Bulls not about to take it easy
The word “tank” apparently does not exist in Tom Thibodeau's vocabulary.
The Bulls still had something to play for Tuesday night in New York. They have a chance to beat out San Antonio for the best overall record in the NBA.
That news didn't stop the Spurs from resting Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker later in the night against the Los Angeles Lakers.
On Monday, Boston essentially conceded second place in the East to Miami by resting four starters in an overtime loss to Washington.
So teams are out there resting their best players.
Not the Bulls. Derrick Rose played his regular minutes, scored 26 points and led the Bulls to a 103-90 victory over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
At least Rose put a nice stamp on his MVP season with three spectacular dunks that may have won over the New York crowd. His streak of consecutive free throws ended at 36 when he missed in the third quarter.
There was worse news on the injury front. Ronnie Brewer suffered a sprained left thumb during a fight for a loose ball in the second quarter and did not return.
Unless there is some structural damage, this injury doesn't figure to keep Brewer off the floor in the playoffs. The Bulls don't want to find out what happens if he's not there.
They have replacements for their big men, but no one who can bring the same defensive quickness as Brewer.
Another mishap involved Joakim Noah, who turned his already-injured right ankle in the fourth quarter. Noah immediately limped to the bench and drew no attention from the team's training staff. Thibodeau tried to send Noah back into the game at the end, but there wasn't a stoppage in play, so he stayed at the scorer's table.
Rose, Luol Deng (23 points) and Carlos Boozer (22 rebounds) were on the floor when the game ended, which seemed a little unusual since the Knicks removed Carmelo Anthony (21 points) a few minutes earlier. New York center Amare Stoudemire sat out to rest an ankle injury.
Deng played 44 minutes, Rose 38 and Boozer 37.
The Bulls improved to 61-20. The Spurs finish the season at Phoenix, while the Bulls host New Jersey on Wednesday.
If the Bulls and San Antonio finish with the same record and meet in the Finals, homecourt advantage will be decided by random draw.
For the time being, the Bulls will focus on playing solid defense for a full 48 minutes. They trailed 55-52 at halftime after allowing New York to shoot 56 percent from the field.
Whatever was said in the locker room seemed to work. The Bulls opened the third quarter with a 26-2 run to take command. New York scored 35 points in the second half.