NBA Special: How Derrick Rose won the conference semi-finals for the Chicago Bulls?
This year has been the year of Derrick Rose. The third year Chicago Bulls guard has proven to the world that he is the most valuable among all the valuable players in the league. The 22-year old kid from Englewood brings his best
on the floor, no matter who the opposition is and what it brings along.
Although Rose’ shooting from the field during the Eastern Conference Semi-finals was not up to the mark, but he was still the real difference maker for the Chicago Bulls. Here is the review of Rose’s performances during the semi-finals:
Game 1
Rose had a team-high 24 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds in the first game of the best-of-seven semi-final series. However, he was not up to the mark from the field, missing his first seven shots and finishing on 11-for-27.
He went scoreless till the 4:58 mark of the second quarter but picked up his game in the second half. However the Bulls still lost the game, 103-95. Rose also hurt his ankle with two seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
Game 2
After the game-1 loss Rose had said, "I just hope we don't wake up too late and that we are ready for the next game."
He certainly didn’t take long and braved through his ankle injury to erupt with a game-high 25 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds, leading Chicago to an 86-73 victory over Atlanta. With the victory, the Bulls even the series
1-1.
On the night though, the NBA All-Star continued to misfire from the field, making just 10-for-27. While talking about his poor shooting from the field in the second consecutive game, Rose said, "Shots I normally hit, they weren't
falling tonight. But the way they are playing me, I am going to keep shooting.''
Game 3
Rose finally got his shooting touch back in the third game of the series. Rose scored a career-high 44 points as the Bulls cruised past the Hawks 99-82 at the Philips Arena.
Rose scored 17 of his 44 points in the first quarter as Chicago carried a 29-23 lead into the second quarter. Besides a 44-point blitz, including four-of-seven three-pointers, he added seven assists and five rebounds in the victory.
The Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau appreciated the sizzling performance of Rose and said, "Derrick was in attack mode, obviously. He was attacking from the start. When he is attacking, and not dancing with the ball, he is impossible
to stop. He caught it on the run and kept going. ... He was not playing around or letting them catch up."
Game 4
The Hawks defeated the Bulls 100-88 in the fourth game of the semi-final series. However, Rose did all he could and finished with a game-high 34 points and 10 assists in the defeat. Again, he struggled with his poor shooting and
was just 12-for-32 from the field. Rose committed all three of his turnovers in the crucial final stanza, in which Atlanta outplayed the Bulls 33-19 in the quarter to seal the victory.
Game 5
Two nights after a poor shooting game, Rose came back into his zone and chipped in with 33 points and 10 assists to marshal the Bulls to a 95-83 victory over the Hawks in the fifth game of the series. The victory gave the Bulls
a crucial 3-2 lead in the series.
Game 6
Rose played the role of distributor rather than scorer in game-6 and finished with a series-high 12 assists to lead the Bulls to a 93-73 win against the Hawks. With this victory, Chicago qualified for the Eastern Conference Finals
against the Miami Heat. Rose also added 19 points on a 8-for-14 shooting from the field in the victory.
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