Rose outplays Hornets’ Paul in Bulls’ win
Are there any questions, any doubters, any random naysayers still hanging around?
Bulls guard Derrick Rose was put to the test this week and dominated matchups with two Western Conference all-stars.
After outscoring Utah’s Deron Williams 29-11 on Wednesday, Rose remained undefeated against Chris Paul and New Orleans. The Bulls rallied from 12 points down in the third quarter to finish their road trip with a 97-88 victory over the Hornets.
Rose finished with 23 points and 6 assists, hitting 7 of 15 shots from the field. Paul had 15 points, 6 assists and hit 3 of 10 shots.
“I think I contested all his shots and just tried to make him work for it,” said Rose, who said earlier this week he only cares about winning, not individual matchups.
Considering Rose outscored Rajon Rondo 36-13 the last time the Bulls played Boston, there seems to be little doubt Rose has assumed first place in the discussion of the NBA’s best point guards.
“Every night there’s a good point guard in front of him and he’s been geared up to play every one of them,” teammate Carlos Boozer said. “He carries us offensively, and on the defensive end he locks up as well. He’s a monster, man. And I keep telling people, when it’s all said and done — he’s 22 — he’s going to be the best one.”
The Bulls (36-16) finished the five-game Western road trip with a 3-2 record. They’ll gain ground on the loser of Sunday’s Boston-Miami matchup and sit just 1 loss out of second place in the East standings by the end of the day.
New Orleans led by 12 points early in the third quarter. The Bulls cut it to 1, then trailed 72-65 with 3:32 remaining in the quarter. They outscored the Hornets 32-16 the rest of the way.
Rose tied the score when he picked off a pass and finished a fastbreak lay-in with a too-fast-for-the-naked-eye spin move.
The game was even at 80-80 when Ronnie Brewer blocked a fastbreak attempt by Hornets guard Marcus Thornton (24 points). On the other end, C.J. Watson drained a 3-pointer to put the Bulls ahead for good.
Watson’s basket started a 9-0 run, which happened with Rose on the bench. Watson added a lay-in, Brewer scored on an offensive rebound, and Taj Gibson’s dunk off a pass from Kyle Korver made it 89-80 with 5:01 remaining.
“They put pressure on us and we backed down and there’s no other way to look at it,” Hornets coach Monty Williams said. “We have to give them credit. They didn’t change anything. They just jacked up their defense. To me, that was like a playoff game and we didn’t respond.”
Boozer added 17 points for the Bulls, while Luol Deng scored 14 and Keith Bogans had 11, his first double-digit scoring night since Nov. 13. Rookie center Omer Asik grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds in 14 minutes of action.
Late in the second quarter, the Hornets (33-23) knocked down 3-point baskets on three straight possessions — 1 by Paul and the next 2 by Thornton. The Bulls went from a tie game to 9-point deficit in just 1:13.
When David West added a post hook a short time later, the Bulls trailed 53-42 at halftime.