Chicago Bulls Win Streak Ends, but Don't Blame Derrick Rose

The Chicago Bulls losing streak ended in a thrilling overtime game against the Indiana Pacers. The Bulls fell just short of becoming the first team in NBA history to come back from three deficits of 20 points or more in what may be one of the defining moments in Derrick Rose's MVP candidacy. 

The Bulls were playing their third game in four nights in three different cities. It was their league high ninth game on the road since the All-Star break. That hadn't slowed the Bulls down though as they kept winning, whether it was on the road or at home. 

They'd been missing Carlos Boozer for the last five games and Joakim Noah had missed one and played light minutes in another. The minutes had been stacking up for the big men, and for the whole team.

Through the first three quarters the fatigue was evident in the Bulls as they just played worn down. Areas of the game in which they normally dominated, they were lacking. The Pacers were shooting a high field goal percentage as the Bulls were slow in getting to and challenging shots.

They were being out-rebounded, a rarity with the best rebounding team in the league. In the third quarter they were already over their season average for personal fouls. The Pacers pulled to a 20-point lead with 6:11 on the clock. A little more than one minute later Rose was whistled for his fourth foul and had to sit down with Bulls trailing by 18. 

The Bulls tried to work their way back but every time they started to make ground, they'd lose just as much as they'd gained. With 8:11 left in the game Derrick Rose came back into the game. Shortly after that Kyle Korver found Joakim Noah under the basket for a lay-in that cut the lead to 13. 

Then Derrick Rose happened. 

In what may have been his most impressive MVP performance yet, Rose strapped the team on his back and scored 19 of the Bulls' final 20 points in seven minutes of playing time. He drew foul after foul, getting to the line and saving the time to get the Bulls back into the game. 

Then with just 58 seconds left Rose made it a one possession game when he drained yet another free throw. When the Pacers took the ball down the other way Rose played suffocating defense on Darren Collison, forcing him into taking a bad shot, then Rose got the rebound. 

Racing up the court with Kyle Korver on his left he dumped off a pass to a wide open Korver who didn't take the shot but gave it back to Rose, who took the ball to the left and from the bottom of the arc let the shot fly, and it circled the rim and spun out. 

Indiana got the ball back once again, and once again Darren Collison could do nothing with Rose guarding him. Eventually Rose forced Collison into making a bad pass, which Taj Gibson intercepted. The Bulls called a timeout with 6.2 seconds left on the clock. 

Korver passed the ball in to Rose who everyone in the building and in TV land knew was going to be taking the shot. Rose faked left, spun right, fake left, threw his body into Collison and let the shot fly. The shot didn't fall, but with 1.2 seconds on the clock, he got the whistle.

Perhaps the Clippers game passed through Rose's head when he'd missed a free throw that could have sent a game into overtime. 

Rose sank all three free throws to tie the game.

Indiana called a timeout and with 1.2 seconds left  On the inbounds play, Collison fell to the ground and Rose tripped over him as the ball came into Danny Granger. Scrambling to his feet he blocked Granger's game winning field goal attempt.

In the overtime the Pacers jumped out to seven point lead, and then Rose started to pull it back in. He drew a foul to sink a pair of free throws to draw it back to five. He went into the paint again, and cut the lead to three. Then on the other end he got called for his sixth foul.

Without Rose, the Bulls were done. 

Sometimes it's the wins that people point to when it comes to the MVP race, but in many ways, this game characterized what Rose means to the Bulls and may have been his best case for MVP yet. The Bulls lost, but that doesn't change the courageous performance by Rose down the stretch. 

In the last seven minutes of the game and overtime, Rose scored 23 points, grabbed four rebounds, forced two turnovers, and blocked a game winning field goal attempt. But the reason he is the MVP of the league is the expression on his face when he sat on the bench after fouling out. 

It was the expression of a man who felt like he had let his team down. Don't worry Derrick, it's not your fault.