76ers-Bulls Preview

By ANDREW SELIGMAN
Posted Apr 30 2012 5:25PM

DEERFIELD, Ill. (AP) One bad landing finished Derrick Rose's season. The Chicago Bulls insist it hasn't dashed their NBA title hopes.

With their superstar point guard out for the rest of the season with a left knee injury, the Bulls will try to take a 2-0 lead over the Philadelphia 76ers when their first-round playoff series resumes Tuesday night after realizing their worst nightmare in the opener.

There was Rose writhing in pain with just over a minute left after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament. Now, the Bulls will have to pick themselves up.

"I've watched them respond to every challenge all year long," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "This is the next one."

And it's a big one.

The Bulls came into the season looking for more after posting the league's best record and advancing to Eastern Conference finals a year ago. They earned homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs again even though Rose and Richard Hamilton missed significant time because of injuries, which explains why they believe they can get through this.

Even so, the sight of Rose going down late in Saturday's 103-91 victory sent a major chill through Chicago and stirred a debate over whether he should have been in the game at that point. Players and general manager Gar Forman publicly defended Thibodeau's decision, but losing Rose to many wiped out whatever chance the Bulls have at advancing to the NBA finals, much less winning it all.

"It's more fun being the underdog, right?" said Kyle Korver, who sat out Monday's practice but is expected to play. "I don't think a lot of people expected us to win a championship to begin with. But even now, it's probably moreso that way. We're definitely confident in ourselves."

They realize the task just jumped a few levels in difficulty, though.

"Without Derrick Rose, it is a different team," the 76ers' Jrue Holiday said. "They don't really have that scoring and passing that Derrick Rose brings. At the same time, they've had an awesome record without him."

Rose was playing more like an MVP with 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists after being limited down the regular-season stretch, only to see his season end in a flash. He landed awkwardly on a jump stop, went up for a pass, and that was it. Korver said Rose was at the practice facility on Monday, but he did not talk with reporters.

Rose faces surgery at some point once the swelling goes down and he regains his full range of motion, but his status for the start of next season is up in the air. The Bulls, meanwhile, will try to do what they did all season - shrug it off.

The Bulls were able to start their top five just 15 times this season because of injuries to Rose, Hamilton and Luol Deng (torn ligament in his left wrist), yet they still tied San Antonio for the league's best record at 50-16.

In the games Rose missed, they were 18-9.

"We're not going to let the media or anybody paint the picture for us," center Joakim Noah said. "We've played good basketball without Derrick as well. It's a tough blow. Unfortunately in sports, there's no feeling sorry for yourself."

With Rose sidelined, they figure to lean on Deng, Carlos Boozer and Hamilton - who had 19 points on just seven shots in Game 1 - for scoring. C.J. Watson, who made 25 starts and averaged 9.7 points, is expected to get the nod at point guard with John Lucas III backing him up.

"Derrick Rose so distorts your defense," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "Everything you do is tilted toward him. It frees up a lot of opportunities for a lot of other guys."

The Sixers might not have to trap as much or worry about the point guard creating havoc in the paint the way Rose does, but they still have to be careful. Watson scored 20 on them twice in the regular season.

In the games Rose missed, the Bulls' approach didn't change much. They still rebounded and defended, and they might have moved the ball even more when he was out.

"I think you stay with what you are as a team," Thibodeau said. "It's the defense, it's the rebounding, keeping our turnovers low, inside-out. Whether it's off the dribble or through the post-up, the ball has to (get to) the paint. The final thing is sharing the ball. We have to keep the ball moving, but we have to do that when Derrick plays. From that standpoint, I don't think we have to change. It's impossible to make up for Derrick's individual greatness, but our collective greatness would cover that up."

Korver said it was his brother Klay's idea to post an eloquent appeal to fans to keep backing the Bulls on Facebook after Rose went down.

"I was surprised how many people read it and commented," Korver said. "When things are tough, that's when a lot of good can happen."

76ers pull away in 3rd, beat Bulls 109-92

By ANDREW SELIGMAN
Posted May 02 2012 4:26AM

CHICAGO (AP) There wasn't much for Jrue Holiday to improve on in this game, except maybe one thing.

"I could have been 15 for 15," he said.

Holiday didn't hit all his shots. It just seemed like it.

Holiday scored 26 points, Lou Williams added 20 and the Philadelphia 76ers beat Chicago 109-92 on Tuesday night to even their first-round series at 1-1 in the Bulls' first game since Derrick Rose's season-ending knee injury.

The superstar point guard received a standing ovation and waved to the crowd as he limped onto the court to present the game ball, then watched from a suite as the 76ers blitzed the Bulls in the third quarter.

"I can't tell you how exciting it is to come into Chicago and get a playoff win here on the road for our team," coach Doug Collins said. "It was a great, great night."

The Sixers outscored Chicago 36-14 in the period, turning an eight-point deficit into an 83-69 lead against the league's top-seeded team.

Game 3 is Friday in Philadelphia.

"This game we caught fire and it was pretty hard to put it out," Holiday said.

All the Bulls could do was shake their heads and vow to do better.

"Disappointed," Chicago's Joakim Noah said. "Disappointing effort overall. We didn't play well defensively. We didn't play well offensively."

Holiday was 11 of 15 from the field, and the Sixers shot 59 percent overall. Williams came up big, going 8 of 13 after hitting just 1 of 6 shots in the opener, and Chicago product Evan Turner chipped in with 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Noah led the Bulls with 21 points and eight rebounds. John Lucas III scored 15 points, but Carlos Boozer scored just nine and Luol Deng finished with eight. More alarming, the Bulls simply couldn't stop the Sixers, particularly in the third quarter.

