Chicago Bulls Beat New Orleans Hornets on Derrick Rose's Game-Winner

The New Orleans Hornets certainly lived up to their nickname tonight. They played hard from start to finish. They kept buzzing around, and every time the Bulls looked like they were going to run away with the game, the Hornets reeled them back in. 

They were ubiquitous. They were buzzing about like a bee at a cookout, buzzing by your ear, landing in your food and generally just refusing to go away. This is a group that really does deserve a ton of credit simply for playing hard even though they are an eight-win team. 

With 1:26 left, the Hornets led 95-91. Then, Derrick Rose—with a little Joakim Noah—happened. Rose sank a pair of free throws to pull the Bulls within two.

Noah stole the ball from Jarrett Jack. Noah missed a shot, which he then tipped in to tie the game with 33 seconds left.

After a Gustavo Ayon shot was blocked by Taj Gibson, the Bulls came down and called a timeout. With 19.2 seconds, Rose came down and made the eventual game-winner, a 19-foot step-back jumper from the right side. 

The Hornets came back and Jack, with 10.8 seconds on the clock, drove to the net early and forced up a bad shot over Rose, who altered the shot. Noah got the rebound and tipped it to Rose, who was immediately fouled.

Rose sank both of those to give the Bulls a four-point lead and seal the game. 

On top of the win, it was encouraging to see Rip Hamilton and C.J. Watson return to action. It was only the fifth time this season that the Bulls' entire team was dressed and able to play. 

The starting lineup was, for the most part, outstanding. Rose had 32 points, nine assists, three steals and two blocks.

The frontcourt was huge. Noah had a double-double, with 15 points and 16 boards. Luol Deng had another double-double as well, getting 14 points and 11 boards.  Boozer added 14 points and seven boards.

That's a collective 44 points and 34 rebounds from the three. Also, Taj Gibson had five points, seven rebounds and five blocks off the bench. 

Rip Hamilton's impact was apparent, but less so in the stat line. He had five points and five assists in just under 17 minutes of play. The ball movement while he was in the game was crisp and the offense was outstanding. His minutes should go up as he gets his game-legs back. 

Derrick Rose was the "MVP" Rose that we hadn't seen in a while with the toe and back injuries cutting into his play. He was aggressive. He was getting to the rim.

He was playing like Derrick Rose. That was good to see. 

On the negative side, the Bulls defense was shaky at times, although they stepped up when they needed to. The Bulls turned the ball over entirely too many times—13. They were also horrendous from deep, hitting on just 3-of-18 attempts from beyond the arc. 

These three things might seem related on the surface, but they are all consistent with adjusting to new rotations and coming back from a long rest. 

Overall, the main thing is that now we're finally going to begin to understand what the team really looks like. They're gong to take a little time to figure out how to play with Hamilton and Deng together, as this was just the sixth game where they were both in the lineup. 

While Hamilton is well-known for his ability to move without the ball and run through screens, Deng is also an efficient and underrated cutter. He averages 1.16 points on plays when he's cutting, and that should combine with Hamilton's ability to move through screens incredibly well. 

Essentially, as they get used to each other—when the Bulls starting five is on the court—they'll have five players who can score and pass. This offense will be explosive once they gel.

The pieces just fit together amazingly well—it was apparent tonight during the brief times they were together.