No Derrick Rose, No Problem: Bulls Bench Leads the Way Versus Heat

With Miami and Chicago, defense is always the order of the day, or Wednesday night, as was the case in this midweek matchup of the kings of the Eastern Conference.  

Chicago's ability to slow down Miami's run-and-gun transition offense was at even more of a premium with Derek Rose watching from the bench, sporting a nice blue suit but nursing a sore groin.

The pestering question of the night, and the one that continues to cast doubt over their future championship hopes is: Where will the scoring come from outside of the reigning league MVP? 

The early minutes belonged to Chicago's intensity. What makes them the most consistently successful NBA team of the last two seasons was on pronounced display: bodies crashing boards, rugby scrums in the paint, closing out easy lay ups, effort from a group of players who specialize in the type of work.  

It's characteristic of Chicago's seemingly endless bench, not your stat sheet busting stuff, but shared traits acting in unison that make things extremely difficult on even the NBA's most talented scorers. A sequence which ended the first quarter saw LeBron put up three of his teams four contested shots to no avail, effort wasted, frustration looming.

However, LeBron did find an early grove from about 18 feet, going 6-for-10 with 14 points in the first quarter.Dwyane Wade added nine, the two accounting for all of MIami's 23 first quarter points, wholly responsible for the four-point margin over the home side.

Considering that Chicago is undefeated this year after leading after the first quarter, at least neutral parties still had a rooting interest in this contest.

Kyle Korver provided a spark for the Bulls with six solid minutes to open the second quarter. Popping his trademark catch-and-shoot three, he was the catalyst for a 25-7 Bull run over eight minutes.

Chicago's bench raised the effort a level, collecting eight straight offensive rebounds in one stretch, and Miami didn't match. Joakim Noah's block on the defensive end, then facial dunk on Joel Anthony, capped the rising crescendo of Bull momentum and inciting the first bout of crowd frenzy on the evening.  

John Lucas contributed an additional 11 points from Chicago's productive reserves in that second quarter. The squad as a whole was 6-of-9 from three-point land in the first half, inflicting the greatest damage in that 34-point second.

Chicago's lead was 16 before Wade and James attacked the rim with a brief spell of zeal to cut the deficit, and temper Chicago's emotional momentum, down to 11 at the half.

Miami's big two continued to account for all the offense, bearing the burden of cutting into Chicago's advantage with mid-range jumpers interspersed with plays to the rim in a back and forth third quarter.

Chris Bosh's struggles were amplified by steal from behind by C.J. Watson, when he attempted to dribble over the half court line. That led to a Chicago three-pointer off a rebound LeBron couldn't handle.

Ronnie Brewer's lay up and one a possession later had Chicago back up by 11 with seven minutes to go in the third. Then the lead became 14 with three minutes to go, Luol Deng and Ronnie Brewer hitting the three-point line again to cash in on open shots.

Miami finally found their three-point stroke to close out the third, Lebron hitting two straight to get to 33 points on the night and Norris Cole adding one in succession. Still, the lead in Chicago's favor was 80-71 entering the final 12 minutes.

Even before this game was over, the storyline for their next confrontation and for their likely meeting in the Eastern Conference finals was written. Will the Bulls depth and defense be enough to smother the Big Three?

Particularly because their best player was out, the Bulls must take comfort in their win tonight. They controlled the tempo, limiting Wade and James to only momentary spurts of the kind of open play they thrive on.

They shut down every other viable offensive contributor, as Bosh finished 3-of-15 from the field and Haslem was a non-factor (two points, four rebounds). Mario Chamlers wasn't allowed to push the ball with haste into the front court, the catalyst behind Miami's attacking game neutralized.

And bench scoring? No contest. 56-15 in favor of the Bulls.

John Lucas riding a wave of confidence danced in front of LeBron before arcing a fade away jumper over him to the vociferous admiration of the Madhouse of Madison, Chicago's sports hero for this night.

Wade's late charge, 19 points in the fourth quarter, and a spot three from James Jones got the Heat back to within three before they ran out of possessions, and Lucas (who else?) sealed a satisfying victory at the foul line with his 23rd and 24th point.  

Chicago now has a 3.5 game buffer for home court advantage in the playoffs and for that much anticipated conference finals rematch. Hopefully, Derrick Rose will be fully healthy come May, when the real intensity of this rivalry is renewed.