“If you fall down, get up and go even harder…” should be the motto of All-Star and MVP candidate Derrick Rose, at least in the series vs. the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Playoffs.

Rose only shot 4-18 on the floor; however, he hit 13-15 free throws for 23 points, four steals and five turnovers. Rose knows that if the jumper isn’t there, drive to the line like the Ferrari he is known to be. And he also has teammates that can put up a solid game, Deng scoring 14 of his 21 points in the first half.

                “So what? I missed shots, my teammates were hitting them.” -Rose

In this series, the Chicago Bulls have taken a 3-0 lead with Thursday’s 88-84 win, but none of that has come easy. In these three games, Rose has taken hard hits driving the lane, some involving elbows and body slams, and some involving no fouls being called, but Rose has made the Pacers pay, going 44-49 from the free throw line alone.

This series has shown most intensity in the fourth quarter, because even though the Bulls have trailed or lost the lead at one point, they have managed to comeback to win it all. At the start of the fourth, the Bulls trailed 70-65 with 9:29 remaining, until Noah split a pair of free throws, and Korver sparking a 10-0 run, hitting a jumper to bring the Bulls back within two. Rose then hit four from the charity stripe. Boozer stole a bad pass from Darren Collison, which led Rose to find Korver for a three-pointer over Collison for the 75-70 lead with 7:04 remaining.

Korver contributed 12 points off the bench, 10 of them came in the fourth quarter. Noah went three-for-six on the floor with 11 points, 10 rebound and four blocks. Boozer grabbed 11 rebounds and Deng had six rebounds and six assists in 45 minutes with his 21. Keith Bogans went three-for-four from behind the arc for nine points.

Darren Collison returned to the Pacers lineup after leaving midway through Game 2 with a sprained left ankle and scored nine points in 34 minutes and turned the ball over four times. Danny Granger led the way for the Pacers with 21 points, but missed a potential game-winning three with 2.9 seconds. Tyler Hansbrough was held to 10 points and five rebounds. Dahntay Jones scored 11 points off the bench.

This is the first game that the Bulls managed a higher shooting percentage both on the floor and from downtown. The shot 38.9% to Indiana’s 37.9% on the floor and went an even 45% (9-20) from the three. Indiana only went one-for-ten behind the arc at 10%. The Bulls shared the ball and made the extra pass, dishing out 20 assists.

Bulls Extras: The Bulls captured their first ever playoffs win at Conseco Fieldhouse and will try to go for the sweep on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 pm…

For the first time since 1957, the NBA scheduled every team to play the final game of the season on the same night. For the Chicago Bulls, a win along with a San Antonio Spurs loss would give the Bulls the number one record in the NBA. Something the Bulls haven’t accomplished since the Jordan Era.

The Phoenix Suns hosted the San Antonio Spurs and ended their season with a 106-103 win, giving the Bulls the overall best record, which means they will have home court advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Bulls hosted the New Jersey Nets at the United Center Wednesday night and went for the ninth straight win 97-92, finishing with a 62-20 record. The same record the Bulls had in 1997-1998, coincidence?

The Bulls shot 46% on the floor in the first half, and took a 50-43 lead. In the third quarter, the Bulls went 2-7, while the Nets went on an 11-0 run. Coach Thibodeau, infuriated, called a timeout. With 3:48 remaining in the quarter, the Bulls went on their own 11-0 run, starting with Luol Deng grabbing an offensive board and Kurt Thomas tipping in a layup. Then soon-to-be MVP, Derrick Rose scored six straight points, putting the Bulls back within two, 68-66. Rose finished with 15 points. Taj Gibson saved an offensive rebound to Deng who then dished to Kyle Korver for a baseline three pointer tying it up at 68 apiece.

The Bench Mob displayed an incredible performance; outscoring New Jersey’s bench 50-26, 20 of those 50 points came in the first half. Korver led the Mob and the team with 19 points, shooting 7-13 on the floor and two-for-seven from downtown. Rasual Butler wasn’t one to disappoint either; he chipped in 10 points for the Mob, four-for-five on the floor and two-for-three behind the arc. Meanwhile, Ronnie Brewer was inactive with a right thumb sprain from the previous night in New York,

Jordan Farmar led the way with 21 points and 12 assists and Brook Lopez scored 19 points, but was blocked six times, four by Joakim Noah.

Noah played tonight after an injury scare with his right ankle (that was already sprained) and posted a double-double, 10 points, 10 rebounds (seven offensive) and four blocks before banging knees against Lopez and sitting out with 5:29 remaining in the third. Gibson tallied nine points and eight rebounds off the bench. The Bulls moved the ball well, limited turnovers and out-rebounded the Nets 45-35 as they contained the league’s best post-All-Star Game record of 24-4.