"We kind of let our offense affect our defense," Richard Hamilton said.

The Sixers were leading 68-61 midway through the quarter after a 12-0 run that Elton Brand started with a foul-line jumper. Then, after a basket by C.J. Watson, Andre Iguodala threw down a thunderous one-handed dunk over Deng for a three-point play that drew plenty of oohs, aahs and groans from a crowd that could feel the game slipping away.

Things didn't get much better for Chicago after that.

The 76ers continued to pour it on, with Iguodala delivering another vicious dunk late in the quarter and then hitting Williams with an alley-oop pass that made it 83-69 heading into the fourth.

"For the first time in a long time our defense dictated our offense," Iguodala said. "We rebounded the ball. Evan and myself pushed it out on the break and we finished pretty well. It started with that in the third quarter."

It added up to a rough night for the Bulls, who were in a familiar spot with Rose sidelined again - this time after tearing the ACL in his left knee late in Game 1.

He missed 27 games during the regular season because of a variety of ailments, and the Bulls did just fine, going 18-9. Throw in injuries to Hamilton and Deng, and they were able to go with their projected starting five just 15 times, yet they still captured homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs for the second straight season.

That's why they insist they can still make a run, even with Rose out. They won without him before. They insist their championship hopes didn't end when he went down.

"It's different (without Rose)," Noah said. "There's no excuses, though. We know we can play better. It's disappointing, but you know what? We live to fight another day. There's a lot of basketball to play."

Notes: The Sixers shuffled their lineup from Game 1, with Turner starting for Jodie Meeks and C Spencer Hawes for Lavoy Allen. ... Scottie Pippen says the Bulls still are the team to beat even without Rose. In an open letter to the team posted Tuesday on the Bulls' website, Pippen wrote, "You're still the best team in the NBA until an opponent proves otherwise." The Hall of Famer also compared the loss of Rose to Michael Jordan's first retirement and pointed out the 1993-94 team won 55 games. Pippen said the Bulls "believed in ourselves" and never "felt sorry for ourselves." ... Chicago's Tom Thibodeau finished second in the Coach of the Year voting to San Antonio's Gregg Popovich after winning the award last season.

Notebook: Sixers 109, Bulls 92

Posted Tuesday May 1, 2012 11:41PM

By Kent McDill, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Shooting nearly 60 percent for most of the game, the Philadelphia 76ers staged a second-half comeback and spanked the host Chicago Bulls 109-92, matching the Bulls' worst loss of the season. The Bulls, playing without injured star point guard Derrick Rose, went on a 8-0 run before halftime to build a 55-47 lead at the break, but the Sixers outscored the Bulls 36-14 in the third quarter and coasted through the fourth quarter. Jrue Holiday had 26 points for the Sixers, and Lou Williams had 20 points with six assists off the bench. The Bulls were led by center Joakim Noah, who had 21 points and eight rebounds.

THE FACTS II: The 76ers shot 64 percent (27 of 42) in the second half. Bulls forward and former All-Star Carlos Boozer did not score in 13 minutes of action in the second half, while first-time All-Star Luol Deng had just two points in 14 minutes after the break.

QUOTABLE: "I have told him I want him to attack and not just to act as a point guard."
-- Sixers coach Doug Collins, talking about Holiday.

THE STAT: The Bulls were outrebounded 38-32, and lost the scoring battle in the paint 52-32.

THE STAT II: The Sixers shot better from the field (59.0 percent) than the Bulls did from the free throw line (55.6 percent).

THE STAT III: The Sixers scored 25 fast break points.

TURNING POINT: Trailing by eight at halftime, the Sixers went on a 21-6 run to start the third quarter and never looked back.

HOT: Holiday made 11 of 15 shots from the field, including all three 3-pointers he attempted. Noah was 10 of 11 from the field for the Bulls, and had five assists to go with his eight rebounds.

NOT: Starting Bulls forwards Deng and Boozer combined for just 17 points and 10 rebounds on seven of 22 shooting.

COACHING MOVE: Sixers coach Collins put Spencer Hawes in the starting lineup in place of Lavoy Allen, and put Chicago native Evan Turner in at guard for Jodie Meeks. Hawes scored just two points with three rebounds while Allen had 11 points and nine rebounds. Turner scored 19 points with seven rebounds and six assists while Meeks played just one minute.

QUOTABLE II: "They didn't miss a lot of shots. There weren't a lot of rebounds to get."
-- Bulls forward Deng, explaining why the Bulls, the No. 1 rebounding team in the league, were outrebounded 38-32.

QUOTABLE III: "They outrebounded us. The outfought us. We have to come back stronger."
-- Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau.

NOTABLE: In an attempt to pump up the Bulls faithful, Rose presented the game ball before the game, limping to mid-court wearing a thigh-high walking boot. That was followed by teammate Kyle Korver's Facebook post from Sunday telling fans the Bulls would "keep going strong. One quarter, one game, one round at a time. Until it's over."

INSIDE THE ARENA: The Bulls were supported by star fans Julius Peppers of the Chicago Bears and Luke Donald, the No. 1 golfer in the world who attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.

UP NEXT: Game Three of the Bulls-Sixers series Friday in Philadelphia.

• 76ers: Silas
• Bulls: Rose

• 76ers: --
• Bulls: --

• Lead Changes: 13
• Times Tied: 8

• Arena: United Center, Chicago, IL
• Officials: #57 Greg Willard, #61 Courtney Kirkland, #71 Rodney Mott
• Attendance: 22067
• Duration: 2:18