The Chicago Bulls came prepared in their 99-82 win over the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena Friday night. MVP Derrick Rose scored a career-high 44 points to helps the Bulls take a 2-1 series lead in the Eastern Conference. That included 16-27 on the floor and four-for-seven from downtown. He dished out seven assists and grabbed five boards.
With 3:20 remaining in the first quarter, Rose crossed over Jeff Teague and drove past every defender to finish strong at the basket, giving the Bulls a 26-18 lead. Rose scored 17 of his 44 points in that first quarter.
“Derrick was in attack mode, obviously. He was attacking from the start. When he’s attacking, and not dancing with the ball, he’s impossible to stop. He caught it on the run and kept going…he wasn’t playing around or letting them catch up.” – Bulls’ Head Coach Tom Thibodeau on Rose’s game tempo
Joakim Noah added 15 rebounds (eight offensive) and five blocks and Taj Gibson came off the bench with 13 points, 11 rebounds (seven offensive) and two blocks.
The Bench Mob really stepped up in game three by out-scoring the Hawks bench 34-14 (21-6 in the first half). CJ Watson, Ronnie Brewer, Gibson, Kyle Korver and Omer Asik worked to go on a 13-6 run in the second quarter, stretching the Bulls lead 42-29 with 6:58 remaining in the half. Korver added 11 points off the bench, and had a better shooting night then he did in game two, three-for-four from behind the arc.
The Bulls dominating the glass played a big part in tonight’s win, they out-rebounded the Hawks 47-34, including 18-9 offensively.
Teague, starting in place of injured teammate Kirk Hinrich, clocked in 41 minutes and scored 21 points, 8-13. Josh Smith scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Jamal Crawford was almost non-existent, scoring seven points in 28 minutes.
Chicago shot 46.8% on the floor and 50% from downtown (10-20), while holding Atlanta to 47.1% on the floor and 16.7% behind the arc (one-for-six). Both teams turned the ball over 12 times.
If the Bulls keep hustling, playing aggressive on defense, while being patient on shot selection and just be athletic going to the rim in future games, they will be unstoppaBULL.
Bulls Extras: Game four will be in Atlanta on Sunday night at 7pm…The Bulls played 48 minutes of intensity, they led this whole game from start to finish…




