wesley Matthews' 3-pointer made it 45-43. But, Dallas was quick to rebound. They claimed back the lead on Jason Terry's 3-pointer and the Mavericks were
up 56-53 at the break.
The Mavs continued their up-tempo offensive style of play and extended their lead to 71-62 on Tyson Chandler's dunk. The Blazers however were determined to put up a fight as pinned a turnaround jumper late in the third quarter
to make the matters all square at 76-all. Portland then took the lead when Roy slipped in a layup in the following Portland possession.
Roy carried his momentum in the fourth quarter and netted the last four of his 10 straight points that put Portland up 86-80 early in the fourth quarter. The Mavs couldn’t catch up with the Trail blazers after that as they slumped
to their second defeat in the last three games.
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