Bulls Extras: The season is over, and the new season will begin: The Playoffs…

The Bulls schedule for Round One vs. the eight-seeded Indiana Pacers:

Game One: Saturday April 16 in Chicago at Noon

Game Two: Monday April 18 in Chicago at 8:30 pm

Game Three: Thursday April 21 in Indiana, Time TBD

Game Four: Saturday April 23 in Indiana, Time TBD

Game Five: Tuesday April 26, Time & Place TBD

Before yesterday’s game against Memphis Stacey King posted a contest on his twitter account (@Sky21King) to predict how many points the “Bench Mob” would score. Not that they’re reaching Derrick Rose popularity levels, or even Stacey King for that matter, around the Windy City, but the bench of the Bulls has been making quite a name for themselves this season as one of the most productive in the league. Tom Thibodeau has a luxury that not many coaches in the league have, being able to extend leads or even come from behind with his bench in the game. With that being said, lets meet the Bench Mob.

First, there’s the 6′7” Ashton Kutcher look-a-like, sharp shooting Kyle Korver. On Kyle I’m convinced of two things. First, his range is as soon as he steps on the court. Second, he must have one of the top 3 quickest releases in the game. His ability to curl off a screen, catch, and shoot in seemingly all one motion is as good as anyone I’ve watched not named Ray Allen. When the Bulls need a 3 or an offensive spark off the bench, Thibodeau usually calls on #26.

Next, there’s Taj Gibson, who’s probably the favorite member of the Mob of my partner in crime here at Bulls Extra, Stephanie. He’s one of those players that every team needs. He doesn’t get many headlines (doesn’t really want them), you won’t see him in highlight reels, but he makes all the little plays. At various points this season when Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah have been injured, it’s been Gibson who’s stepped in and filled the void up front, admirably might I add. His hard-nosed defense and uncanny ability to, at 6′9”, block shots (96 in 69 games) has helped the Bulls to the #2 scoring defense in the league, only giving up 91.2 points per.

A tough wing defender with the ability to play passing lanes pretty much sums up Ronnie Brewer. He generally draws the assignment of the opposing team’s top scorer when he’s on the floor and, more often than not, does a good shutting him down. He leads the team in steals this season with 95, a number that almost seems low when you see how active his hands are when guarding his man. Back in the ‘08-’09 season with the Jazz he averaged 13.7 ppg playing 30+ minutes a night so his offensive ability is there when needed as well. And for all of the highlight reel plays that Derrick Rose has provided us this season, it might be Ronnie Brewer who provided THE Bulls highlight of the year so far.

Being the backup to Derrick Rose doesn’t always yield alot of minutes since he’s on the court so often, but C.J. Watson, or C.J. Wattttttttttson as most Bulls fans know him as courtesy of Stacey King, makes the most of his minutes on the floor. A very good floor general and distributor of the ball, the offensive flow rarely tapers off when he’s on the floor. Whether he’s penetrating to dish to a wide open Korver in the corner, or finding Taj Gibson on the block, Watson generally stakes his claim to the paint, and trying to keep him out is easier said than done.

The two-headed low post monster of Omer Asik and Kurt Thomas provides hustle, rebounding (Asik), and a baseline-to-wing jumper that Kurt Thomas probably perfected on Dr. James Naismith’s peach basket. Asik’s work on the glass, particularly the offense boards, isn’t the prettiest thing to watch, but it’s definitely effective. What he makes up for in refined skills at this early stage of his career he makes up for in sheer determination and hustle. During the ‘94-’95 season at TCU Thomas lead the NCAA in scoring and rebounding playing in the Southwest Conference, a conference that dissolved in 1996. Just to give you an idea how long he’s been playing. Earlier this season when Chicago was dealing with injuries to both Noah and Boozer Thomas stepped in and looked almost like he did 10 years ago. In January he had games of 13 and 18 rebounds in a 8-game stretch and came back earlier this month and had games of 13 and 15 boards in a 3-game span. Not bad for a 38 year old huh?

How far the Bulls go in this year’s playoffs clearly rest on the shoulders of Derrick Rose, closely followed by Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, and Joakim Noah. But don’t discount how important the Bench Mob will be the Bulls success either. Whether they’re in due to foul trouble, picking up the slack for an injured teammate, or just to give the starters a breather, any member of the bench that Thibodeau pionts to is more than capable in filling in. That’s quite a luxury to have when you look at several teams who maybe go 2-3 deep on the bench and the Bulls can easily go 6 deep or more when you add Rasual Butler to the mix. It’s almost time for the tonight’s game against the Bucks, so we’ll get to see which member has the biggest impact on tonight’s game.