Bulls let home opener get away
This is what Tom Thibodeau is talking about when he says the Bulls are striving to be a 48-minute team.
They were pretty good for 47 minutes against Cleveland on Friday night at the United Center.
With Derrick Rose knocked out by an ankle sprain, Kirk Hinrich drained a pair of 3-pointers, then a step-back 20-footer to put the Bulls ahead 98-93 with 47.1 seconds left.
But NBA games can change in a hurry, especially when superstars are on board. And this one ended in a flurry of whistles that took all the fun out of the game, at least for the home team.
Kyrie Irving tied the score on a generous continuation 3-point play, LeBron James drew some quick fouls, and the Cavaliers recovered to beat the Bulls 114-108 in overtime. James finished with 36 points.
The big question when this one ended was the health of Rose. He appeared to turn his left ankle in the second quarter and limped around for a few seconds but stayed in the game and started the third quarter. He went to the locker room, though, and did not play in the fourth quarter or overtime.
After the game, Rose tried to calm concerns.
"It's minor, no swelling," he said. "I had X-rays, but not an MRI. My ankle is throbbing a little bit right now. It didn't feel like I tore a ligament or something. I just sprained my ankle."
Ultimately, this was a game the Bulls let get away. They were destroyed on the offensive glass, giving Cleveland 22 second-chance points. Cavs power forward Tristan Thompson had more offensive rebounds (12) than the entire Bulls team (11).
"Sometimes when you go after the ball, it doesn't go your way," Taj Gibson said. "No matter how hard you chase it down or how hard you try to grab it, it just doesn't want to come your way. That's part of basketball. Only big men around the league know what I mean."
At the same time, this also was something of a moral victory, since the Bulls trailed by 9 points heading into the fourth quarter and nearly won the game without Rose or Jimmy Butler (still out with a sprained thumb).
Second-year swingman Tony Snell got a chance to guard James down the stretch and did a decent job at times. But after Hinrich's third jumper put the Bulls up by 5, James drew a foul on Snell with just 0.6 seconds running off the clock.
In overtime, James went to the foul line again after Snell was called for a foul trying to deny a pass.
"We had some tough calls go against us," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "We had the lead, a couple of moving screens, free-throw violation, a couple touch fouls. That's the difference."
The toughest call might have been Irving's continuation. He was fouled by Gibson near the foul line, then took two long steps toward the basket and laid it in. The 3-point play tied the score with 27.9 seconds left. Hinrich and Kevin Love missed 3-pointers in the final moments of regulation.
"I thought it was a dead ball," Gibson said. "From where I fouled him, I thought it was a dead ball, really. I've just got to learn from it. Got to lock guys up, grab guys up. Don't let them get a chance to lay the ball up."
Gibson turned his left ankle during the third quarter while reaching to deflect a pass. He went to the ground in pain and was listed as questionable to return but played the final six minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime.
Rose and Hinrich led the Bulls with 20 points each. Backup guard Aaron Brooks led the charge early in the fourth quarter with 8 points.
James scored Cleveland's first 8 points in overtime, on an flip shot off the backboard, long driving lay-in and 4 free throws. With the Bulls trailing by 2, James missed a jumper, but Thompson grabbed the rebound and dunked the ball to make it 108-104 with 24 seconds left.
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