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Robinson remains positive despite 3-1 deficit, Game 4 blowout loss

Even after going 0-for-12 in shot attempts in Game 4 against Miami, Bulls guard Nate Robinson came up with a positive spin.

“We’ve got a lot left in the tank,” Robinson said in the locker room. “One thing about it, you never know when that beautiful story is going to happen. Down 3-1, you never know?

“Take them to Game 7, we end up winning, it’s going to be a beautiful story to tell my kids one day. We don’t count ourselves out.”

With the Bulls still missing Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng because of injuries and illness, it’s very apparent they rely heavily on Robinson and probably can’t beat a team like the Heat without a great game from the 5-foot-9 sparkplug, who averaged 18.3 points in the first three games of the series.

Trouble was apparent when Robinson’s first 2 shots from 3-point range drifted wide left. Early in the game, he tried to split a double-team near midcourt and lost the ball for 1 of his 4 turnovers. Miami’s Shane Battier fell on top of Robinson and the Bulls guard was slow to get up. After the game, he had an ice bag on his left shoulder.

“It’s not that. I just didn’t make shots today, that’s all,” Robinson said. “If I make half the shots, we win the game, that’s how I think of it. I just think you have games like that where you can’t make a shot. You have to keep fighting.

“We’ve got another game coming up, so we’ve got another game to take a crack at it. You never know. I might go 12-for-12. Shots will fall. You just have to believe and keep your confidence. We’ll be all right.”

Miami has been trapping all the Bulls guard frequently in this series. After a low-turnover Game 3 on Friday, the Bulls struggled against the active defense in Game 4.

“(Robinson) is a tough guy to trap,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He is like a whirling toy out there. We finally had some timely traps on him and were able to force some turnovers. We know they will have counters for that, that we will need to be ready for.”

Robinson’s teammates made sure to show support after the ugly Game 4 loss.

“Nate’s a warrior,” Joakim Noah said. “It’s all about how you bounce back from adversity. I’m not worried about him because I know how tough he is.”

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