Bulls Sting the Hornets

The moment we've all been waiting for. For the first time since January 4th against the Pistons, the Bulls had all of their original starters in the starting lineup. The Bulls looked great as a unit as the game started, gaining an early 10 point lead. Rip Hamilton, who has been missing for most of the season, only played 17 minutes total, but seemed to give the Bulls a clear boost when he was in. Coach Tom Thibodeau seems to be easing him into game play due to the fact that he has missed so much time. I look for his minutes to increase as he gets his legs back.

The Hornets led the Bulls 95-91 with 1:25 remaining, the Derrick Rose happened. Ten seconds after the Hornets went up four, Rose sank a pair of free throws to put the Bulls within two. Twenty seconds after that Rose dribbled down the court and got up a shot from the elbow, the shot missed but Joakim Noah was there to clean it up, tie game. After a Taj Gibson block, Rose came down the court with 20 seconds remaining and put up a fadeaway from the baseline. The shot rattled around the rim before eventually dropping in, Bulls lead 97-95 then Rose hit two more free throws to ice the game. The Bulls won 99-95.

Rose finished with 32 points and 9 assists. Noah added 15 points and 16 boards. Deng had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Boozer finished with 14 points and 7 boards. Overall, I was impressed with the Bulls but we did look a shaky on defense at times. Sure, it was a little too close for comfort, but keep in mind most Bulls players were coming off of a 6 day break during which they did only God knows what (Noah...).

 Bulls vs. Hornets Highlights

Though the Bulls won, many fans attending the game left disappointed as Rose missed 2 free-throws with 5 seconds left. The Bulls already had the game locked up, but fans were denied free Big Macs, which are given away for each Bulls home win in which they score 100+ points. The Bulls needed just one more point to send fans home with saying "I'm lovin' it."