Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose Crush Atlanta Hawks as Rose Strengthens MVP Case
The last game the Chicago Bulls lost was to the Atlanta Hawks. When Derrick Rose loses to a team, particularly when he feels responsible, you can almost bank on him having a huge game the next time the teams play. True to form, Rose scored 34 points leading the Bulls to a 94-76 win over the Hawks Friday night.
It was all the more important for Rose to have a big game as the Bulls' second leading scorer, Carlos Boozer, was out with an ankle injury. A big factor in Rose's MVP candidacy is the way he keeps carrying the team through injuries to key players.
Tonight was no exception. In addition to his 34 points, Rose had six rebounds and five assists. Rose was also efficient in his scoring, netting his 34 points on 24 shots.
Rose wasn't the only star of this game, though. Luol Deng nearly missed the game with a deep thigh bruise, but decided shortly before game time to give it a go. It's a good thing for the Bulls he did. Deng scored 18 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out seven assists. In addition, he played exceptional defense
In fact the defense in the second half was the other story in this game as the Bulls shut the Hawks down in the second half, yielding only 10 points in the third quarter. After Atlanta scored the first two points of the second half to extend their lead to four, the Bulls ran off 14 straight, 12 of those coming from Rose.
After that it never got close again as the ubiquitous Bulls defense just frustrated the Hawks, clogging the middle, shifting to the ball, and challenging virtually every shot. Through the first 23 minutes of the second half, the Hawks were only able to accumulate 20 second half points. It was arguably the most dominant half defensively the NBA's No. 1 defense put together this season.
Kurt Thomas was a surprise starter filling in for Boozer, and it was the first look at him and Joakim Noah together in the lineup. The combination of the two in the second half was a big part of the reason for the Bulls dominant second half defense. Hawks center Al Horford, who scorched the Bulls for 30 points in the loss, was held to only six this game.
The Bulls also unleashed their deadline pickup Rasual Butler for the first time in the closing minutes of the game. Late in the game Rose penetrated deep into the Hawks' paint, then kicked the ball behind the arc out to a wide open Butler to give his new teammate his first bucket as a Bull.
Brian "The White Mamba" Scalabrine also scored, to the joy of the fans in the United Center.
